Re: NonBusiness... Checking up on a "nonprofit" and a "corporation"...

MaaMaw,

Go to the Secretary of State's website in whichever state you reside. I believe you're in California? If so, the corporate look-up website is here:

http://kepler.ss.ca.gov/list.html

You can search for all registered corporations, even non-profits. It is possible she is running the thrift store as a "D/B/A" ("doing business as"), and that the corporate name is different than the store name.

You can ask her what her corporate name is if you can't find it. If she is legit, there would be no reason to hide it from you. It's public record.

I doubt she's running an outright sham. Believe it or not, these days it is actually difficult to get away with running a retail business without the existence of a bonafide corporation, LLC or other business entity. But who knows?

By way of history, I used to be a corporate paralegal, so this is kind of my bread and butter. Hope this helps.

Steve

> Yes, I know it's usually "a nonprofit corporation," but in this
> case, it could be a little different.

> Recently, a popular, privately-owned animal shelter moved its thrift shop
> across town.

> It had been in the original location for years and years, and it was
> always very busy. Everybody knew about it.

> In its place, a new "thrift shop" opened.

> They were bombarded with donations -- so much so that stuff they haven't
> gotten to is lined up in Hefty-bags along the aisles. You can barely walk.

> I probably wouldn't care, except the woman is SO nasty, and it makes me
> testy every time I go in there... and you know how it is:

> Inquiring minds want to know.

> I'll tell ya why:

> You walk through the door to be greeted by her scowling face. She watches
> your every move like she expects you to steal something. The second thing
> you see (a real relief after getting a load of her) is a sign that says,
> "All backpacks must be checked at the counter!!!" The next thing
> is the "NO returns, NO refunds, NO exceptions!!" sign. And the
> next thing is the, "DON'T LEAVE A MESS!! PUT THINGS BACK WHERE YOU
> FOUND THEM!!" sign. (No please, thank you, kiss my foot, or stick it
> up your nose.)

> The prices are OUTRAGEOUS -- for example, I picked up a well worn
> elementary-level biography today, and the price was $2.50 (in a typical
> thrift store, it would have been $.50 tops). Everything is grossly
> overpriced, and while there are always customers, stuff seems to be moving
> very slowly. (YAY!)

> What blows me away is that her inventory is FREE -- and she slaps these
> outrageous prices on stuff.

> The corker is the fact that there are some really nice things in the store
> -- and dozens upon dozens of them have a YELLING sign that says, "NOT
> FOR SALE!! DECORATION ONLY!!" or "THIS IS FOR THE STORE!! NOT
> FOR SALE!!"

> Her policy seems to be, "IN YOUR FACE!"

> So anyhoo, when asked directly which charity the "thrift store"
> supports, she says, "We support abused children."

> I (and a few other people) think it's *her* abused children. (Hey, if
> lookin' at Mom day after day isn't classified as child abuse, it oughtta
> be!)

> When asked directly if donations are tax deductible, she says, "Yes,
> we are a nonprofit and we are a corporation." (Not "a nonprofit
> corporation" but "a nonprofit and a corporation," which
> seems odd, but who am I to quibble?)

> I didn't want to stand and stare too long, but she also has some stuff on
> the wall about "eBay trading assistant" and other stuff I
> couldn't take in today without being obvious.

> I just have to know if this woman is posing as a "charitable
> organization." If she is, I'm going to expose her upside down, inside
> out, and backwards (ummm, I'll write a letter to the editor and I dunno
> what else) (what else will I do??).

> Does anybody know how I can check this out?

> I can't find the name of the business listed anywhere, so I figure the
> name of the shop doesn't match the name of the corporation.

> Maybe I'll have to donate some stuff to get a receipt??

> Blessum yew,

> Luv,