I am doing a non profit charity music tour what tax and business forms do I need?

Question

Here is what I am planning. I am in a band, I was able to convince another band to sign on with my idea. We are going to tour the east coast. We are not going to make any money from this. We want to raise money for local homeless shelters and food banks. We have contacted some readio stationa and they say they are on board to help us promote the event in their area. We are trying to book small arenas and whatever money that they raise on ticket sales will be donated to the local homeless shelter, if you bring two nonperishable food donations you get the tickets at a reduced price. We are trying to get corporate sponsors as well as private ones. We will have some expenses that we would like to use some of the money raised to pay for(hotels, tour buses, ets) WHne the tour is done whatever money is left from the sponsors we are going to dontate as well. What sort of forms do I need to file with the governement to get this thing startes. I know that I need a tax id to open a bank account but what else. I Have srticles of incorporation & 501c3 . Do I need to file those. Please any advice would help. Thank You

Answer 1

One thing you should do is set things up so that donations made to you can be deducted as charitable gifts by their donors.  

You must either establish a formal charitable organization that complies with state and federal regulations or make a deal with an existing charity that is recognized by a state and the federal government.

Since regulations vary from state to state the best thing for you to do is talk to a lawyer.

Hope this helps

Jerry-the-bookkeeper