Great post! I know a little bit about the US side of things from both watching orgs I’ve worked with go through the process, and working at a start-up that helped charities get 501(c)(3) status, so I can offer some data points from that perspective.
The IRS estimates that the DIY method would take 100+ hours. It’s also worth considering that this method is most likely to lead to mistakes, which can lead to having to re-submit the application and delays in processing time.
US charity lawyers cost around the same, although there are companies that’ll do this for you at a cheaper rate. Harbor Compliance is the most popular I’ve seen, and most orgs I know who’ve used this service pay around $3k. There are also smaller companies that will do this for even less (the company I worked for offered it for ~$750 at the time, but lots of prospects told us they’d found even cheaper options), but these companies often have fewer resources and/or lower success rates.
Worth noting that, if you don’t want to deal with the 501(c)(3) process off the bat, fiscal sponsorship is also a good option. (Shameless plug, Rethink Charity is offering this service for EA projects and organizations.)
Great post! I know a little bit about the US side of things from both watching orgs I’ve worked with go through the process, and working at a start-up that helped charities get 501(c)(3) status, so I can offer some data points from that perspective.
The IRS estimates that the DIY method would take 100+ hours. It’s also worth considering that this method is most likely to lead to mistakes, which can lead to having to re-submit the application and delays in processing time.
US charity lawyers cost around the same, although there are companies that’ll do this for you at a cheaper rate. Harbor Compliance is the most popular I’ve seen, and most orgs I know who’ve used this service pay around $3k. There are also smaller companies that will do this for even less (the company I worked for offered it for ~$750 at the time, but lots of prospects told us they’d found even cheaper options), but these companies often have fewer resources and/or lower success rates.
Worth noting that, if you don’t want to deal with the 501(c)(3) process off the bat, fiscal sponsorship is also a good option. (Shameless plug, Rethink Charity is offering this service for EA projects and organizations.)