CC: Clark Robinson <robinsonchicago@gmail.com>, Catalina Saldaña <cat.salda@gmail.com>
I hope everyone is having a wonderful Memorial Day weekend! Also, it is nice to meet you Catalina. I apologize in advance, but Im going to address multiple items in one email.
First, Im not sure if this was answered before but will/does Project PM have a dedicated website? Ive done a WHOIS search and the website ProjectPM.com is administered by GreyBeard Consulting for Cedar Hill Chamber of Commerce, a 501(c)(6) organization. At this time, ProjtectPM.org is available.
Second, the links Clark provided were very helpful and I feel much more comfortable that we will not run into tax issues as long as the value of rewards are considerably below the pledge amounts. Furthermore, unless specifically arranged, the recipient of a gift has no reporting requirements no matter the size of the gift. Third, Barrett is right. A request for $10,000 is way too much considering its all-or-nothing prospect. Originally I had tax concerns that are now moot, but also, while I have no evidence to back this up, I wanted to ensure that it wasnt low to the point where it psychology diminishes the perceived scope of the project and accordingly reduces potential pledges.
Finally, raising money for charitable causes and/or using received money for general business expenses are in violation of KickStarters guidelines. With that said, I foresee legal expenses beyond those already discussed. For example, Terms of Use and Privacy policies, drafting a DCMA policy, obtaining a standard cease-and-desist letter in defense of bloggers accused of defamation, and the protection of IP (including the PPM logo).
Scott
On Sun, May 30, 2010 at 11:28 PM, Barrett Brown <barriticus@gmail.com> wrote:
> > Clark- > Got the invitation, will join up on the blog in a bit. > Scott, no rush on getting the text ready, and I'll be able to help you revise it soon; I'll be in Texas next week and until August and should be able to get more work done. I do think that we should consider putting the goal at less than $10,000 if we get nothing should the goal not be reached; although I'll do everything I can to ensure that our Kickstart proposal is publicized, I'd be surprised if we were able to raise that much in funds at this point, and it would certainly be irritating to raise $7,000 and not get any of it, moreso than if we set the goal at $4,000 and then end up getting $7,000 and thus miss out on the rest. I think we should set our goal at $4,000 and then we can pursue other fundraising options such as grants and general public donations afterwards. Basically, $4,000 would be more than enough to get me some operating cash by which to supplement my current income, fund a cheap but effective educational program for Africa, and have something left over for whatever fees come up in establishing a corporation, trust, etc. At any rate, I'm pretty confident that we'll be able to raise more than enough for our needs by way of grants such as those that Clark has mentioned and that we can do so within the calendar year.
> Also, meet Catalina Saldaña, a good friend of mine who's going to help us out going forward. I'm going to have her assist us with some research and other tasks, and if you have anything in particular that you're looking into but would like to have someone else research as well in order to better ensure that we are aware of our options on various matters, feel free to ask her to help. Catalina works at Columbia where she researches issues related to aging, and has done similar work looking into drug and addiction issues. She's a good starting point to the extent that we look into health issues or anything of that nature.
> On Sun, May 30, 2010 at 4:13 PM, Clark Robinson <robinsonchicago@gmail.com> wrote: >> >> Scott, don't worry about responding or doing anything between now and your exam, first things first
>> >> brain trust = much better, to me >> >> number of participants: 49 people listed on the spreadsheet, Caleb, Barrett and a nice lady who is concerned about stalking [legitimately in her case] are not on it. The spread sheet (called just "PM" in Google docs, I checked and it shows you as having access) lists people who have expressed interest and the degree of their subsequent interaction varies.
>> >> tax issues: an interesting question, I had assumed that there would be no tax consequences or even reporting requirements, as is the case with most small personal gifts: >> >> http://turbotax.intuit.com/tax-tools/tax-tips/tax-planning-and-checklists/5533.html
>> >> http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p950.pdf >> >> However, your question causes me to examine my assumptions and maybe it requires more thought: for instance, I notice that Kickstarter allows you to "sell stuff" such as the project (coincidentally located a few miles from where I sit at the moment) that is sending out warehoused vinyl records in return for contributions--that does not look like like a gift transaction to me. And indeed, if Barrett were to give copy-writing services in return for a contribution, that does not, either. On the other hand if you give back something that is clearly of much less value than the contribution, a gift exists--for instance, if we give copies of Barrett's book ($14.95 list price) to folks who contribute $50 or more, we may be OK. Maybe we do not want to give rewards with any measurable value or maybe not even give rewards at all--I could not find a statement on the Kickstarter website that says they are required.
>> >> Another scenario that might raise tax issues is that if I understand Kickstarter's business rules, they have control or ownership of the money for at least a moment when they activate their Amazon account transactions for payment to Kickstarter, deduct Kickstarter's 5%, and then forward the balance to Barrett, so if we are oversubscribed and there is $13,000 or more, the rules linked above may kick in because the actual gift is from Kickstarter to Barrett, not directly from the "pledgers" to Barrett..
>> >> Kickstarter has a zendesk for questions not answered in their FAQs; I will send them a tax question later this week. >> >> I have started adding content to the blog, more to come, and I will start sharing it more widely later this week--you all can start posting there, too
>> >> Barrett you need to join as an author of the blog, I will send you another invitation later today >> >> >> >> Clark Robinson >> Chicago >> 217-722-8680
>> --- @ WiseStamp Signature. Get it now >> >> On Sat, May 29, 2010 at 6:50 PM, Scott Mintz <scott.w.mintz@gmail.com> wrote: >>> >>> I've updated the KickStart file. I've made changes that I believe (1) makes it an easier read for the semi-interested and (2) better reflects the broad goals of PPM. Kindly take note of both the large as well as small changes. We have approximately 3 months from publishing the KickStarter profile to collect our threshold amount or we receive nothing, so I think it would be helpful to launch this before the VF article. Furthermore, I hope to provide a "project update" once the VF article is published.
>>> >>> Finally, please be highly critical of what has been written. I'm not 100% sure, but it is possible this could be viewed as some sort of contract so I want to make sure everything that is published is accurate and well-worded.
>>> >>> Several main points: >>> >>> I've raised the asking amount from $4K to $10K (mostly to assume tax payments) >>> I've included that money may be used to pay taxes
>>> I've changed think tank to brain trust (negative connotation?) >>> I think it's important for Barrett to do a video (KickStarter suggests this as a means of placating scam fears). >>>
>>> A couple major questions: >>> >>> Will taxes be due on money received? (this may require an expect opinion) >>> Is 50 participants the most updated number? (I remember seeing 75 in one of Barrett's posts)
>>> >>> Some points of information: >>> >>> We will need a USA bank account >>> We will need an Amazon Payments account (not your regular user account) >>>
>>> My exam is this upcoming Saturday so I have no idea how much help I will be until that is over. A great place to start will be to call KickStarter and ask them if they have any knowledge and/or experience with tax implications. Also, it may be necessary/important to sell the idea to them since "We're in Beta and the ability to start projects is limited." (http://www.kickstarter.com/start). If you guys believe this can wait until next week, then I will take care of it personally.
> > > > -- > Regards, > > Barrett Brown > Brooklyn, NY > 512-560-2302