'Occupy Wall Street' Protesters Debate How to Deal With $500,000 in Donations (click title to entry - thank you)
Published October 27, 2011
| The Wall Street Journal
NEW YORK – Once a rag-tag group that relied on donated pizzas for sustenance, the protesters camped out in a Lower Manhattan park are grappling with a new problem: how to manage and spend the nearly $500,000 they've raised in five weeks....
...Members of the group's finance committee are meeting with lawyers and accountants to get a handle on its spending and consider next steps, like whether Occupy Wall Street should incorporate and apply for 501(c)(3) tax-exempt status. Such a move would require doing something that's so far been anathema to the protesters: naming leaders.
At the moment, Occupy Wall Street protesters say they don't have leaders. The only way big decisions can be made and money can be spent is if the General Assembly—a daily meeting at which everyone who shows up has equal standing—reaches a consensus....
Incorporating to form a non-profit corporation sounds right. I wish them luck and the dream of employment for Main Street America again. The most profound problem facing the Middle Class is actually being the Middle Class. How the return of the Middle Class regains its foothold may be in the hands of groups such as "#Occupy."
At some point in time the General Assembly needs to elect Officers to the new non-profit. It is required for incorporation and application for a 501(c)(3). The General Assembly can still maintain control of the outcomes, but, officers need to be realized to carry out the business of the group.
Incorporating to form a non-profit corporation sounds right. I wish them luck and the dream of employment for Main Street America again. The most profound problem facing the Middle Class is actually being the Middle Class. How the return of the Middle Class regains its foothold may be in the hands of groups such as "#Occupy."
At some point in time the General Assembly needs to elect Officers to the new non-profit. It is required for incorporation and application for a 501(c)(3). The General Assembly can still maintain control of the outcomes, but, officers need to be realized to carry out the business of the group.
