I have a foundation that is a 501c3. I want to put on a fundraiser event. Am I able to take some of the money that I spend out of my pocket for the event and reimburse myself before giving the charity of choice the money raised?

{Mod note: Please choose the forum to post in more carefully, This was originally posted in Child and Teen Health which is has nothing to do with.}

Valid expenses can be taken off the top from the proceeds.

The trouble as I see it, why does the 501c3 not have its own funds to operate. If this is a start up operation, you could loan the corporation money and then it would pay you back, be sure to write it up and keep it in writing, with receipts given and paper work of the loan. With that, your corporation needs to have funds to operate and not give all of its money away. Are you donating money to it also,

No - you do not take some of the money and reimburse yourself, but rather you must submit ALL the money you collect in the fund raiser to the charity, THEN submit an expense report to the charity and they should reimburse you for your valid out-of-pocket expenses.

I'm a bit concerned that you wrote that you "have a foundation which is a 501c3." Remember, this is not YOUR foundation - you do not own it, and you must perform all financial transacation at arm's length, with a proper paper trail that can be audited. A word of caution about 501c3 governance - not only must you not do anything improper with funds, you also must not give the impression that you might be doing something improper. So take the extra step and follow proper procedures.