Expert: - 12/8/2009

Question
I'm sitting in the intensive care unit with my 10 year old daughter. She has an art design that we want to put on a tee shirt and sell to help with the medical bills, donate to operation Hope and donate to brain tumor research.  Where should we start?  Can we just sell these through our church and or ebay/craig's list without setting up a company and just handling it as a single owner company?  Are there forms or laws we need to sign up for?

Answer
Hello Ron,

Great idea for setting up a fund raiser. I am not an  attorney so I can not give you legal advice on how you should set up your company. However, that being said, my gut feel is that you should probably set up a non-profit corporation so this is separate from any other income you receive and is non taxable. My suggestion is you contact the state where you live and find out what the process is. Though it may take some time on your part to set up, in the long run you are better off if you start out the right way.

I think it is a great idea to proceed with this kind of a project. It will bring interest to brain tumor research as well as benefit your daughter and others. I don't know if you are familiar with Alex's Lemonade Stand, http://www.alexslemonade.org/slideshow this is an amazing story about how a line of jewelry was conceived and now helps pediatric cancer patients. This organization might be of help to you.

I wish you the very best. Brain tumor research is close to my heart as my late husband was a victim of an aggressive brain tumor.

Love & Success in your endeavor,

Jane Button
www.design2marketsuccess.com