Comments on: First Pint at Leon's Goes For $2,650

By: Grant Parker

Grant Parker — Mon, 09 Feb 2009 21:00:17 +0000

This is great, and hats off to the Brick Store guys.

In a related vein: Does anyone know of their plans to establish a place in Grant Park? They had a place chosen, but their plans are either stalled or in the can completely.

By: Atlanta Blogs Today: Rascals, beer, racism, oh my! | Fresh Loaf

Atlanta Blogs Today: Rascals, beer, racism, oh my! | Fresh Loaf — Mon, 09 Feb 2009 18:13:12 +0000

[...] the same owners who brought you the Brick Store, pours its first brew today at 5 p.m. Decatur Metro has the details, including a blow-by-blow account of the eBay auction for that first beer that’s [...]

By: Joe

Joe — Mon, 09 Feb 2009 16:03:27 +0000

As noted with my last post, I agree with Melissa. It is unclear if such an organization would qualifty for non-profit status (meaning that I haven’t looked at the rules or their interpretation, so I don’t know). My original post was intended only to point out that people who donate to non-profits who don’t yet have an appropriate tax filing can retroactively deduct their donation once the organization gets its filings in order.

By: Melissa

Melissa — Mon, 09 Feb 2009 15:49:41 +0000

Not to rain on the parade – but as a tax lawyer I do not see how the workers’ aid fund would qualify as an exempt organization, since it is for the individual benefit of specific people. Nevertheless, the winning bidder is a wonderful person to make the contribution!

By: Joe

Joe — Mon, 09 Feb 2009 15:06:42 +0000

Daren is correct. At charity auctions (such as this one, minus the lack of non-profit status), you can deduct the price paid over fair market value. In this case, FMV for a pint of beer is about $3, or whatever the menu price is. The fact that you are going to have your picture taken and placed on the wall is irrelevant if you structure the auction properly.

You may be right about not bothering to make a non-profit out of the workers fund. It is a lengthy and expensive process. However, you can get the whole thing done for about $1,000 if you go through atlanta legal aid or otherwise find an attorney who otherwise will do it pro-bono. The only incentive to do it though would be if it would convince people to donate more. It is also unclear if the entity would even qualifty for non-profit status.