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I’m really looking forward to speaking at the Twin Oaks Communities Conference, in Virginia, on Labor Day Weekend. This will be my first time. My whole family will be in attendance, and we’re excited! We hope to see you there too!
The Twin Oaks Communities Conference introduces people to the concept of living in an “intentional community.” That said, I’m guessing most people who attend are most interested in intentional communities that are set up like Twin Oaks is – that is, income-sharing communities. Income-sharing communities are also called “egalitarian communities,” or, a term many dislike, “communes.” Check out this video to learn more about Twin Oaks, and get a flavor of how a low-tech version of one of these communities works, generally.
And, to learn more:
- About the many forms an “intentional community” can take, check out this site;
- About income-sharing, egalitarian communities specifically, check out this site;
- About the conference, check out this video, which I found fascinating; and
- Also about the conference, check out this reading material.
The topic I’ll be speaking on at the conference?
I’ll be discussing legal and tax considerations in forming and running 501(d) income-sharing communities.
In future posts to come, I’ll talk more about 501(d) income-sharing communities. But, for now, I’ll just say this. Basically, a 501(d) income sharing community is a community/corporation that has secured 501(d) federal tax treatment. More generally, it’s a community of like-minded member-residents, who generate most of their income through group endeavors/businesses, hold their income in a common treasury, pool/share most of their resources and property, and thereby create an environment of equality and secure mutual support, while drastically limiting their income requirements. Although 501(d)s are called “religious or apostolic,” so far my research suggests that these communities can be, and often are, organized around secular beliefs that are strongly, or “religiously” held.
I’m particularly interested in helping clients create such communities when they have a secular, resource based economy, gift economy, open-source/creative-commons-property-generating focus. It’s been fascinating to brainstorm and research exactly how to best structure such communities with this kind of focus, from a legal and tax perspective.
So far, my favorite legal/tax structure is a corporation, typically mutual benefit, organized at the state level, which then successfully applies for 501(d) tax status with the IRS. However, this may not be the only option. But I’ll be learning and posting more on this topic in the future.
In any event, I hope you can join me at the conference! There are a variety of accommodations, including an on-site camping option, which my family and I found very affordably priced. To learn more about accommodations, click here. To register, click here.
Hope to see you there!
By Tiffany Clark, an attorney working and living in Sacramento, CA, with her beloved husband, two sons, cat and dog. You can find out more about Tiffany at www.tiffanyclarklaw.com.
