The whole fictitious name filing system is intended to facilitate transparency, so likely someone with nefarious intent wouldn’t be inclined to register their fictitious names. And, since no new entity is created, it wouldn’t affect tax liability.
Business names can be a key part of promoting a business and letting people know what you do. I might do consulting in my own name, but it might help people identify what I’m offering if I did business as “Pretty Good Advancement Services Consulting” or some such.
And it’s also true that businesses can morph over time. I don’t think that there was a fictitious name involved initially, but, for example, the Midwest Express airline started out as the in-house air shuttle for the Kimberly-Clark consumer-products company, and, after airline deregulation, it decided to extend into providing air travel to the public. They probably incorporated separately at that point, but they could have stayed part of Kimberly-Clark for all I know and registered a fictitious name (because people might not want to fly on an airline with a name most prominently associated with Kleenex). Then, later, it became part of Republic Airlines, and there probably was a fictitious name filing so that people could know that when they flew Midwest Express they were actually doing business with Republic. Today, if you fly on one of the regional flights that operate under the umbrella of one of the major air carriers, your ticket probably says something like “SkyWest Airlines DBA United Express” to let you know that it’s actually SkyWest that’s operating the flight.
I probably should have kept a list, but there have been some other interesting cases where what started out as a sideline for a business became much more successful that the original underlying business. If I have the story right, Wrigley started out selling baking powder and gave out free gum as an incentive to buy the baking powder, before deciding that people were more interested in the gum than in the baking powder. Avon Products may have been similar, arising from door-to-door book sales that gave out perfume to incentivize book sales. In those cases, as far as I know, there wasn’t an initial company name that mentioned baking powder or books, so no need for a fictitious name when they went off in another direction, but there might well have been if there had been a name reflecting the business that got left behind. Sometimes, of course, companies change businesses but don’t change their names; if I understand correctly, Royal Dutch Shell had its origins in a business that actually did import decorative shells before going into broader import/export and eventually focusing on the oil business!
My US$0.02 worth; the usual disclaimers apply.
Good luck!
Alan
Alan S. Hejnal
Data Quality Manager
Smithsonian Institution - Office of Advancement
600 Maryland Avenue SW, Suite 600E
P.O. Box 37012, MRC 527
Washington, DC 20013-7012
•: 202-633-8754 | •:
HejnalA@si.edu<mailto:
HejnalA@si.edu>
[SNAGHTML5cbfa34]<https://www.si.edu/> [AASP_FundSvcs_LOGO-01(040pct)(mark)]
From: Advancement Services Discussion List <
FUNDSVCS@LISTSERV.FUNDSVCS.ORG> On Behalf Of Rose Dixon
Sent: Friday, May 3, 2019 11:17 AM
To:
FUNDSVCS@LISTSERV.FUNDSVCS.ORG
Subject: Re: [FUNDSVCS] Companies with same owners, same address, but different names
Thanks Alan…I think! Haaa!
Out of curiosity, why do people make “fictitious” businesses? All I can think of is for non-legal activity or somehow paying less in taxes? I must watch too much TV as I think “fictitious” = Cayman Island type thing!
[Semper Fi Fund]
www.semperfifund.org<https://nam02.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.semperfifund.org&data=02%7C01%7CHejnalA%40SI.EDU%7C63698f073dfa463bc4e008d6cfda7216%7C989b5e2a14e44efe93b78cdd5fc5d11c%7C1%7C0%7C636924934463646060&sdata=VNVIMCw%2Fr5lW1QSwRNJn%2Fv4n0A1DCGE1EZtcmeD7Swc%3D&reserved=0>
Rose Dixon
Deputy | Development Operations | Semper Fi Fund
M: 617.413.9537
E:
rose.dixon@semperfifund.org<mailto:
rose.dixon@semperfifund.org>
[facebook]<https://nam02.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2Fsemperfifund&data=02%7C01%7CHejnalA%40SI.EDU%7C63698f073dfa463bc4e008d6cfda7216%7C989b5e2a14e44efe93b78cdd5fc5d11c%7C1%7C0%7C636924934463646060&sdata=1Is9OCv3zGoqMM2d33TBAJI4cWjlEmv2jUEiJRG6b9I%3D&reserved=0>
[https://i.imgur.com/yzUqE5h.png]<https://nam02.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.linkedin.com%2Fcompany%2Finjured-marine-semper-fi-fund%2F&data=02%7C01%7CHejnalA%40SI.EDU%7C63698f073dfa463bc4e008d6cfda7216%7C989b5e2a14e44efe93b78cdd5fc5d11c%7C1%7C0%7C636924934463656065&sdata=%2Bt%2FvtiI8X6m61ffcnVpIu4PWn6CGMuTK82QuZ%2BK4Z%2B0%3D&reserved=0>
