Can a Ice Cream Truck become a non profit organization?

Question

I want to know how you can sell icr cream at parks? I was told you have to be a non profit organization to sell anything at a park. Can a ice cream truck become a non profit organization in Ca?

Answer 1

A nonprofit organization has to benefit a cause. What would be themission of this nonprofit organization? It can't be "to deliver ice cream;" you would have to make it such that the ice cream truck was staffed by, say, homeless people or people with disabilities who were learning to work in order to get a job somewhere, for instance.

A nonprofit can make a profit, but that profit is not paid to the board of directors, who are volunteers (entirely unpaid) and "own" the nonprofit; it must go back into the organization somehow.

To start a nonprofit, you first need to get a very impassioned group of people together who support your idea and will provide some start up funding and serve on the board of directors, you need to get letters of endorsement from existing organizations saying this program is needed, you need to have data that shows your target group is in need whatever service it is that you want to provide and that they are not served otherwise, you need to have profiles of your staff showing they have experience and expertise, and you need to have a draft of what your first year's budget would look like (what expenses you expect to incur, what you expect to pay staff, etc.). You aren't going to have any money until you have donors, and you aren't going to have any donors until you have a viable, solid business plan for your nonprofits first five year's of existence. At some point, you need to decide if you are going to be a member of the board (and, therefore, not paid), or if you are going to be, say, the Executive Director, reporting to the board (and you can be paid -- and fired -- by the board).

And then there's the paperwork:

Starting a Nonprofit Organization

http://www.managementhelp.org/strt_org/s...

(one of my favorite resources)

Starting a Non-Profit

Checklist- The Things You Must Do to Start a Nonprofit Organization

http://www.ctnonprofits.org/pages/NonPro...

IRS Tax Information for Charitable Organizations

http://www.irs.gov/charities/charitable/...

Answer 2

yes if you do it for an organization.. or Charity..

Answer 3

No but a non-profit organization like a church or the boys club can use an ice cream truck as a fundraiser and they could probably sell ice cream at the park.  

Answer 4

only if you truly aren't making a profit. Also you will have to obtain a vending license, and will have to register to become a non profit organization. It actually costs these organizations money to become an organization, they usually get grants and whatnot. You actually also have to prove a need and people don't NEED ice cream. So i'd doubt it. Good luck

Answer 5

No.

A non-profit organization means something like a church or a charity. You have to be in business to collect money that is only used for the benefit of others -- in other words, you do NOT make a PROFIT. That's what the name "non-profit" means.

Answer 6

Not unless you are giving all the proceeds to a charity or non-profit organization or the charity or non-profit organization was the one who was running the ice cream sales.

Answer 7

Yes. This can be a non-profit enterprise, but commission for the operators would probably not be appropriate. Just like any corporation, you must have a board of directors and they should be required to establish a reasonable salary.

Still, they could also offer overtime, second shift and holiday allowances to compensate any additional hours. Good idea and good luck.

Answer 8

I'm sorry that I can not answer for CA. But here in WV, there is no non profit ice cream truck.  I don't see why someone would purchase hundreds of dollars of ice cream and go, spend the gas to get there, and not make any kind of profit.  Sounds kinda fishy to me.  Like I said, here, there is no park that will allow this to happen, only if they are of the parks property.  I know this because a friend of mine owns an ice cream truck business here and travels from WV to Fla.