Any lawyers in the crowd?

[mdh]

I've got it in my mind to start a wholly charitable, non-political, non-partisan foundation akin to the Ludwig von Mises Institute in Dr. Paul's name. This organization would be solely dedicated to promote the message of freedom and peace which Dr. Paul has spent the majority of his life putting forward. My question to any lawyers would be, is it possible to do this during his lifetime? Furthermore, would we need to wait until after he has ended his political career to avoid running afoul of any political campaign regulations? The organization would not take part in any electioneering activities of any sort, and would be organized as a 501(c)3 charitable organization to provide support to those furthering the ideals of Dr. Paul in the community through existing discussion forums, and improving upon them, as well as providing tools and resources to freedom and peace advocates around the world, and keeping Dr. Paul's voice alive long after political campaigns and the large mass of political organizations that come with them have fallen by the wayside.

It is my firm belief that Ron Paul shall take his place among the great philosophers and writers of our time who have promoted liberty, and that a charitable foundation to this end is wholly necessary to the cause of future liberty advocates around the world.

Furthermore, if this is a viable idea to begin work on at this time, is anyone interested in being a part of it? I am committed to it being a wholly non-partisan charitable organization, which is somewhat different from the vast number of political organizations constantly spoken of here.

 

[RonPizzle]

An excellent idea in my opinion. I would be a member if founded.

BTW, I wouldn't admit to being a lawyer, but I would admit to being an attorney (or so I hear).

 

[NeoRayden]

There are lawyers on here.

I would be interested in helping you set it up. I would Strongly encouraging you to set it up as a Common Law Trust so that it is a private entity and not under the Feds or IRS control.

Feel free to PM and I can give you more info.

 

[JoshLowry]

Katharine (mckarnin) is setting up a 501(c)3.

Bryan and I will be supporting the organization from the forums.

Here is some info it: http://www.ronpaulforums.com/showthread.php?t=115250

She has a nice head start on it, so you may want to ask her if she needs any assistance.

 

[AFM]

Sign me up.

 

[Mckarnin]

I've got it in my mind to start a wholly charitable, non-political, non-partisan foundation akin to the Ludwig von Mises Institute in Dr. Paul's name. This organization would be solely dedicated to promote the message of freedom and peace which Dr. Paul has spent the majority of his life putting forward. My question to any lawyers would be, is it possible to do this during his lifetime? Furthermore, would we need to wait until after he has ended his political career to avoid running afoul of any political campaign regulations? The organization would not take part in any electioneering activities of any sort, and would be organized as a 501(c)3 charitable organization to provide support to those furthering the ideals of Dr. Paul in the community through existing discussion forums, and improving upon them, as well as providing tools and resources to freedom and peace advocates around the world, and keeping Dr. Paul's voice alive long after political campaigns and the large mass of political organizations that come with them have fallen by the wayside.

It is my firm belief that Ron Paul shall take his place among the great philosophers and writers of our time who have promoted liberty, and that a charitable foundation to this end is wholly necessary to the cause of future liberty advocates around the world.

Furthermore, if this is a viable idea to begin work on at this time, is anyone interested in being a part of it? I am committed to it being a wholly non-partisan charitable organization, which is somewhat different from the vast number of political organizations constantly spoken of here.

Hey mdh,

The organization I am working on can be checked out in the thread Josh posted or at: www.ronpaulambassadors.com . We are setting ourselves up as a non-partisan and non-sectarian organization whose primary goal is education. We will be building it on a 501 base but as a C4 so that we can do comparison ads (and direct advocacy when appropriate) and so that we do not have to disclose our donor's personal information to the IRS. Like Josh said, this is in the works already and I have a FEC law team and have recently added a non-profit lawyer to draft bylaws and help with the exact wording of incorporation.

We will be doing high-quality, informative and attractive direct to the "consumer" marketing of the principles of a Constitutionally based government and the tenants of a Ron Paul platform. Ron Paul's name is not going to be used in our organizational name. I am using Ron Paul Ambassadors as the staging area for the organization and we will transition to our name, website, legal structure and start taking members in a single transition once everything is ready.

I would love to hear your thoughts and suggestions.


Katharine

 

[mdh]

Hey mdh,

The organization I am working on can be checked out in the thread Josh posted or at: www.ronpaulambassadors.com . We are setting ourselves up as a non-partisan and non-sectarian organization whose primary goal is education. We will be building it on a 501 base but as a C4 so that we can do comparison ads (and direct advocacy when appropriate) and so that we do not have to disclose our donor's personal information to the IRS. Like Josh said, this is in the works already and I have a FEC law team and have recently added a non-profit lawyer to draft bylaws and help with the exact wording of incorporation.

We will be doing high-quality, informative and attractive direct to the "consumer" marketing of the principles of a Constitutionally based government and the tenants of a Ron Paul platform. Ron Paul's name is not going to be used in our organizational name. I am using Ron Paul Ambassadors as the staging area for the organization and we will transition to our name, website, legal structure and start taking members in a single transition once everything is ready.

I would love to hear your thoughts and suggestions.


Katharine

Hey Katharine. I've seen this initiative and it's a cool one - let me know if I can help in any way, of course!

The goals are signifigantly different from mine, however. I don't want to run ads, or deal with elections or anything of that sort at all. I just want to found a purely education charitable organization like the Taft Foundation or the Ludwig von Mises Institute. I feel that Dr. Paul should be immortalized in this way, much as Taft and Mises have been. He is one of the great thinkers, philosophers, and writers of my time on this earth!

 

[ItsTime]

Once you get things set up send me a message. I may have some people that will be donating to your cause.

I find it funny that all the blimp people are now trying to start their own for profits.

Hey Katharine. I've seen this initiative and it's a cool one - let me know if I can help in any way, of course!

The goals are signifigantly different from mine, however. I don't want to run ads, or deal with elections or anything of that sort at all. I just want to found a purely education charitable organization like the Taft Foundation or the Ludwig von Mises Institute. I feel that Dr. Paul should be immortalized in this way, much as Taft and Mises have been. He is one of the great thinkers, philosophers, and writers of my time on this earth!

 

[mdh]

Once you get things set up send me a message. I may have some people that will be donating to your cause.

I find it funny that all the blimp people are now trying to start their own for profits.

A 501(c)4 isn't a for-profit, it's a non-profit that can do *some* political campaigning (to do actual candidate endorsements, you want a 527). I want to form a 501(c)3 which is the only type to which donations are tax-deductible. A 501(c)3 cannot do political campaigning at all, but I don't want to form another political organization. We already have lots of those. I want to form a legacy foundation. 501(c)4 and 527 organizations are both non-profits and don't pay taxes on income from contributions, but the contributor can't deduct the contribution from their own taxable earnings.

 

[ItsTime]

my bad.. damn codes

A 501(c)4 isn't a for-profit, it's a non-profit that can do *some* political campaigning (to do actual candidate endorsements, you want a 527). I want to form a 501(c)3 which is the only type to which donations are tax-deductible. A 501(c)3 cannot do political campaigning at all, but I don't want to form another political organization. We already have lots of those. I want to form a legacy foundation. 501(c)4 and 527 organizations are both non-profits and don't pay taxes on income from contributions, but the contributor can't deduct the contribution from their own taxable earnings.

 

[mczerone]

I will be looking for internships next year - I'm going to Law school in the fall (if my damned recommender finishes the letter I asked for in October!). My first app deadline is this Friday.