Wow!! Thanks for all the great information. I had just sent out a request for getting this done. Guess I should have looked further down the list of topics. [img]tongue.gif[/img]

We were in exactly the same situation (except it wasn't the schools account it was the City's EIN number - don't ask .

Before you can apply for 501c3, you need to line your ducks in order first. You need to get your own EIN to get your own bank account. You need to create a Charter or by-laws if you don't already have them (the IRS calls this Articles of Incorporation).

The form is daunting but it is not as hard to fill out as it looks at first. It will take some time. The application fee is $500 for the IRS. We had a CPA volunteer to help us but he mainly helped to organize the responses we provided.

After you get approval from the IRS, there is probably a separate process to get recognition from the state (in MA it is called being a Public Charity and that allows us to avoid state sales tax).

We were encouraging the other PTOs in town to do the 501c3 thing too, so we put together a slide show of what needs to be done. It is posted at this URL

www.macarthurschool.com/pto.htm

and click on the "Guide to getting Non-Profit/Tax Exempt for a PTO" link on the right hand side underthe link to the PTO's Charter.

Good luck.

After you incorporate first (highly recommended and usually very easy and relatively cheap - $25 in Michigan), you are considered a brand new organization so the IRS will give you 27 months to file for your 501c3. You don't have to rush or panic. I suspect the person who said it would cost $1,000 either was guessing, or had hired someone to assist with the application for another group. You CAN do it yourself, or find someone in your volunteer ranks who can do it for free. It's not easy, but it's definately within your grasp.

If your group's annual gross (not net) receipts is greater than $5,000, the one-time IRS fee is $500, otherwise it's $150.

And I'll second what Mike said about the Start Up Guide. It really does take you line by line, item by item through the entire 501c3 application (called Form 1023) in lingo especially geared to PTO volunteers, not lawyers.

We had to pay 110.00 to incoporate first and then $500.00 to do the 501c3. If you are looking at this please consider incorporating first as if you decide to do it later it is a big hassle and then you may have to redo your 501c3. There is alot of stuff on this site and I was walked through the whole thing by jhb and critter, within no time we had our determination letter. PTO Today like Mike said has alot of great resources outside of this message board and if your group is anewcomer you may want to consider. I am still drooling over the volunteer program but haven't convince our school we need it YET!

It cost us $500 and that was because we were in the top level on the income chart the IRS uses for determining the fee, so unless something has changed drastically I'd plan on that much. You should be able to find out for sure at the IRS website.

I'd also take Mike up on his recommendation. I got lots of help from this site when we did ours, but having a step-by-step guide would have been wonderful. The IRS speaks a foreign language!

PTO Chair,

There are a lot of posts on this message board about becoming a 501c3. You can definitely do it yourself without any help from the outside - lots of groups have! You also might want to consider getting the Start-Up Guide Start-up Guide Information because it contains step by step instructions on how to fill out your 501c3 application.

Good Luck!

Mike