When it comes to filing your 501(c)3 application forms for nonprofit status, InstantNonprofit can help you do it faster—which will save you both precious time and money. Our team has years of practical, hands-on knowledge gleaned from helping other heroes establish a foothold in the world of charitable giving. We bring that knowledge to bear as we help guide you through the steps of starting your nonprofit organization.
Launching a charity is a daunting thing. One of the most crucial milestones is gaining the all-important 501(c)3 status, which establishes that your nonprofit organization is recognized by the IRS as tax-exempt. But there are countless pitfalls along the way. As martial arts master Bruce Lee once said, “If you spend too much time thinking about a thing, you’ll never get it done.“ At InstantNonprofit, we want to help you move from the seemingly endless paperwork surrounding tax-exempt status and “thinking about the thing,” to getting it done.
Here are the ways InstantNonprofit is a real time-saver, helping you file for and obtain 501(c)3 status faster than going it alone or with other advisers as you seek tax-exempt status.
You Have Us at ‘Hello’
When you sign up with us and log into your account on our secure server, we’re all yours. Our team is eager to get to know more about you and the cause you’re so passionate about. We want to know as much as we can about how you’ll approach your work, what motivates you, and what your nonprofit can accomplish.
We streamline the paperwork to a few online forms, using smart technology to automate completion of some of the forms necessary for tax-exempt status. For example, forms 1023 and 990 must be completed to be considered for 501(c)3 consideration. Form 1023 is essentially an application to request IRS approval of tax-exempt status, while Form 990 is officially known as the “Return of Organization Exempt From Income Tax.” It provides the public with the necessary financial information about your nonprofit organization.
As you work with InstantNonprofit, we assign you to one of our nonprofit experts who will help you fill out and complete your Form 1023 application. And we take you through the steps you’ll need for reporting for the Form 990, as well as registering with your state as a charity. These steps are done online, but you are working with a real human throughout the process. Don’t worry if the forms appear difficult to fill out or if technology is a challenge to you. Our team of experts is here to help—online or offline.
You Avoid IRS Red Flags
Paperwork can feel overwhelming. Tax forms can be intimidating. Bureaucracies can be frustrating. We don’t want you to abandon your dreams of doing good in the world because a few aggravating legal requirements stand in your way.
We want to help you meet these legal requirements the right way. When you work with InstantNonprofit, we help you get the paperwork done and forms filed—correctly. That’s because if documents are filled out incorrectly or key information is left off important paperwork, the IRS flags them. And the process starts all over again.
Using our system, we make sure that you enter the right information and upload all the relevant documents for your nonprofit. Then our experts guide you through next steps in the process for incorporating your charity and applying for 501(c)3 status. Through this level of attention to detail, we help you avoid the frustrating red flags from the IRS. No resetting the clock, no paying lawyers more fees for going through the process. With InstantNonprofit, we want you to get it right the first time.
No Silly Mistakes
According to the IRS, one of the biggest things to trip up applicants—and thus delay their application for tax-exempt status—is including the incorrect user fee on their forms. For example, the user fee for an organization filing Form 1023 is $600, but if it’s eligible to submit Form 1023-EZ, the user fee drops to $275. These fee amounts are subject to change, so it’s always helpful to have a professional like our nonprofit experts on hand to help ensure that your application includes a check or money order made payable to the United States Treasury—for the accurate amount.
You Focus on the Good Work
Once the 1023 and 990 forms have been completed—accurately and thoroughly—your nonprofit expert will submit your application for 501(c)3 status for approval. While we manage correspondences and answer any questions that might arise, you’re free to focus on the good work that you and your nonprofit are meant to do. Brain space that once had to be devoted to paperwork can now concentrate on the real problems and solutions your charity addresses.
Approval times from the IRS can take some applications from 10 months to a year and a half. But for InstantNonprofit customers, “Long Form” Form 1023 IRS Applications for Tax-Exempt Status receive approval in less than four months on average.
You can go it alone. But we believe InstantNonprofit streamlined system and our team of experts can help you obtain that coveted 501(c)3 status faster and more efficiently—leaving you more time and money to do good in the world. Which, when all is said and done, is what’s it’s really all about.
