What is a non-profit?

When I was a young man, I thought a good a career move would be to start a church. A church is a non-profit organization which, if you were a good salesperson, could pay you a lot of money. The church would pay no taxes and you would get tax benefits by being a minister. Of course, I was never really serious about this, but it was an interesting speculation.

However, over the past decade or two, the non-profit world has changed. Some heads of non-profits are paid in the millions. And, there are some organizations that have gotten 501(c)3 status with the IRS that, in the judgment of most rational people, are not providing any of the social benefits that one expects from an organization that does not have to pay taxes. I've written about many of these organizations over the past few years. They range from hospitals to technology companies to counseling firms to veterans organizations to ........

Today, it got even stranger when I learned of the 501(c)4 organization. This is an organization that is created by a 501(c)3 to donate to political candidates and engage in lobbying as long as the primary purpose is not to engage in political activity. Huh? You can give money. You can lobby. But it's okay as long as political activity is not your primary purpose. If you can contribute and lobby, what is your primary purpose but political activity?