Help starting a non-profit

[Flasch186]

I want to start a program here in my home town where volunteers and some CPA's would go into the innercity for one weekend perhaps 2 near the beginning of the year and do taxes for the poor...in an effort to get them their money back.

I know that the support would be out there but I dont know who to approach first. I put a feeler out there to some CPA's I know and they said that they woudl be willing if it were early enough that they wouldnt have to do it smack dab in the height of the busy season.

I know I could get some catering, Im sure I could get a radio sponsor, and getting the forms would be easy (online) but Im afraid if I dont approach the people in the irght order they may all be hesitant to commit or not want to commit cuz I wouldnt be able to say, "well I have so and so involved" because so and so said "come back when its more together."

Who should I go to first? a bank? a CPA firm? A tax place? A radio station?

I have it pictured in mind but I dont know how to flesh it out.

[Franklinnoble]

First of all, you should see about starting a 501(c)3 non-profit corporation. It's kind of a pain, but if you're a CPA, you could sort it out on your own.

If you're not a CPA, then I'm not sure what you're doing this for. It's a nice idea, but it's kind of tough to start something up like this if you're not able to do some of the heavy lifting on your own.

[Farrah Whitworth-Rahn]

The IRS has a program like this already you might want to look into. It's called Volunteer Income Tax Assistance or VITA for short. I volunteered for this in Tucson in college. If memory serves,I think you can volunteer to lead a group in your city and have the IRS even provide the necessary training. You might want to look into it, since it might achieve the same goal without all the legal paperwork on your end.