How should I go about starting a non-profit organization?

How should I go about starting my charity organization?

• Hi, My real question here is this; I dont want to start a fundraising non-profit necessarily. What I want to do is start a fully legal and official all-inclusive(non-denominational, non-political, ect,) organization - Club may actually be a better word - that will have members on a contact list. When a small community project is spotted, all members are contacted to ask for help without obligation. This club would probably take up donations on occasion which is why it would need to be fully official, but that would not be the chief goal. I'll give you an example and the actualy story behind this: In my town, its starting to get pretty cold and there is a large influx of homelessness because of the economy, but no more shelters or supllies to meet the demand. So I remembered the last time I needed to fix a tear in a blanket, I went to the local fabric store and they had a huge sale. So I went back there and sure enough they have the sale on and I'm able to get fabric for 85% off. So with all the cold weather, I decided to make some blankets and donate them. Before I buy them though, I had the idea to ask some friends and family for donations and help with stitching to provide more blankets. I'm getting alot of responses and its really working out, but now I'm running into the problem of not being official and taking donations(especially large ones) can be a little hairy. I know there are alot of charities to go through, but things also begin to get complicated that way with all the different families and churches and such that want to contribute and having to coordinate with alot more people unnecessarily. So, short question long.... Is there some sort of charity club status that I can apply for other than an official nonprofit or should I just go for the nonprofit? thanks

• Answer:

  Check to see if there's a larger group with nonprofit status that would allow you to be a subgroup within their larger organization, and would accept donations earmarked for you. That would be the easiest route. potentially. There are certainly groups that function much like you want -- here's one that's in a little town near me: http://www.oregonlive.com/clackamascounty/index.ssf/2010/09/molalla_communities_that_care.html http://www.molallactc.org/index.html I happen to be a member of the local Friends of the Library that went through the paperwork to be blessed by the IRS as a nonprofit. Because we were in existence as a group for a number of years before we sought non-profit status (and had been having book sales, then directing the money raised to the needs of library) we have to have a certified audit of our finances for the next 5 years. Had we sought nonprofit status in the first year of our existence, we wouldn't have to have the yearly audit. So that's another thing to think about if you're considering going through with charitable tax status. Finally, what I saw of the IRS forms needed wasn't all that crazy-making. Most of it could be filled out by someone with a bit of patience. You will need a set of bylaws and statement of purpose -- you can crib those from another organization, making changes as needed to fit your status, and then send the package in. http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p4220.pdf