Community Theater Green Room Discussion Board: 501(c)(3)

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   Have you incorporated yet?  As a non profit?  If not - who wrote the checks to pay the bills?  The 501 (c)(3) paperwork is not hard - most seem to make more out of it than it really takes.

I am not an accountant or an attorney but it seems to me that if you personally paid the bills (and got the revenue) from the production you would take care of it on your income taxes.  

If you did incorporate as a non profit and got your own checking account then you can get your 501(c)(3) from the date you started business.  We incorporated as a non profit corporation and made money from the start - we still waited over a year before we filed for our 501(c)(3) but we applied from the date we incorporated.  There was no problem with that.  Contact me directly if you need more info.

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Guests Guest	Topic: 501(c)(3) Posted: 2/08/03 at 11:07am
	Have you incorporated yet? As a non profit? If not - who wrote the checks to pay the bills? The 501 (c)(3) paperwork is not hard - most seem to make more out of it than it really takes. I am not an accountant or an attorney but it seems to me that if you personally paid the bills (and got the revenue) from the production you would take care of it on your income taxes. If you did incorporate as a non profit and got your own checking account then you can get your 501(c)(3) from the date you started business. We incorporated as a non profit corporation and made money from the start - we still waited over a year before we filed for our 501(c)(3) but we applied from the date we incorporated. There was no problem with that. Contact me directly if you need more info.

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Guests Guest	Posted: 2/11/03 at 11:49am
	I need some info on this too. We have just started a community theatre, which we agree is non-profit. How do I get one of these 501(c)(3) forms? Do we need to talk to someone who does taxes? I have been wondering about all this and, would like to take care of it before we get started. What kind of licenses do we need? Thanks!
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Guests Guest	Posted: 2/11/03 at 12:38pm
	You can get some good info on forming a non-profit here: http://www.aact.org/start/nonprofit.html Dan
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Guests Guest	Posted: 2/13/03 at 11:07am
	Look at the article on this site "Why a Non-Profit Theater Company". Don't be intimidated by the IRS 501(c)(3) form. It takes a couple of hours to fill out - most of that time is spent in figuring out what your annual budget will look like. Once you have that, the rest is easy. I can send you a copy of our application if you want. You can get the forms from the IRS web site - download Package 1023.
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Guests Guest	Posted: 2/15/03 at 8:09pm
	Just don't forget that you have to register in your state as well. And there are fees and forms that must be filed in a timely manner for both. If you ever want to get grants or public monies this stuff has to be in order!!!
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Guests Guest	Posted: 2/16/03 at 11:14am
	Hi! Can you email me a copy? I really appreciate it. I will go to the IRS website and have a look also. My group has decided to raise some money and, go to a lawyer. That way, we'd know what all paperwork we are supposed to be doing and, will feel safer about it. Thanks for the info! Melanie
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Guests Guest	Posted: 2/18/03 at 9:21am
	Rather than hire a lawyer, I would suggest you try finding your State's Chapter of the Volunteer Lawyers for the Arts. They will help you with the incorporation process, by-laws, and 501 (c)(3) process pro bono. In Massachusetts they have periodic training sessions for non-profits.
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