[Carol]

I can't help you with NJ, but 365 officially became 501c3 in May! As review, here are the steps involved:

1. Become a non-profit organization. In DE that was pretty easy and just involved filing papers with the state. And paying a fee. We had an attorney help us; a friend who advised us for free. You don't need an attorney but it helps. You do need to have by-laws and officers. You then get a employee identification number (EIN) which you'll need for the IRS.

We actually incorporated not as a team but as a group of adults that was formed to "promote interest in science and technology to middle school and high-school-aged students through participation in the FIRST Foundation robotic competitions and related activities". One of the activities we run is the MOE team (okay, it is the biggest one by far. We do also run the DE Lego League tournament). This might be a way to get around the NJ requirements.

2. Gather all the documentation needed. The hardest part of this was coming up with an estimated budget for the next three years. You also need a description of your fund-raising, list of major sponsors, by-laws, officers, summary of activities, etc. We talked informally with a CPA and a person who works with non-profits (again found through parents) who said it's not as hard as we thought, the IRS is mainly concerned with foundations with lots of assets, not small club type groups like us.

3. Fill out the 501c3 application and send it in with the $500 fee. We heard back in 6 weeks! The IRS sent us a letter giving us provisional tax-exempt status for 5 years, when we will have to re-apply or something. We can worry about that later. We have already used the letter to get a donation from a company who wouldn't donate before, without a 501c3 number. (You use your EIN for that.)

Anyone who has any questions, we'll be glad to help.