Donate or Pay Dues

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How can I donate or pay dues to Noisebridge?

Membership

Who is a member?

  • Bank transfer: Wells Fargo and other banks offer online 'billpay' options for their account holders that set up regular recurring or single time payments. email treasurer@noisebridge.net for the account and routing numbers that you will need for this alternative to using online middleman services.
  • Check made out to "Noisebridge", with memo: "December Dues" or "Donation" (or whatever is appropriate)
give it to a board member or officer at the space, or mail to:
2215-R Market St. #235
San Francisco, CA 94114
  • Cash: give to a board member or officer at the space, or any of the donation buckets.
For dues, please use an envelope labeled with your name, the amount, and "December Dues" (or whatever is appropriate).


Are donations to Noisebridge tax deductible?

Noisebridge is an educational non-profit CA corporation for the public good, and we recently received 501(c)(3) tax exempt status. All donations to Noisebridge since October 2008 are considered charitable gifts. Whether or not your donation is tax deductible depends on your tax situation and other factors; consult your tax preparer. Please contact secretary@noisebridge.net and treasurer@noisebridge.net should you require documentation of your donation.

Non-cash donations over $500 require filling out IRS form 8283. The rule for IRA account donations for owners over 70.5 years old has been extended through 2012, providing an option for fully tax-free donations to Noisebridge. Consult your tax professional for more information.

Non-cash donations over $5000 generally require an appraisal of the property prior to the donation to claim a deduction.

All non-cash donations must be in good condition or better to be claimed as a deduction. For non-cash donations over $500, make sure to bring a copy of your contact information so Noisebridge can send you form 8282 if required under certain circumstances. If you use a car to bring non-cash donations to Noisebridge, your transportation and parking expenses are probably (but not always) deductible. See IRS publication 526 for details and a list of records to provide to your tax professional so they can determine whether the deduction will be allowed.

If you own appreciated securities such as stocks, donating the securities in lieu of cash usually reduces your tax liability and may increase any tax refund due. If you have a retirement account with your employer, you may own securities and not even know it. Consult your employer's retirement plan administrator and your tax advisor for more details.

Are membership dues tax deductible?

Maybe. Whether you can deduct your dues hinges mainly on the amount of value you obtain from the dues, and many other things. There are too many factors to consider to give a hard and fast answer here. Some members do deduct their dues, but your relationship with Noisebridge may be different than theirs. There are also rare circumstances in which deducting your dues provides no net benefit to your tax liability. Please discuss it with your tax preparer.

Do companies match donations?

Some employers will match an employee's tax-deductible contribution to a 501(c)(3) nonprofit! Generally the nonprofit has to do some small amount of paperwork. Contact a board member if your employer will match, and we're happy to do this work!

In particular, the following companies are already set up:

  • Google (as of July 2009)
  • Microsoft