Question: Old Organization tied to a personal bank account, what do we do now when trying to revamp?

I recently came on board with our small rural organization. I've been doing some policy writing because they were a mess. Feedback has been very positive. However, from what I can figure out, they do not technically exist and are not registered with the Sec of State. No idea how this has been functioning, but need to change ASAP. So obviously I can just register our new name, but should I be concerned about the relatively good chunk of money that would be transferred in at start up? I thought we were just talking about a name change, and it's evolved into so much more.

Asked by alle0343

Answers:

Advice from PTO Today

Rose H writes:
Hi alle0343,
Look at this as moving forward, taking steps to become an offical group. You can move forward with registering with the Secretary of State. You can get an EIN (Employer Information Number) from the IRS. With that number, you can set up an bank account for your group. You can investigate applying for 501(c)(3) status with the IRS. Here's a link for that: https://www.irs.gov/uac/newsroom/new-1023-ez-form-makes-applying-for-501c3tax-exempt-status-easier-most-charities-qualify. You can do this one step at a time. As long as you are moving in the direction of making these things happen (it doesn't have to be done by next week), you should be all set.
Rose