Michelle:I took the liberty of using the search box on this page to locate a previous post that was very thorough...hope it helps (and thank you Carl for answering this so well earlier)
By now you have found out that you are having difficulty receiving funding...I hope you have connected certain facts with your dilemma, and are not judging it solely on disregard for service men and women. Corporate Charities and Foundations are bound by laws which govern their giving, and they are NOT ALLOWED to fund anything other than a legally registered non-profit. Once you get the non-profit registered, be very clear and distinct in your mission statement and purpose. If it is too broad, that will also cause bumps along the funding road as well.
From a serviceman's mother...best wishes to you on your very honorable quest!
The first thing you need to do is to incorporate in the state in which you do business. Lots of folks overlook this detail. Log onto your state's government (or official) website and find the link for the Secretary of State. Somewhere on the Secretary's site is a link for corporations which will take you to a link for nonprofit corporations, which should take you to a link for charitable corporations. Not all nonprofit corporations are charitable so make sure you find the forms to file for charities.
You will likely need incorporators, a set of by-laws, and systems for decisions about disposing of assets should your corporation ever go bankrupt or suspend operations. It will take about a month or so to get all of these things together.
Hire an attorney to review your paperwork. You can cut costs by putting together the paperwork yourself, but you still want an attorney to spend 30 minutes reading through everything. Pick an attorney who routinely handles general practice cases or corporate law. Legal advice is highly specialized and worth what you pay for it.
Now you can file the papers with the Secretary of State.
Once you file the appropriate papers, it will take about a month or maybe a little more for the Secretary of State to acknowledge the filing of your paperwork. Now you're incorporated in your state.
Log onto the IRS website and download Pubs 557, 4220, and 526. Download Form 1023 and Instructions to complete Form 1023. Read all forms, read them again. Then...read them again.
I've helped a few organizations get acknowledged as 501(c)(3)and it takes me about 60 hours of hard work to complete Form 1023 in a satisfactory manner.
Gather the appropriate information to fill out the forms, hold the appropriate meetings with your board, etc. and complete the required forms.
Take the package to your attorney and ask that he review it all THOROUGHLY.
Mail the package to the IRS and wait.
The IRS will respond within 90 - 120 days.
(Now for my disclaimer) I am not an attorney and am not licensed to practice law in any state. The suggestions offered here are merely suggestions and are not meant to be construed as legal advice. (I have to say the above so that there is no appearance that I am offering legal advice -- it's against the law in most states to offer legal advice without a license.)
Hope some of this helps.
