I agree with Jim.  One could organize as a not for profit without 501(c)(3) status.  Less headache and scrunity.  As Jim stated, you would be ineligible for most grants  and donors would not be able to write off donations to your organization...
Paul

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  On Sat, Apr 1, 2017 at 8:29 AM, Jim Felder<jim.felder@GMAIL.COM> wrote:   I work for a 501(c)(3). I am the director. There are other ways to organize
that don't require so much work and expense--you have to have a board of
directors, keep minutes of meeting, have an executive director, etc. in
order to be able to handle the money for grants, which you probably don't
need. There is a lot of scrutiny involved, and people think it allows you
to be tax-free but that is not so. Be able to describe what you want to do
and how you want it to work and you will probably find that there is a much
easier way than a 501(c)(3).

Jim

On Sat, Apr 1, 2017 at 8:21 AM kenneth wilford (Van-Again) <
kenwilfy@comcast.net> wrote:

> I want to set Vanagon.com as a Non-Profit for Education Purposes.  I think
> I can do this as a 501c3 but I wanted to see if anyone has any experience
> or advice on this.  I have been doing research and it is complicated and
> harder than you would think.  I would probably need to hire a lawyer for
> advice and to be sure it is set up correctly.  I don't want the IRS showing
> up at some point and shutting things down, etc.  If you can give me some
> advice or direction on this I would appreciate it.
>
> --
> Thanks,
> Ken Wilford
> John 3:16
> www.vanagain.com
>