Ryan Vaughn explains why tax savings shouldn't drive nonprofit creation. You need a genuine purpose you can actually fund, and linking a nonprofit to a for-profit business can boost credibility. TOMS Shoes and Operation Underground Railroad show how a charitable mission strengthens a brand.
Why start a nonprofit? The one reason that can't be the sole reason is because you want to save money on taxes. Yes, you can save money on taxes by setting up your own nonprofit, but that can't be the reason why you set it up. You want to have a purpose that you believe in, that you feel like funding with either property that you have or more often cash. Having a nonprofit tied to your business is not something out of the ordinary. We've heard of really famous cases like TOMS Shoes. The gym that we go to is called CrossFit OUR, Operation Underground Railroad, which is owned by the nonprofit OUR. It can lend credibility to your business. It can also be a marketing tool because if someone believes in your cause, they likely would be more interested in buying from your business knowing that maybe a portion of what they're paying you goes to the cause that you set up that they also believe in. So there are benefits there.
