Kirksville’s music venue, the Aquadome, can now take the necessary steps toward becoming a nonprofit organization.
With the help of a concert fundraiser Jan. 16, the Aquadome raised enough to pay the $400 fee to file a 501(c)3, which is the legal document for registering as a nonprofit organization.
Graduate student Jake Hurst Aquadome president, says the form is a 30-page report that will include the Aquadome’s taxes from the last three years and its statement of purpose for being a nonprofit.
Hurst says the Aquadome benefits all members of the local community.
“We are here to promote art in Kirksville, not just music, but whatever anyone wants to do with [the space] artistically or educationally.”
– Jake Hurst, Aquadome President
Hurst says it makes sense to become a nonprofit organization because the Aquadome is completely student run. He says the organization does not receive any type of commission and survives through volunteer efforts.
Hurst says the Aquadome technically is viewed as a nonprofit organization by the state, but the city has threatened to shut the Aquadome down because it did not have proper certification stating its nonprofit status. Hurst says the Aquadome still is growing and developing as a business, and he didn’t expect the level of consequences of running a business. Hurst says he initially thought the group was doing everything by the book, but since discovering that filing the paperwork was necessary, he says he has been working toward fixing the situation.
Hurst says becoming a nonprofit organization is extremely important to further what the Aquadome stands for.
“We could have been a [limited liability company] or another bar in Kirksville,” Hurst says. “But we wanted to be a space anyone could go to anytime. We are an all-ages venue — ‘no booze, no drugs, no jerks’ our motto.”
To read more from the Aquadome’s webmaster and former president continue on Issuu.