The issue here is not with EMF or any of the translator mega groups out of Idaho and Mississippi and Oakland, but with with the FCC rules that permit non-commercial operators to use translators even outside the coverage area of full facility stations.
Keep in mind that one of the original uses of translators was to bring more radio choices into small isolated markets that had few alternatives on the radio. Think Bishop, CA, where long, long ago translators were used to bring in LA and other large market stations. It was sort of like the origins of Cable TV, in fact.
But the rules allowed Family Radio and other groups to do the same, and EMF is just the most successful.
There is a difference in the FCC consideration of commercial vs. non-commercial operation. That has nothing to do with the IRS and state tax board criteria for a non-profit organization which establish very broad areas where a non-profit company can do anything from running a non-profit radio station to operating a soup kitchen to sponsoring local artists. In fact, a non-profit can operate entities that "make money" as long as any surpluses are not distributed as profits but are instead kept in the organization to enhance its operation or given to support other non-profit companies. There are ample cases of radio stations operated by non-profit organizations that are purposed with showing a surplus every year to support other branches of the organization.
