Forming a non-profit versus being under a school's jurisdiction

[Steven Smith]

3005 partnered with a local 501c3 that was specifically set up by a well off businessman in 2008 to support the local children in our area. They have been very interested in the robotics team, and have given us small donations over the years, so I would typically give them an update every 6 months.

I mentioned to them that the school purchasing was an issue, and I was thinking about making a 501c3 to fix it. The directors comment to me was "That is what we do. I have 3 bankers on this board that can handle all the paperwork, I want you to focus on working with the kids."

Because of my history with them, they were willing to set up a dedicated account for me with debit card access. I just provide receipts and expense justifications, which is as simple as taking a picture of the receipt with my phone and uploading it.

So to the other points, no a 501c3 is not so difficult to set up that you can't... but there is a lot of overhead. Make sure you talk to existing organizations in your area to make sure they wouldn't already meet your needs before setting out on your own.