My organization is applying for 501c(3) status. We are past the 27 months window for application after organizing and need to provide a letter to the IRS stating that we would like an exemption and to get our certificate retroactive to our original organizing date. We discovered that we did not have this status when a new board came into office and when we did an audit. The IRS did not 'catch' us so we are on good footing. Does anyone have an example of an IRS letter used for this purpose that 'worked'. I'd appreciate you posting it or sending it to my organizations email. Let me know and I'll send the email address to you.