Why is NMLP for-profit instead of a 501(c)(3) nonprofit?

NMLP is structured as a for-profit sole proprietorship, not a 501(c)(3) nonprofit. This is a deliberate operational choice, not an oversight. Here's the honest reasoning:

• Nonprofit status requires governance overhead — a board of directors, IRS Form 990 filings, audited financials, conflict-of-interest policies, restrictions on compensation, and ongoing compliance. NMLP is one human (Josh Eldred) working out of a single warehouse. Spinning up a nonprofit board to oversee a one-person operation is structurally inefficient.
• The revenue model is for-profit at heart — books with market value get listed on Amazon and eBay, and the resale revenue funds the operation. That's a commercial activity, not a charitable one. Doing it under a 501(c)(3) wrapper would create unrelated business income tax (UBIT) complications and limit the operation's flexibility.
• The donor benefit is convenience and reader-routing, not tax deduction — NMLP's actual value is that it accepts books in any condition, picks up for free, and routes books to actual readers. Donors who specifically need a tax deduction route to Goodwill of NM or Friends of the Albuquerque Public Library — both are real, useful 501(c)(3)s and NMLP routinely refers donors there when the deduction is the priority.
• Speed and accountability — a single-owner for-profit can move fast. When a hospice coordinator calls Tuesday morning needing pickup, there's no committee. Josh shows up.

The tradeoff is real and disclosed everywhere: donations to NMLP are not tax-deductible. If that matters to you, donate to a 501(c)(3) channel. If reader-routing and convenience matter more, donate to NMLP.