Form 1023 Checklist: Fill & Download for Free

You can do it the easy way, the hard way, or in between:The Easy Way: You don’t need any “paperwork” and don't need to create a company, or any new "entity" at all. You can fundraise on behalf of other charities using a fundraising website like www.CrowdRise.com, www.FirstGiving.com, etc. You set up your own fundraising page on one of these sites, send your donors to the fundraising page. The donation goes directly to the charity (and the donor gets a tax receipt). You can track how much you raised in total, and who has donated/paid). If you are requiring a minimum donation as the “entry fee” for an event (like a chess tournament), you can see who “paid” via a donation.In Between: You can form a non-profit corporation. There are online services that can form this entity for you, including www.LegalZoom.com and www.mycorporation.com. They can do all the paperwork for you, for about $100-300 or you can do it yourself for free. I recommend using one of these services because they can also send you reminders each year when renewals are due and provide other related, helpful services. Either way, there’s another $50-250 in state filing fees. There are also small filing fees every year to renew. Make sure you form a non-profit corporation. This is pretty quick and can be up and running in a few days.Benefits: (1) Pretty easy. (2) You get to have a "title" like "CEO" or "President" of a company.Drawbacks: (1) Cost. (2) Paperwork: Annual renewals and filing fees required. (3) More Paperwork: You will have to file company tax returns each year (assuming your revenues are low enough, this will likely be just a simple online form 990N e-postcard). (4) It’s not a full 501(c)(3), which may be required by some corporate donors (see below). Also, if you are not a 501(c)(3), your profits will not be tax exempt (but that’s not a problem, because you will not have any profits if you plan to donate virtually all the money you raise to a charity).For more info see https://www.councilofnonprofits.org/tools-resources/state-filing-requirements-nonprofitsand https://nonprofithub.org/human-resources/the-cost-of-starting-a-nonprofit-in-every-state/The Hard Way: After you have formed your non-profit corporation (above), if you wish to get 501(c)(3) tax status from the IRS, you have to file an IRS form 1023EZ. (I’m assuming you will qualify for the EZ version of the form – more on this below). This may be important once you start to seek larger corporate donors because some potential corporate donors will only donate if you have 501(c)(3) status and they have seen your certificate to prove it. Legal Zoom will charge you $600 to complete the form for you, but you can fill out the form yourself for free (see link below). If you do it yourself, it takes a bit of work. Either way, there's a $400 filing fee directly with the IRS (for the EZ form; about double that for the regular form 1023). There's a long lag time after you apply before you hear back from the IRS with a decision - it may take several months before you hear back. For very small non-profits, it should be pretty easy to get approved.Benefits: (1) Makes it easier to get donors and sponsors. (2) Donations to you are tax deductible. (2) Gives you tax exempt status (unlikely to be relevant unless and until you have large profits).Drawbacks: (1) Cost. (2) Time lag. (3) Additional annual filings.You can find the relevant IRS forms and instructions here: http://www.irs.gov/uac/Form-1023,-Application-for-Recognition-of-Exemption-Under-Section-501(c)(3)-of-the-Internal-Revenue-CodeAssuming you plan to raise only small amounts (currently less than $50,000 per year), and meet the other qualifications, you can file a streamlined IRS form 1023EZ. To see if you qualify for the EZ version, look at this checklist/worksheet posted by the IRS here (see section titled “who can file this form”): https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/i1023ez.pdfBe sure to save your letter from the IRS granting 501c3 status. Scan it into your computer. You’ll need to show this to many potential donors and sponsors.After you have been granted 501c3 status, be sure to register your charity as a 501c3 on https://www.charitynavigator.orgHomepages:Whichever level you chose, you may want to have a web presence, such as your own website, and/or social media home pages such as on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, Twitter, etc. Some website builders that are easy to use include Weebly, WordPress, Wix, SquareSpace, GoDaddy, SiteBuilder, etc. We don’t recommend any one of them over the other – this is more a matter of personal preference. Many are easy to use even for novices. They have drag and drop tools and no coding knowledge is required. See https://www.websitebuilderexpert.com/website-builders-comparison-chart/To see some examples, here are Chess 4 Charity’s pages:Website: http://www.chess4charity.orgFacebook page: https://www.facebook.com/chess4charity/Twitter: @Chess4Charity https://twitter.com/Chess4CharityLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/chess-4-charity-inc-/

