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About a week ago--or more?--I saw a question in the Digest requesting an explanation on what we mean when we at NPF say that we're a non-profit. I haven't seen an answer and I hasten to add that I'm not an attorney and this isn't a legal definition, but... The Department of the Treasury issues non-profit status to organizations who can prove that they do not exist to make profit for shareholders or any kind of private owners. The monies earned by a non profit must be spent by that non-profit in very specific ways in order for the Department of the Treasury and the IRS to issue confirmation of non-profit 50l(c)(3) status. We have had this status since l959. To retain the status of a non-profit organization--which, among other things, means that contributions to NPF are tax deductible--we must submit documents annually and go through periodic reviews. For example, we can and do dispense our funds for research, patient services, education, etc. A 50l(c)(3) non-profit organiztaion, however, can only direct a small portion of its funding into lobbying--in D.C. or locally--and the amount spent on administration and/or on fundraising is carefully watched. There are numerous "watch-dog" agencies, in the federal and local governments and in the private sector. Of course, there is the Department of Treasury itself. There is the Better Business Bureau's Non-Profit division. Locally, here in Los Angeles, all fund raising efforts must be registered with and are monitored by the L.A. County Social Services Department. And they DO monitor. All of these and many more watch every thing each non-profit does. Again, the above is not intended to serve as a legal definition but merely to provide a framework for better understanding what it means when NPF or any other organization tells you that it is "non-profit." Hope it helps! Kim Seidman West Coast Direction National Parkinson Foundation