X-Message-Number: 20170
Date: Wed, 25 Sep 2002 11:06:14 -0400
From: 
Subject: Profit/Non-Profit

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The question has been raised as to which cryonics organizations are 
profit/non-profit.  Those in charge may correct me if I am wrong, but it is 
my understanding that Alcor and Cryonics Institute are both 
non-profit.  I'm not sure about some of the smaller, regional-focused 
organizations.

As to the meanings of these terms, under American law, a for-profit 
corporation is owned by shareholders who elect a board of directors who 
hire the management, and has a duty to maximize profit return to the 
shareholders.  .  A non-profit organization has no shareholders, has a 
board of directors who hire the management, may or may not have members who 
may or may not elect the board of directors, and generally has a 
"break-even" mandate in terms of finances.  Non-profits have a number of 
mechanisms they use to deal with surplus funds:  membership rebates/fee 
reductions, accumulate in capital reserves, and even start for-profit 
businesses on the side.  Some cryonics organizations seem to invest in real 
estate.

It is my understanding that Alcor has a self-perpetuating board of 
directors (never elected by the membership), and that Cryonics Institute's 
board is elected by the membership.  Again, those in charge may correct me 
if I am wrong.

Some non-profits are tax-exempt by the various governments; some are 
not.  I believe that Alcor and CI are both tax-exempt by most of the 
authorities.

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