[aclee]

My husband and I are talking about applying for a non-profit number, and then holding a dinner at a local church or schoole cafeteria. It could have a few tables that were displayed with our adoption journey, and maybe a binder with all the agnecy information I've gathered hole punched for people to flip through (and see how expensive this all really is) Has anyone done this? I don't think we would make enough to cover everything, but everything helps. Plus is we have a non-profit tax ID number, all their contributions would be tax deductable right?

I can't think of anything else....my husband and I love to cook, so this is our only idea

[ZanesDad]

What's the purpose of the dinner? What are the funds raised supposed to do? If you're just trying to educate the public about the adoption process, then that is probably fine, but there are numerous hoops to jump through to get a 501(c)(3) ruling from the IRS (assuming your are in the US).

However, if you're raising funds to recoup your own adoption expenses, there's no way you'll get a tax-exempt ruling and folks are not going to be able to take a deduction for anything they give you.

[aclee]

Did you try to get a non-profit number and were denied? I know 2 families that got non-profit numbers for exactly this reason. A friend of mine got a non-profit number for purchasing things wholesale for her wedding. It was my understanding (at least what I've been told) that is you are not attempting to make an income, then you can declare non-profit. I guess I'll have to look into this more. I know a couple of non-profit companies already, maybe I can get one to sponsor me? thanks for the input anyway....

[ZanesDad]

What do you mean when you say "non-profit number"? I think we're talking about three different things here:

- There's non-profit corporations, which can be formed in any state in accordance with their non-profit corporation laws, which are generally pretty relaxed. But being a non-profit corporation doesn't automatically make you tax-exempt.

- There's tax exemption at the state level, which usually has to do mostly with sales tax. Again, the rules for this vary from state to state.

- There's tax exemption at the federal (U.S.) level, which has to do with income tax. And even at this level, there are various flavors of tax exemption. Being tax-exempt at the federal level doesn't mean that you can solicit tax-deductible contributions.

Good luck with your search!