[twitter]<https://nam02.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.twitter.com%2Fsemperfifund&data=02%7C01%7CHejnalA%40SI.EDU%7C63698f073dfa463bc4e008d6cfda7216%7C989b5e2a14e44efe93b78cdd5fc5d11c%7C1%7C0%7C636924934463656065&sdata=0Wt2rPidnClmv0qIJ%2FGVLdPkoQWUckxV8zXKlgTARZE%3D&reserved=0>
[instagram]<https://nam02.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.instagram.com%2Fsemperfifund&data=02%7C01%7CHejnalA%40SI.EDU%7C63698f073dfa463bc4e008d6cfda7216%7C989b5e2a14e44efe93b78cdd5fc5d11c%7C1%7C0%7C636924934463666070&sdata=vJi2d%2B0lP48YKIP7XbA9qrY6nq6QXD8gvFD8yTSl1qA%3D&reserved=0>
Donate<https://nam02.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fsemperfifund.org%2Fdonate&data=02%7C01%7CHejnalA%40SI.EDU%7C63698f073dfa463bc4e008d6cfda7216%7C989b5e2a14e44efe93b78cdd5fc5d11c%7C1%7C0%7C636924934463666070&sdata=xEGCiiVFEjdnp8XpOcE779HL5M6ZCAk2GWFFuBM2%2B9s%3D&reserved=0>
From: "
fundsvcs@listserv.fundsvcs.org<mailto:
fundsvcs@listserv.fundsvcs.org>" <
FUNDSVCS@LISTSERV.FUNDSVCS.ORG<mailto:
FUNDSVCS@LISTSERV.FUNDSVCS.ORG>> on behalf of "Hejnal, Alan" <
00000031f8bb5829-dmarc-request@LISTSERV.FUNDSVCS.ORG<mailto:
00000031f8bb5829-dmarc-request@LISTSERV.FUNDSVCS.ORG>>
Reply-To: "
fundsvcs@listserv.fundsvcs.org<mailto:
fundsvcs@listserv.fundsvcs.org>" <
FUNDSVCS@LISTSERV.FUNDSVCS.ORG<mailto:
FUNDSVCS@LISTSERV.FUNDSVCS.ORG>>
Date: Friday, May 3, 2019 at 11:04 AM
To: "
fundsvcs@listserv.fundsvcs.org<mailto:
fundsvcs@listserv.fundsvcs.org>" <
FUNDSVCS@LISTSERV.FUNDSVCS.ORG<mailto:
FUNDSVCS@LISTSERV.FUNDSVCS.ORG>>
Subject: Re: [FUNDSVCS] Companies with same owners, same address, but different names
It’s an area where it’s not necessarily clear to know quite what to do.
One layer is the question of identifying the legal entity that made the gift. It’s certainly possible that one legal entity can do business under different names. An entity—person or organization—can register a fictitious name/trade name/DBA (“Doing Business As”) name, and are probably required to do so in order to do business under that name, so that, for example, people doing business with “Firefly Shipping and Transport” know who they’re really doing business with. It can get very interesting. Sometimes a company can do business in an entirely different area than the original business reflected in its legal name, so that the legal entity behind “ACME Private Detective Service” might turn out to be “Mabel’s Used Cars, Inc.” or “Joe’s Florist, Inc.” And not infrequently what appears to be a company (“Firefly Shipping and Transport”) is just a fictitious name for an individual person (Malcolm Reynolds DBA “Firefly Shipping and Transport”).
So, in a particular case, either the respective names are different names for the same entity, or they are names for different legal entities (it’s also not uncommon for subsidiaries to be separately incorporated for one reason or another, so there may well be different legal entities). If the different names correspond to separate legal entities, then it’s probably most appropriate to have separate records. If the different names correspond to a single legal entity, then it’s probably most appropriate to have a single record (likely with some mechanism to get the respective names onto the respective receipts).
There is another wrinkle, however, because when a person (e.g. Malcolm Reynolds) sends a gift reflecting their business (e.g. Firefly Shipping and Transport), CASE wants us to count that gift in the business/corporate category, even if legally there is no separate Firefly Shipping and Transport and legally it’s just another name for Malcolm Reynolds! So one would probably set up separate records in that case, with the different donor categories, even though there is only one legal entity.
Happily, these situations don’t come up too often, and, other things being equal, in the absence of clear information, one is unlikely to go far wrong by setting up the separate records. Even here, though, there is a wrinkle, because Schedule B of a charity’s IRS-990 return requires that we disclose all donors of $5,000 or more (disregarding any individual gifts of less than $1,000). So in cases where the overall total may be $5,000 or more but spread across multiple records for the same legal entity, you’d need to make sure that you aggregate them. But, happily, that’s relatively uncommon.
Using a prospect record, as Marianne suggests, can be a helpful tool to manage one’s relationship with the various related entities.
My US$0.02 worth; the usual disclaimers apply.
Good luck!