That depends. Do you just want to fundraise for a good cause? If so, you don’t need to create a new entity. Or do you want to create a whole new 501c3? And Why?You can do fundraising for a good cause the easy way, the hard way, or in between:The Easiest Way: You don’t necessarily need any “paperwork” and don't need to create any special new "entity" at all. You can always fundraise on behalf of other non-profits without ever creating a new entity. If you use one of the many great fundraising websites already out there (e.g., CrowdRise, FirstGiving, etc.), you can track the extent of your donations (so you know how much you personally raised), but the money still goes directly to the chosen charity. Since the donation goes directly to the chosen charity, the donor can get a tax receipt directly from them. That’s the way we operated our charity the first year or two.In Between: You can form a non-profit corporate entity, but not file with the IRS for tax exempt status. There are services that will form a non-profit company for you. I recommend MyCorporation.com: Incorporate Or Form an LLC, File a Trademark or Copyright, and more - Start Your Business for $69+ State Fees.. This will cost anywhere from about $100-300. Make sure you form a non-profit entity, not a for-profit company. This way, you will have a "real company", and you can have a "real title" like CEO, President, etc. But your profits will not be tax exempt. That sounds like a problem, but it's really not. If you plan to donate virtually all the money you raise, then you will have zero profit. You will have a lot of "revenue" but then the money that comes in will go right back out, leaving zero "profit". So from a tax perspective, the tax status is not important. You will have to file tax returns, however, if you bring in over a certain amount of revenue. But when just starting out, you are unlikely to reach these revenue thresholds. Pros: Pretty easy, get to have a "title" like "CEO" or "President" of a real company. Cons: Has some cost involved, may have to file tax returns eventually if your revenues/collections are high, not a full 501(c)(3), which may be required by some corporate donors (see below).The Hard Way: If you wish to get 501c(3) tax status from the IRS, then, in addition to the in between way above, after you form your new entity, you have to file IRS form 1023, to request to become a 501c3. This may be important once you start to seek larger corporate donors because some potential corporate donors will only donate if you have 501(c)(3) status and they have seen your certificate to prove it. Again, there are services that will do the IRS filings for you for a fee, but this gets even more expensive - it may cost several hundred dollars. You can do it yourself, but it takes a bit of work, and there's still a small filing fee directly with the IRS. And there's no guarantee the IRS will grant you the status - you have to apply and wait for a decision. It’s a difficult process for big entities, but assuming you plan to raise only small amounts (less than $50,000 per year), and meet the other qualifications, you can file a streamlined IRS form 1023EZ. You can find the relevant IRS forms and instructions here: Form 1023, Application for Recognition of Exemption Under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code To see if you qualify for the EZ version, look at this checklist/worksheet posted by the IRS here: http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/i1023ez.pdf Pros: Allows you to get donations from corporate donors, gives non-profit status to your income. Cons: High cost, labor intensive to set up, long lag time for application process.See more here: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/20141025125412-1102979-how-you-or-your-kids-can-create-a-new-charity-event-in-3-easy-steps

I answered a similar question about how to start a non profit. My answer was less about all the paperwork (though it did address some of the paperwork in part) but instead it focused more on why you want a 501c3 in the first place and do you really need one. If you are just doing small fundraising it may not be necessary.Here’s my prior answer to “how to create a non profit”:You can do it the easy way, the hard way, or in between:The Easy Way: You don’t need any “paperwork” and don't need to create a company, or any new "entity" at all. You can fundraise on behalf of other charities using a fundraising website like www.CrowdRise.com, www.FirstGiving.com, etc. You set up your own fundraising page on one of these sites, send your donors to the fundraising page. The donation goes directly to the charity (and the donor gets a tax receipt). You can track how much you raised in total, and who has donated/paid). If you are requiring a minimum donation as the “entry fee” for an event (like a chess tournament), you can see who “paid” via a donation.In Between: You can form a non-profit corporation. There are online services that can form this entity for you, including www.LegalZoom.com and www.mycorporation.com. They can do all the paperwork for you, for about $100-300 or you can do it yourself for free. I recommend using one of these services because they can also send you reminders each year when renewals are due and provide other related, helpful services. Either way, there’s another $50-250 in state filing fees. There are also small filing fees every year to renew. Make sure you form a non-profit corporation. This is pretty quick and can be up and running in a few days.Benefits: (1) Pretty easy. (2) You get to have a "title" like "CEO" or "President" of a company.Drawbacks: (1) Cost. (2) Paperwork: Annual renewals and filing fees required. (3) More Paperwork: You will have to file company tax returns each year (assuming your revenues are low enough, this will likely be just a simple online form 990N e-postcard). (4) It’s not a full 501(c)(3), which may be required by some corporate donors (see below). Also, if you are not a 501(c)(3), your profits will not be tax exempt (but that’s not a problem, because you will not have any profits if you plan to donate virtually all the money you raise to a charity).For more info see https://www.councilofnonprofits....and https://nonprofithub.org/human-r...The Hard Way: After you have formed your non-profit corporation (above), if you wish to get 501(c)(3) tax status from the IRS, you have to file an IRS form 1023EZ. (I’m assuming you will qualify for the EZ version of the form – more on this below). This may be important once you start to seek larger corporate donors because some potential corporate donors will only donate if you have 501(c)(3) status and they have seen your certificate to prove it. Legal Zoom will charge you $600 to complete the form for you, but you can fill out the form yourself for free (see link below). If you do it yourself, it takes a bit of work. Either way, there's a $400 filing fee directly with the IRS (for the EZ form; about double that for the regular form 1023). There's a long lag time after you apply before you hear back from the IRS with a decision - it may take several months before you hear back. For very small non-profits, it should be pretty easy to get approved.Benefits: (1) Makes it easier to get donors and sponsors. (2) Donations to you are tax deductible. (2) Gives you tax exempt status (unlikely to be relevant unless and until you have large profits).Drawbacks: (1) Cost. (2) Time lag. (3) Additional annual filings.You can find the relevant IRS forms and instructions here: http://www.irs.gov/uac/Form-1023,-Application-for-Recognition-of-Exemption-Under-Section-501(c)(3)-of-the-Internal-Revenue-CodeAssuming you plan to raise only small amounts (currently less than $50,000 per year), and meet the other qualifications, you can file a streamlined IRS form 1023EZ. To see if you qualify for the EZ version, look at this checklist/worksheet posted by the IRS here (see section titled “who can file this form”): https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/...Be sure to save your letter from the IRS granting 501c3 status. Scan it into your computer. You’ll need to show this to many potential donors and sponsors.After you have been granted 501c3 status, be sure to register your charity as a 501c3 on https://www.charitynavigator.orgHomepages:Whichever level you chose, you may want to have a web presence, such as your own website, and/or social media home pages such as on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, Twitter, etc. Some website builders that are easy to use include Weebly, WordPress, Wix, SquareSpace, GoDaddy, SiteBuilder, etc. We don’t recommend any one of them over the other – this is more a matter of personal preference. Many are easy to use even for novices. They have drag and drop tools and no coding knowledge is required.