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7 Cups Non-Profit ?

ChromeLotus December 22nd, 2016

Is 7 Cups a Non-Profit organization?

In the Spirit of Transparency, I would like to know

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TortueDesBois December 22nd, 2016

Hey @ChromeLotus !
No, 7cups is clearly a business, and always was transparent on it.
A few posts talk about it :
http://www.7cups.com/forum/GlensNook_84/Community_547/Making7CupsSustainable_29951/1/
http://www.7cups.com/forum/GlensNook_84/Community_547/Back7CupsPartIofMaking7CupsSustainable_31025/1/
also @GlenM can give you more details on it

6 replies
ChromeLotus OP December 22nd, 2016

@TortueDesBois

Thanks for answering (it's appreciated)

Being honest... I'm a little disappointed 7 Cups isn't a Non-Profit organization. Money can throw motives into question. I'm not implying that has happened (just raising the point)

That said... I DO applaud 7 Cups for offering free access, several free Services, and not accepting outside advertising. The mission and ideaology are Noble

5 replies
Hopeful0001 December 23rd, 2016

@ChromeLotus

7cups wouldn't be able to run if it was nonprofit. A lot of what it does requires money to pay the bills. I thought I replied to this hours ago but I think I just thought it haha

4 replies
TortueDesBois December 23rd, 2016

@HalliwellSister
because non-profit organizations are not able to run?? they can't be sustainable at all? how so some do exist, and sometimes for ages? surprise

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ChromeLotus OP December 23rd, 2016

@HalliwellSister

A quick internet search revealed 100's of Non Profit organizations- The Red Cross, Alcoholics Anonymous, Green Peace, American Cancer Society, Amnesty International, Girl Scouts (just to name a few)

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squib December 25th, 2016

The one thing 7 Cups does that I do find misleading (regarding it being a business rather than a non-profit) is that it does have what really amounts to a donation feature with "Back 7 Cups." A donation - er, "backing" 7 Cups - brings with it a leaf icon for you and someone you choose and unlocks a special "growth path." These are really tokens of thanks rather than things most people would recognize as providing value comparable to the money they are parting with. It exists mainly because 7 Cups as a business has not reached a point where it is fully viable on its own (and I will not speculate regardiing its likely trajectory, the soundness of the business model, etc. as I know little to nothing of such matters). I'm not sure whether there's still money remaining from the venture capital pot, but that is the main thing that allowed the site to exist in the first place, and kept it going through the first years.

So I just find it misleading because when you see what looks like a donation button, most people just assume that this is not a profit-seeking enterprise. Most businesses simply do not expect people to give them money out of a sense that they are doing good things, but 7 Cups seems to be asking people to do exactly that.

1 reply
ChromeLotus OP January 24th, 2017

@squib

The fact 7 Cups seeks Donations when they are Not a non-profit organization, does indeed raise an eyebrow. Their is no way of knowing where exactly that donation money is ending up?

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Peter January 23rd, 2017

7 Cups is not a non-profit. They have never stated they are, and by people do profit from this website. However, they have made it in a way that gets people here for free. I can see the idea behind this all now, and its quite clever *wink* *wink*