Alan
Alan S. Hejnal
Data Quality Manager
Smithsonian Institution - Office of Advancement
600 Maryland Avenue SW, Suite 600E
P.O. Box 37012, MRC 527
Washington, DC 20013-7012
•: 202-633-8754 | •:
HejnalA@si.edu<mailto:
HejnalA@si.edu>
[SNAGHTML5cbfa34]<https://nam02.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.si.edu%2F&data=02%7C01%7CHejnalA%40SI.EDU%7C63698f073dfa463bc4e008d6cfda7216%7C989b5e2a14e44efe93b78cdd5fc5d11c%7C1%7C0%7C636924934463676080&sdata=mzl%2F1lfVv7Jr6Tqm12a2Y%2B7u80aau8PlOINtDWe9Le4%3D&reserved=0> [AASP_FundSvcs_LOGO-01(040pct)(mark)]
From: Advancement Services Discussion List <
FUNDSVCS@LISTSERV.FUNDSVCS.ORG<mailto:
FUNDSVCS@LISTSERV.FUNDSVCS.ORG>> On Behalf Of Rose Dixon
Sent: Friday, May 3, 2019 10:30 AM
To:
FUNDSVCS@LISTSERV.FUNDSVCS.ORG<mailto:
FUNDSVCS@LISTSERV.FUNDSVCS.ORG>
Subject: [FUNDSVCS] Companies with same owners, same address, but different names
Happy Friday!
If you get three checks that have the same owner, same address, but different names (slightly different, or completely different), you would create 3 different records and connect them to the owner (an individual record), right?
The folks that process our gifts have processed these separately (again, all same address and owner):
Red John Propane
Arya Stark Propane
Jon Snow Propane
I then linked all 3 of those companies to the owner’s individual record and that is the record we send newsletters, invitations, etc.
Not connected to the above entities, yesterday we received two checks, same owner, same address, names were Winchester Propane and Winchester Fuel, but the folks that process our gifts put them on the same record, with one of the names as an alias. They say “it’s the same company, one is a parent.” But I see it as the same situation above? Right?
What would you do??
Ros
[Semper Fi Fund]
www.semperfifund.org<https://nam02.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.semperfifund.org&data=02%7C01%7CHejnalA%40SI.EDU%7C63698f073dfa463bc4e008d6cfda7216%7C989b5e2a14e44efe93b78cdd5fc5d11c%7C1%7C0%7C636924934463676080&sdata=yserdvpqBGEfRf8h7cnl4dwJ8jceLtpvsB3O6BsPbRs%3D&reserved=0>
Rose Dixon
Deputy | Development Operations | Semper Fi Fund
M: 617.413.9537
E:
rose.dixon@semperfifund.org<mailto:
rose.dixon@semperfifund.org>
[facebook]<https://nam02.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2Fsemperfifund&data=02%7C01%7CHejnalA%40SI.EDU%7C63698f073dfa463bc4e008d6cfda7216%7C989b5e2a14e44efe93b78cdd5fc5d11c%7C1%7C0%7C636924934463686093&sdata=532j4eV1XzuHEZDVg0oYGdbJoCJjoARz3PYVQY6ZCok%3D&reserved=0>
[https://i.imgur.com/yzUqE5h.png]<https://nam02.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.linkedin.com%2Fcompany%2Finjured-marine-semper-fi-fund%2F&data=02%7C01%7CHejnalA%40SI.EDU%7C63698f073dfa463bc4e008d6cfda7216%7C989b5e2a14e44efe93b78cdd5fc5d11c%7C1%7C0%7C636924934463686093&sdata=5HYWKtcLm0NJr0o6JLkCHaMo4oTTPG6W6a62qX1eEzI%3D&reserved=0>
[twitter]<https://nam02.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.twitter.com%2Fsemperfifund&data=02%7C01%7CHejnalA%40SI.EDU%7C63698f073dfa463bc4e008d6cfda7216%7C989b5e2a14e44efe93b78cdd5fc5d11c%7C1%7C0%7C636924934463696094&sdata=BVZ7jc2GSBYIJBsWSF%2BxSnv%2BUW5U1L%2FnQ6Qo8B1Jz34%3D&reserved=0>
[instagram]<https://nam02.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.instagram.com%2Fsemperfifund&data=02%7C01%7CHejnalA%40SI.EDU%7C63698f073dfa463bc4e008d6cfda7216%7C989b5e2a14e44efe93b78cdd5fc5d11c%7C1%7C0%7C636924934463696094&sdata=IJck4iTAQWb4UbwuPZwZrv9U94eXTe%2Fyqv2r62iK0ts%3D&reserved=0>
Donate<https://nam02.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fsemperfifund.org%2Fdonate&data=02%7C01%7CHejnalA%40SI.EDU%7C63698f073dfa463bc4e008d6cfda7216%7C989b5e2a14e44efe93b78cdd5fc5d11c%7C1%7C0%7C636924934463706103&sdata=V2MC1FwY%2BTQ0NJi%2FyRmoqvFtMw8doraPkp6Yi%2FCR9Gs%3D&reserved=0>
----------
This message may contain Semper Fi Fund Privileged/Proprietary information. If this email is not intended for you, or you are not responsible for delivery of this email message to the addressee, do not keep, copy, or deliver this email message to anyone. Please destroy this email in its entirety after notifying the sender by reply email. Your cooperation is appreciated.
----------
This message may contain Semper Fi Fund Privileged/Proprietary information. If this email is not intended for you, or you are not responsible for delivery of this email message to the addressee, do not keep, copy, or deliver this email message to anyone. Please destroy this email in its entirety after notifying the sender by reply email. Your cooperation is appreciated.