Yes, you can set up a bank account. The others are correct that you don't want to use a person's social security number. People have SSN, entities have EINs (Employer Identification Number). Getting an EIN is simple and free. You can handle it immediately online with the IRS .

The EIN has nothing to do with how big/small you are, if you have employees or not, or the type of organization (non profits, for profit). It's simply an identifying number assigned to entities.

Call around to local banks and ask what type of account they can offer with no fees/minimum fees and what paperwork they want.

For the last one I set up a couple weeks ago, I took my IRS paper showing EIN, minutes of our meeting showing officers, and a copy of our bylaws (which they never looked at.)

Check with the state or town you live in - you may be able to register with the state & be a recognized as a corp/business in good standing. This will give your pto documentation as a business in your state. Most banks accept this paperwork.

You could open an account with a personal SSN, but this is a *bad* idea. You give your SSN, you leave the organization, someone else does something wrong (intentionally or not), and now it's your problem.

You can request an EIN from the IRS; this is a tax ID number that you should be able to use to open the bank account. If you can find a friendly person at the credit union, they could really help you work your way through. We had our EIN (and bank account -- but not 501c3) before I came on board; I just read another post that you can get the $100 fee waived.

We are a new PTO for a small, private school. We are not formally organized, we do not have the money right now to file our 501c3 paperwork. Can we open a bank account without being a real business? The credit union we went to today acted like we needed a business license or other paperwork that we don't have. Can't we just have a "Jane Doe DBA as school PTO"?