Posted: Tue May 16, 2006 12:50 pm
Thank you, Terry, for your donation!
It would... OR alot from a little bunch of us would work too!A little from each of us would add up to a lot
When you say "this," are you referring to my booking, or John's ministry? In either case, sure, it could be set up that way as a non-profit. But there is plenty of paperwork, including forming a Board of Directors, business plan, plus legal fees to set that all up. I myself am not in a position to tackle that, and I don't believe John is either. There's a lot more to it than just filling out a paper and sending in the fee.Sue, can't this be set up as a non-profit?
I can say that I'm honest and would never rip anyone off on this, but what good is it if I vouch for myself? I'd have to have others vouch for me, as Shell did.1) I need assurances that the $$ is actually going to John & Bob for concerts and that I won't end up hearing months or years later that it was a fraud.
It varies by location... for John and Bob, we're asking $4000, plus air, lodging, food. John is less... $2500. Then you have venue rental, advertising, poster printing... all kinds of things. I can't give you a cost because it really varies by location. Let's just say it's not cheap to put on a show. There definitely is an investment.2) I need to know just how much $$ is actually needed to put on a typical show (including extraneous expenses, such as travel).
We'll keep building the pot until there IS enough to pay for the honorarium, or at least a partial amount in order to help a church sponsor a show in part. If the time comes that John retires for good, and the money is still sitting there - then we would just give John the cash with a "thank-you for all your years of service... from the Petheads." I certainly wouldn't keep it myself.3) I would like to know how likely it is that the concerts will actually happen (i.e., if I donate $$ and there wasn't enough $$ to even do an event, then what?).
Well, it would be nice, but it's not going to happen any time soon. Petra itself has never been non-profit, and I don't see John going that route at this point. Plus there's no guarantee that just because you have a piece of paper from the government that your donation is going to be channeled in the proper way. Many heads of non-profits reap a huge salary....4) I would like the extra tax deduction benefit and sense of security of donating to an IRS-recognized non-profit organization