WhiteNoise is part of the Church. So why aren't we a nonprofit? We've thought and prayed about it, and we believe we have some pretty good reasons.
We bet you didn't know that any organization that files for and is granted tax-exempt status from the federal government in America today is barred from engaging in any kind of political activity. But we bet you did know that today, it seems like everything's political.
What to do, then?
Here's the deal: We're just as perplexed by the caprice of these ruleskeepers as anyone else is, and we'd like to cut through all that drama by simplifying things as much as possible. Therefore, we decided not to file for tax-exempt status under chapter 501(c)3.
But there are other reasons, too. It takes a long time to go through the process. The organization would require a board of governance, which is difficult when we're starting out with who we are and what we have. WhiteNoise is unafraid to dream big, but the fact is that we started with a vision, a plan, and a family of four. We don't have the luxury of board members.
What we really are is unafraid of Caesar because we know Caesar's Master. Like Jesus told Peter, the sons are exempt. Nevertheless, so that we don't offend them, and so that we honor the governing authorities God has put in place (see Romans 13), we're also unafraid of Caesar's tax. Just as God provided a coin in the mouth of a fish so that Peter could pay the temple tax, God will provide what we need. It doesn't matter to us whether or not we have to pay tax; it's all part of what the Father provides as our bread for the day ahead.
We are commanded to render unto Caesar his due. If we were a nonprofit, we would be hamstrung by Caesar's rules about what constitutes political activism, which seems difficult to pin down these days. And if we remain a for-profit, we have to pay Caesar's tax. We defer to Charles Spurgeon on this topic:
"Would any believers seek state endowments for their Church if they remembered that the Lord is dishonored by their asking Caesar's aid? As if the Lord could not supply the needs of his own cause!"
We won't trade free speech for a free pass from the government, then. And we're happy to trust God for the tax rather than trust Caesar to be clear about which words are on the naughty list. Remaining free of the entanglements of 501(c)3 status is, for us, the only sensible and free path forward.