Expert: Harvey Mechanic - 11/7/2007

Question
I am starting from scratch to set up a cheer booster club for our competition squads. I am reading all of your questions/answers.  However www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p1771.pdf I am not able to gain access to. Any direction on our start up would be greatly appreciated~I don't know enough about 501 (c) (3) to even ask the right questions~just how to get started?!
thank you  

Answer
I don't know why you could not download or view that pdf file... maybe you should cut and paste the link into another browser.  Anway, In order to have donations deductible by the donors
according to Internal Revenue (IRS) Service regulations
and not to be treated by the IRS as a normal, for-profit
business, you would want to first incorporate stating
that you are incorporating under Internal Revenue Code
Section 501(c)(3) and have at at least 3 unrelated
directors for yours to become a public charity. After the
initial set up, you would need to apply for a EIN (tax id
number) and it becomes a tax exempt number after the IRS
determination that your organization is exempt. That
determination letter could be effective retroactively to
the date of establishment of the organization. The IRS
minimum filing fee for such a determination letter is
$300 and goes up to $750.

You can review the IRS Publication 557 "Tax Exempt Status
for Your Organization" at:

http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p557.pdf

See Application for Exemption
www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/f1023.pdf

See instructions to Application for Exemption
www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/i1023.pdf
in the right column on the first page under "From 1023
not necessary" discusses who does not need to file and
among those is "Any organization that has gross receipts
in each taxable year of normally not more than $5,000."

Harvey Mechanic
Attorney At Law
Harvey108@hotmail.com