Originally posted by Keith Merrill:
I am the new PTO President of my daughter's school who does not have a 501c3 status. The school has 700 students. I was told that I should not apply for the status because it was a small population of students. Is this correct? Should they file for the status or remain without it. Appreciate all the response I can get. :confused:
There seems to be unanimous support here for your obtaining 501c3 status. However, there's another side to the story.
It could well be that the reason you were told not to apply is that you don't need to. The size of your student body isn't so much the issue, as would be your annual revenues. If your revenues are likely to be $5,000 or less, then you probably don't need to apply, per IRC 508c1B.
It's not as easy to apply for, and maintain a valid 501c3 status, as many people make it out to be. Not only does application necessiate filling out a lengthy and tedious Form 1023, you'll also have to file annual returns. If you're not competent to do all that yourself (and most people aren't) you'll have to hire someone who is (usally an attorney). There's info on 501c3 status available at
hushmoney.org
However, the information there appears to be primarily for the benefit of churches, and may not be entirely applicable to your situation.
