- Frequently Asked Questions -

Yes, we are a Delware not-for-profit corporation deemed tax exempt by the IRS as of September 16, 2016.

Our HQs is based in New York, unceremoniously taking up space in Monroe's bedroom! :D Most staff work remotely, and most events and activities happen online, or in person at events in cities around the world.

Yes! We have a free Slack group you can join. You can also become an official Break Diving member through our membership program. We also have online events. Finally, we'd love to help you set up a live Break Diving event in a city or town near you, so get in touch!

Some are, but not all. While we are a charitable organization, we are still a business, and like any business, we have expenses. While we would love to offer all of our services for free to anyone who wanted to use them, our budget does not allow for that at present. While we try to keep our costs as low as possible, and offer them free when possible, in order to sustain our organization (and thus in order to help as many people as possivble), many events and products are sold at a fee.

Break Diving is a business, and it's also a charity. Given those unique qualities, we offer both paid services to clients at various tiers, as well as free services to those who are strapped for cash. For example, regarding our coaching services, those who have money to invest are able to choose which coach they want, and receive an assignment more quickly. Those who utilize our free coaching services will still receive the assistance they seek, but the client may not choose who we assign, and the client will be placed on a waiting list until a qualified volunteer is available. Our volunteer coaches and paid coaches have the same required training and qualifications. We offer both free and paid options so that we truly uphold our mission of helping everyone worldwide succeed, regardless of resources.

Thank you for your interest. Just click the 'Donate' button on the nav bar for full details.

Yes, it is. However, to benefit, you must itemize your deductions with the IRS. Further, no donation will ever 'save you money' because the amount of tax savings will only be a fraction of your donation amount. So while we appreciate your doantion, and we know it will make you feel great about yourself, it will not 'save you money', and we want to be upfront about that. Noentheless, we can't survive without your generosity, so thank you very much!

The answer is probably yes. Why probably? First, we don't know you yet. We are still a company, with responsibilites, so we are only looking for people who love our cause and are responsible and trustworthy. Second, we need volunteer help in some departments more than others. The more flexible you're willing to be, the more likely we can find a position for you.

Most of the time, no. We don't expect volunteers to come on board and then get stuck doing menial or manual labor. Will there be some of this work? Probably, yes. While it depends on your role in terms of how much, our ideal is to spread out all such "menial" work to everyone, so that volunteers spend no more than 40% of their time doing 'mindless' work, and most of their time volunteering with us doing stuff they really love and want to do. Remember: all work is crucial to our operation, and if no one wants to do it, then it never gets done. So thanks in advance if we do have you mail 10 letters. But we promise not to make you mail 100 letters a day on a regular basis. :)

Thanks for your interest! First step: show your love and volunteer with us. Volunteers with the most hours shoot to the top echelon of resumes to be considered for paid employment. :D

That's a common misconception. We are a not-for-profit, but it doesn't mean we can't make a profit. In fact, our goal is to increase our profit every year. However... none of that profit can be used for what's called "private inurement". In other words, all of the profit has to be reinvested back in the company to pay its expenses, or kept in reserve for a rainy day or for scholarships. Our mission ABSOLUTELY is to make a profit, either through sales of products and services, or through generous donations--if we did not make a profit, guess what: we would go out of business. So for all intents and purposes, we run Break Diving, Inc. just like Microsoft or J. Crew: we hire employees and try to pay them well according to industry comparables; we pay for office space, supplies, and equipment; and we do all we can to reduce expenses and reduce our overhead. The big difference? Our primary mission is to help people. So yes, while our aim is indeed to make a huge profit, none of that profit will ever go into the pockets of the board of directors, the management, or the staff.

Simply click "Legal & Tax Info" in the footer, or click on 'About Us' up above and you will find downloadable copies of all of our public documents, starting with our Approved IRS Form 1024 (warning: it's extremely long) and our offiial IRS Tax Exemption Letter dated January 2017. You can also download copies of our annually filed Form 990.

It's a long story that starts back in 1999, when Break Diving founder began his acting career and shortly thereafter also enlisted in the NY Army National Guard (part of the US Army). Here's the short version: Break Diving was a concept Monroe came up with when he realized that too many people in show biz were 'waiting for their big break' and 'waiting to be discovered' when a far better strategy was to 'create your own big breaks' and 'discover yourself'. After basic training with the Army, Monroe finally came up with the Break Diver's Creed: "No Rules. No Excuses. No Regrets." This became his motto for life, and he shared it with everyone he met across the globe--even a girl in France now has it tattooed on her leg! (And Monroe himself got it tattooed on his arm while living in Shanghai: 无拘束。 没借口。 不后悔。). While Monroe originally just created Break Diving as an inspirational philosophy, he knew deep down it needed to be more than that: it needed to be an international movement, phenomenon, and most importantly... community. He didn't want to keep it all to himself--he wanted to inspire and motivate the world. In 2016, Monroe finally earned his PhD in psychology. He wanted to really put that degree to use. Voilà: Break Diving, Inc. was born--an international 501(c)(3) charitable organization on a mission to help people worldwide find the success and happiness they thought was only possible in their dreams. We are all glad that you have found us and hope you too will become a part of our growing community of winners!

No problem. Send an email to info...breakdiving.org and we will be sure to get back to you!