Question about a play in a church

[Esoteric]

I have a question and have no idea where to put it. So here it is:

If I have a 501C3 organization (in this case a theater company) and I perform a play in a church, can I charge admission? Can I ask for donations?

I thought yes, since groups like Focus on the Family will charge for seminars held in churches and even non-501C3 entities (like concerts) will charge admission, but I thought I would ask.

Mike

[jeremyb503]

The answer is yes. You should have no problem charging admissions. As long as the play is related to the mission of your group you should be ok.

The times you get in trouble would be if you were say a Church and you sub leased out part of your property to a business for some reason you might have to pay Unrelated Business Income tax.

I know of a number of theater groups here in the NW that are non-profit and charge admission.

Consult your tax advisor of course.

[tedanderson]

If I have a 501C3 organization (in this case a theater company) and I perform a play in a church, can I charge admission? Can I ask for donations?

Absolutely. One common misconception about non-profit organizations is that they are not supposed to have money or generate income. Non profit status essentially means that your organization has not been established for the purposes of funding a private entity or private individuals. The purpose could be charitable, public safety related, community outreach, counseling, etc. and your company was not established for the purpose of directly benefiting you or family. The non-profit can also hire employees provided that they are neutral, have no influence over the decisions made within the organization.

On the other hand it would be somewhat shady if not all out wrong if you split the money up at the end of the night and never said another word about it.