$234 donation??

I've got a general question about sites like these....

I have no idea where you're from, but I'm just going to assume the US. I see a lot of US sites that are obviously "for profit" because they're running advertisements (and also obviously not a registered non-profit organization). Now I worked in the non-profit sector handling PR and fundraising activities for a major international organization, and I can tell you the rules are hard enough about soliciting donations even when you are a legitimate non-profit.

It's my understanding that, at least in the US, it's technically illegal for you to even solicit donations at all (or accept them if offered) without having legal non-profit status. I did a bit of research into this in 2004, because I was considering starting an online non-profit org. Even with an online-only organization, you still had to register and deal with other paperwork and reporting issues. That's why I haven't gotten around to it yet, and may opt to stay out of that sector completely.

So I'm curious about how so many website owners are doing this. Is there something I missed in my experience and research? Or are that many people just breaking the law, hoping they're not going to get caught. And if that's the case, you'd still have to legally report every donation as income for tax purposes, so it seems like it would raise a red flag with the IRS pretty easily.

Just curious. I'd been thinking about that for a while now, and this was just an opportunity to bring it up.

Jenn