Nonprofit Strategy
Cultural institution model for Dungeon Books. Nonprofit holds lease and runs programming/exhibitions/archive. Script Wizards LLC operates retail concession within the space.
Status
- Not yet incorporated. Target: Q2 2026.
- Carrie leads the nonprofit entity (Panat’s E-2 visa restricts his role).
- Lease expires July 2027 — all timelines work backward from this.
Structure
- 501(c)(3) nonprofit — mission: preserve, exhibit, and foster public engagement with tabletop gaming, speculative fiction, and alternative culture
- Independent board required (LLC owners can’t be majority)
- LLC pays market-rate rent to nonprofit for retail space
- Need nonprofit attorney before incorporation (IRS scrutiny on related-party transactions)
- Brian is an inactive partner (busy at Leica). Open to buyout at $12K for his 10%. Buyout simplifies governance and removes signing bottleneck for new accounts. Should resolve before nonprofit incorporation.
On-paper roles
- Carrie — Executive Director (officer, not on board)
- Samia — Secretary (board officer). Bookstagrammer (@bookaroundandfindout) + Mount Sinai data scientist + NYU biostats MPH. Soft caveat for disinterested-majority optics: her partner Abhi was Panat’s hire at Cassi — not a §4958 issue, but worth noting.
- Third board seat — open. Lead: Claire’s friend, gallery owner. Worth pursuing intro — gallery profile is well-aligned (curatorial credibility, fundraising network, no family relation).
- Panat — intentionally off-paper (E-2 visa; arm’s-length posture for related-party transactions). Note: still a §4958 disqualified person via Carrie regardless of off-paper status.
Third-seat fill is on the critical path. Required before: titling Proud or any family member, running any LLC↔nonprofit related-party transaction (lease, services), most serious grant applications. See rubin-model-lessons for the full §4958 analysis.
Funding Timeline
| When | What | Requires Nonprofit? |
|---|---|---|
| Now | JCACTF Program Grant (up to $17,500) | Maybe not — checking eligibility as arts business |
| Summer 2026 | NJ Arts and Culture Renewal Fund | Yes |
| Aug 2026 | Hudson County LAP (FY27) | Yes |
| Fall 2026 | NJ State Council on the Arts GOS/GPS | Yes |
| TBD | NJEDA A.R.T. Phase III (if announced) | Yes |
| 2026 | NJ Cultural Trust qualification | Yes |
Key Documents
- founding-statement — founding vision document (Panat, Carrie, Brian)
- expansion-strategy — funding landscape, action items, space requirements
- grant-inquiry — draft email to JCACTF (Migdalia Pagan-Milano)
Precedents
Preservation Mission
Time-sensitive: first generation of RPG culture aging out. No institution systematically collecting original artifacts, oral histories, or community ephemera. Panat’s collection is the seed archive. Acquisition and cataloging can start now, independent of nonprofit status.