They technically can, BUT they stop accepting donations immediately upon reaching the month's expenses. I'm not American so I don't know how non-profit organisations operate there, but here they could bank the excess to go against operating expenses, however there are pretty strict limits on that and what it's used for.
I suspect it's to avoid that is the reason they cut off accepting donations as soon as the monthly threshold is reached. They have clearly stated outright, that they expect to continue operating as a non-profit after the negotiations, and though it's only my gut feeling, I'm pretty sure that intention is what got their foot in the door at NC, it makes their existence less threatening to the IP for City.
I could be entirely wrong, this is my interpretation of the information thats made it past the non-disclosure, but I'm pretty confident I'm at least close