Ok, separate from the fraud, this guy wrote a personal check instead of using the organization's funds to pay a state fee? That feels pretty sloppy for somebody running an organization "dedicated to improving financial literacy." While clearly innocent and done just for convenience, taking short cuts with a 501(c)(3) org is a bad idea. To keep the accounting straight, he'd end up having to get them to do up donation paperwork on it, which removes his goal of not bothering people over a small amount. Otherwise, it's co-mingling of funds.