On Hermitages becoming 501(c)3 (non profits)

[[Hi Sister Laurel, may diocesan hermits/hermitages become non-profits (501(c)3's)? Have you done that? ]]

Good questions. Please know that my answers here are completely provisional and I have not spoken to either canon or civil lawyers in any detail regarding this option. Also, I will limit my answers to the practicality and legitimacy of using 501(c)3 standing, and not to questions of self-support, poverty, the place of benefactors, etc. Your own question does come up occasionally, however. In fact, I was speaking to another hermit several weeks ago about this matter because he was interested in doing so and wondered what I knew and thought about it.

First, I have not done this because while religion is certainly the essential reason for the existence of Stillsong, there is no way to affirm that any monies coming to the hermitage are not meant to benefit myself directly. 501(c)3 status is not to be used in such a way. [[A section 501(c)(3) organization must not be organized or operated for the benefit of private interests, such as the creator or the creator's family, shareholders of the organization, other designated individuals, or persons controlled directly or indirectly by such private interests. No part of the net earnings of a section 501(c)(3) organization may inure to the benefit of any private shareholder or individual. A private shareholder or individual is a person having a personal and private interest in the activities of the organization.]] Since I do not, 1)  have multiple dwellings (e.g., hermitages for others as well as self), 2) own my own land, or 3) allow for retreats or have the expenses of providing for guests, etc, there is little about my own hermitage that is specifically for others or which requires a separate set of books and all that implies. Thus I think that everything here at Stillsong benefits me primarily and directly. While I sincerely hope it also benefits others, it usually does so indirectly, not in the way the non-profit law envisions or provides for, I think. 

This said, yes, it is possible for Canon 603 hermits to attain non-profit status. The guidebook on eremitical life put out in the past by the Diocese of LaCrosse is clear on this, and the IRS certainly allows it of publicly professed hermits. However, I personally don't think that every diocesan hermit should pursue this, or could do so either effectively or fruitfully. It could be a good idea if one was part of a laura of hermits and generally depended on benefactors (and the laura itself) for one's support or, was a solitary hermit in a situation like that described above, but for the solitary hermit who is simply part of a parish, works within the hermitage to support herself, and lives in a single resident dwelling, apartment, condo, or something similar, 501(c)3 status makes little sense. The hermit I spoke with about this had communicated with a canonist about it and the canonist had raised the same point noted above. He couldn't support the effort because all monies coming to the hermit benefited the hermit directly.

I do think it is a good idea for a diocesan hermit who is considering applying for 501(c)3 status to speak with a civil attorney who can explain the possibilities and limitations. It is completely possible that I simply don't understand how such non-profit status can apply to my own life and ministry or assist these, for instance, and yet there may be valid ways that it does.