We did this and it's not that hard. Our secretary did the 501(c)3 thing herself, but even if you get an attorney, I can't imagine it being more than maybe $200. We've received several grants because we're non-profit tat we couldn't even have gotten if we weren't non-profit so it's been worth it. Good luck.
Carolyn posted this in another thread. Re-posting here for topicality:
"We currently keep our funds in a noninterest bearing account. I would like to put our money in an interest bearing account. We requested the forms from the IRS and our treasurer wasn't comfortable completely them because they were so detailed. We met with a CPA who told us we first needed to meet with an attorney to become a "legal entity" or else the IRS might not grant us the non profit status. We really don't know where to go from here. Should we hire an attorney? It sounds like this may cost us about $1,000 in filing fees, CPA fees and legal fees by the time we're done. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. "
