Or a nonprofit you've previously donated to?

I am wondering what, if any, legal or tax considerations there are in this case.

I like working with small businesses (for the most part), but with all the natural disasters happening, I'd really like to do more to help some of the disaster-relief organizations, by making them part of my work.

Also, there are companies I've purchased products from (large and small) I'd really like to see succeed.

But I'm not sure if having donated to, or purchased a product from, an organization means I need to do something special with my tax returns.

Or perhaps I shouldn't make them clients at all because of some other consideration, legal or otherwise.

So before I go ahead and offer to write for these companies/nonprofits, I thought I'd check in with you and see what you think.

If you've had experience writing for a company or nonprofit you've previously sent money to, any advice is appreciated!

Thanks in advance.

Let's say I've been donating to the Red Cross for several years, and now I want to write copy for them (for pay).

Or, I want to write copy (for pay) for the plumber I routinely pay for repairs.

Or I want to write copy (for pay) for a small business I've bought pants from on-line.

Is this a conflict of interest? Any legal problems? Tax issues?

Any opinions welcome!

Thanks in advance.

I'm not a lawyer (nor do I play one on TV ...) but I see no problems here. They're just simple, straightforward transactions. You buy something from them, they buy something from you. Same goes for the donation. It's a simple transaction, nothing hidden, no secret handshakes, everything's on the up and up.

I recently got a gig writing copy for a newsletter publisher. When they found out I'd been a subscriber for years, they were thrilled ... and I think it helped influence their decicion to hire me, because they knew I loved and knew their product. So, in my limited experience, having previously sent them money may well make them more favorably inclined to hire you.

Thanks for your reply, Eileen! I guess you're right; I don't know why something about it feels odd to me.

I just can't shake the feeling it would be weird, especially on IRS forms. Donation of $X to Red Cross....Paid $X by Red Cross. You know?

If I may ask...were you paying for the subscription?

Thanks!

Yes. I'd been a paying subscriber for at least 3 years when they found me on the web and inquired about my copywriting services. They didn't know I was a subscriber until I told them, and were delighted to discover that. They publish a number of newsletters and had assignments available for more than one of them, but decided to start me out with the one I'd subscribed to.

As far as feeling weird about the mutual relationship, don't! Think of it this way. There's a local bank in my town (I know, a rarity these days with bigger banks buying smaller banks) and I'm sure they buy services from a local cleaning company, a local HVAC business, they buy their lollipops come from the local grocer ... and probably some of these companies bank with them. Would the IRS have a problem with that? Of course not!

Eileen, I just wanted to say thank you for your reply, and you provided a very good point about the bank. Thanks again.

Yer welcome.