Consider incorporating your nonprofit so it exists as a separate legal organization in order to a) own its own property and its own bank account; b) ensure that the nonprofit can continue on its own (even after you're gone); and c) protect yourself personally for operations of the nonprofit. You incorporate your nonprofit by filing articles of incorporation with the appropriate local state office. (An incorporated nonprofit requires a board of directors.)
If you want to be exempt from federal taxes (and maybe some other taxes, too), you should file with the IRS to be a tax-exempt organization. (The IRS states that you must be a corporation, community chest, fund, or foundation to receive tax-exempt status. Articles of association may also be used in place of incorporation.) (Probably the most well known type of nonprofits is a the IRS classification of 501(c)(3), a "charitable nonprofit'.)
Depending on the nature of your organization, you may also granted tax-deductible status from the IRS. Publication 526 lists the types of organizations to which donations are deductible.
So, if you did all of these steps, you'd be an incorporated, tax-exempt nonprofit that could receive tax deductible donations.
The particular steps you take depend on your plans for your organization, including the nature of its services. They also depend on how the IRS interprets the nature of your organization, including its services.
And now Some refinement on the description of "Nonprofit"
The word "nonprofit" refers to a type of business -- one which is organized under rules that forbid the distribution of profits to owners. "Profit" in this context is a relatively technical accounting term, related to but not identical with the notion of a surplus of revenues over expenditures.
Most [registered!] nonprofits businesses are organized into corporations [or associations!]. Most corporations are formed under the corporations laws of a particular state. Every state has provisions for forming nonprofit corporations; some permit other forms, such as unincorporated associations, trusts, etc., which may operate as nonprofit businesses on slightly (but sometimes importantly) different terms.
The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) gets involved because corporations are, in general, required to pay federal corporate income taxes on their net earnings (another technical term, pointing to a slightly different way to the idea of a surplus of revenue over expenses).
Section 501 of the Internal Revenue Code lists several circumstances under which corporations [or unincorporated nonprofits!] are exempt from these taxes. Section 501(c)(3) -- the famous one -- describes [nonprofit!] (1) serving charitable, religious, scientific or educational purposes (2) no part of the income of which "inures to the benefit of" anyone.
The Non-Profit Corporation has many benefit. All of these benefits help to make the Non-Profit Corporation one of the most popular choices in the country for tax exempt businesses.
Our Non-Profit Corporation filing process is streamlined to make sure that your new Non-Profit Corporation is filed quickly and effectively. We’ll make sure that your are always informed as to the status of your Non-Profit Corporation . Here is an overview of our process from start to finish.