15 Key Steps to Set Up a Charity

Nonprofit charitable organizations are intended to operate for the public good. When a nonprofit charitable organization is qualified as tax exempt under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code (IRC), donors can generally deduct their contributions to the charity on their tax returns. Donors are thus more likely to support charitable organizations that have an IRC §501(c)(3) tax exempt status.

A qualified IRC §501(c)(3) charity also has the benefit of being exempt from federal and state income tax on its activities, with some limited exceptions. Setting up a qualified IRC §501(c)(3) charity, however, requires compliance with a number of federal and state laws. In this article, we outline some of the key steps and requirements to validly establish a qualified IRC §501(c)(3) charity.