The big news: Skepticon is now officially and formally a 501c3 organization, which means that donors can write off the money you give to them as a tax exemption.
As good scientists and skeptics, though, I wouldn’t expect you to simply take that on their word. You should do the experiment. Send them a big chunk o’ cash, and then deduct it on your 2014 taxes. Get confirmation from the IRS.
I’m going to think less of you if you don’t do the experiment now, since I spelled out the protocol so clearly.
Okay, say I follow the steps above. What happens when the Canada Revenue Agency comes after me once the IRS agents south of the border finish laughing?
You will have successfully tested an interesting boundary phenomenon, and should write a grant proposal to explore it further.
This protocol seems flawed. Where’s the control group?
Has permission to conduct the research been granted by the Ethics Committee?
roythesnake,
Donate an equal amount of money to the WBC and see if the IRS treats both claims equally on the same return. *Not*. Just go with what you’ve been told in this case and scratch the control. Too much scepticism can be bad for you and others.