Starting a non-profit

[squirrelsrule&bunniestoo]

Have any of you become non-profits with 501 (c) status? I am working on that now and man is it EXPENSIVE and confusing.

I started filling out the forms and got an Employer Identification Number, then found the order you should do things in and that is 4th on the list :sanp3.

So far, I have decided on a name and started the final form. I am calling my rehab Born To Be Wild.

Tomorrow I am going to work on the articles of incorporation. That one alone costs $125 and the final form costs $400 to submit. I really hope this works out!

If anyone else filed recently, I will probably have a million and one questions for you (now you probably won't say you are non-profit if you are :tilt).

[TexanSquirrel]

I looked into it once and saw that it would cost over $500 and decided against it. :sanp3

But best of luck to you!

[Kaycee]

I love your name idea! Very cute

[island rehabber]

I know Tomo's Sanctuary went through the process and it was well over $800....takes forever, too. But in the end it may really be worthwhile because people are more likely to donate when they get a write-off on their taxes. :tilt

[squirrelsrule&bunniestoo]

did Tomo do the paperwork herself? Or did she get someone else to do it and pay them? It is super confusing and will take a long time. Working on the articles of incorporation and getting that sent off soon hopefully. That is $125 (I guess it is only $35 in Delaware :shakehead) and has to be approved before I can send in the application to be non-profit, which costs $400. That is the total cost unless there are issues with it and it needs to be redone, which would stink big time.

[psychobird]

i want to do it also, but every time i start reading what i need to do, all i read is blah blah blah legaleeze.
i helped a lawyer capture her escaped parrot this summer and she said she would help me, and she had done it before, called her once, no call back.
i will try her again after the holidays are over.
it's very very confusing

[ShesASquirrelyGirl]

Its a long process, Our chinchilla rescue is doing the same thing. Its easier to higher someone else who knows what they are doing. I think you need a certain amount of people to become 501 c as well. I think its three but forget.

[squirrelsrule&bunniestoo]

Yes, you have to have 3 people, a director (me :) ) and at least two Trustees. I talked to a rehabber that is non-profit and she used family members as trustees. It asks if you are related though. I was going to use my mom and dad, but not sure if that is OK.

[squirrelsrule&bunniestoo]

Articles of Incorporation done :thumbsup. I have to type them up tomorrow then call on Monday to check the availability of the name and send it in. Also have to see what I have to do to add Inc. to my business name for my EIN number (which I wasn't suppossed to get until AFTER the articles of incorporation were approved). I am pretty sure I have all the required stuff in my articles of incorporation... we will see how it goes.

[Anne]

Family incorporated non-profit in Delaware in 1950. Has been mostly in family since, all family on Board of Trustee's now and since seventy's when people started passing away. Paperwork and a yearly fee must be kept up so nothing lapses. Have been thinking about it here also-have you tried "Legal-zoom" for help? Opened a trust-no void-through them for a excellent saving over a local attorney. just my 2 cents.

[squirrelsrule&bunniestoo]

Thanks for your input Anne. I will look into LegalZoom. I am trying to do it myself, but really don't want to mess it up. We will see how the articles of incorporation go. That is a lot easier than the federal paperwork for tax exemption. If I mess this part up, I will definetely need help on the federal stuff. I am pretty confident I did it right though, only thing I am not sure on is if I need to send in bylaws with the State papers to incorporate or if that is only needed for the federal tax exemption paperwork.

[Pointy Tale]

squirrelsrule&bunniestoo—no experience but love the name and what a fantastic thing you are doing…great job! I hope it all works out and is not too costly for you. Good luck!

[squirrelsrule&bunniestoo]

I called today and the name is available :wahoo. So, as long as my articles of incorporation are approved, I will officially have a business called Born To Be Wild. I am so excited :jump:jump:jump.

Now to work on the federal form.

Anyone incorporate at the state level and know how long it takes? I sent it off today. The expedited form (for an extra $100 :sanp3) takes 1-2 days to process, but it didn't say anywhere how long the regular forms would take. It will be 2 weeks before my Employer Identification Number is processed and ready to use so it will be at least that long before I can send in the federal paperwork. I will definetely be able to get it all sent in by spring, though, which is my main goal. Then I have heard it takes upwards of 6 months for the tax exemption from the federal form to be approved, so it probably won't be done and approved until later in the rehab season, but it is looking like something I can do instead of just something I would like to do if you know what I mean.

I am so excited. One step closer to my dream of having my own rehab facility (even if I could have one and also work part or full time I would be thrilled :D).

Something else I want to work on is making my own website. Have to look into how much that will cost and how to make one. I am good on computers, but clueless when it comes to making a website.

[Pointy Tale]

Congratulations!!!!!

[squirrelsrule&bunniestoo]

I am officially incorporated :wahoo. This doesn't give me tax exempt status, but establishes my business as a non-profit company in Ohio set up to rehabilitate wildlife native to Ohio. I am sooooooooooooooooooooooooo excited :jump. Now just to finish the federal forms and send them in. If those are OK'd I am officially tax-exempt. This was a real confidence booster, this is looking like not too hard of a process (we will see if I am still saying that as I finish up my federal forms, which are like a book compared to the state stuff).

One other thing that I would like to do is set up a website. Never had my own site, but I want to have somewhere to send people that would like to donate later or to try to get donations from people surfing the net (I have had a donation link on Myspace for over a year with no luck, so probably won't work out, but I will give it a try). Anyone have any ideas how to get a cheap domain and to get it so people can search for it on google or other search engines.

[Anne]

Try: GoDaddy for an inexpensive web-site.

[Hannah]

One other thing that I would like to do is set up a website. Never had my own site, but I want to have somewhere to send people that would like to donate later or to try to get donations from people surfing the net (I have had a donation link on Myspace for over a year with no luck, so probably won't work out, but I will give it a try). Anyone have any ideas how to get a cheap domain and to get it so people can search for it on google or other search engines.
As far as domain names you might also try typing the domain you want into your web browser. Domain cost depends on what name you choose. If you want an ever cheaper option than a unique domain, you can try sub hosting on another domain, eg. somewebserver.com/borntobewild.

Google traffic is governed mostly by keywords (of course), but the rank among sites that respond to the same keywords is governed by things like how many other popular web sites link to yours. To get the most direct and Google traffic, the best thing to do is to get other sites to link to you. Of course, once you get the site going, you'll have to submit it to Google, but that's free. Other search engines will usually pick up the site, too, after it's in Google's database.

Congratulations on incorporation and, good luck with the rest of your paperwork and web site!

[squirrelsrule&bunniestoo]

:jump:jump I got the official notification in the mail on Wednesday..... I was APPROVED! So, I am officially a non-profit tax exempt rescue :jump:jump:jump



If anyone would like to make a tax free donation to Born To Be Wild, you can PM me for my address or send it to my paypal (hoping it works, I have to verify all kinds of info. for it to be categorized as non-profit but I think you can use it now): Here is the link: https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_s-xclick&hosted_button_id=XDXZWPCYQBTLC

If that doesn't work and you want to use paypal, you can try sending it to the email I used to create the non-profit account, which is borntobewild_wildliferescue@yahoo.com.

I am so excited to be official now :wahoo

[mpetys]

Congratulations! How are things going?

Michele in Tampa