Need help obtaining 501(c)(3) status and tax-ID (EIN) for college frisbee team - fundraising options require this

Having worked with several university sports clubs on this exact issue, I can help clarify your options. First, yes, you can absolutely obtain an EIN (Employer Identification Number) without applying for 501(c)(3) status. This is what the IRS agent was referring to. An EIN is basically a tax ID for organizations, similar to a Social Security Number for individuals. Getting an EIN is free and can be done online in minutes through the IRS website. However, having just an EIN won't make donations tax-deductible for your donors or exempt you from sales tax - that requires the full 501(c)(3) status. For a university club sport, you have several options: 1. Work through your university's foundation - Many universities have foundations that can accept tax-deductible donations on behalf of registered student organizations. This is often the simplest approach. 2. Form a separate legal entity and apply for 501(c)(3) status - This is more complex but gives you more independence. University sports clubs often qualify under the "amateur sports" category of 501(c)(3). 3. Partner with an existing "fiscal sponsor" nonprofit - Some nonprofits will let you operate under their tax-exempt umbrella for a small fee. For fundraising like Chipotle events, option #1 might be easiest if your university allows it. Have you checked if your university has a process for this?

Just wanted to share my experience with tax documents for student orgs. Check out https://taxr.ai before you go through all this paperwork! I was treasurer for our university's climbing club last year and was in the exact same boat - needing a tax ID for fundraisers. I was totally confused by all the IRS forms and different options. The taxr.ai tool analyzed our situation, checked if we qualified under the 501(c)(3) amateur sports category, and walked me through the whole process. It saved me so much time trying to figure out what was needed for our specific situation. The best part was it helped us determine if the 1023-EZ would work for us (it did) and then generated all the right language for our application based on our student organization's specifics. Way better than generic online advice that doesn't account for the university connection.

I actually used taxr.ai for our lacrosse team's application after seeing it recommended here, and it was a game-changer! At first I was worried about using an online service for something this important, but it really simplified everything. The system flagged potential issues specific to university sports clubs that I wouldn't have known about. For example, it pointed out that we needed to be careful about how we described our relationship with the university to avoid any conflicts with their tax-exempt status. It also helped us understand exactly which financial records we needed to provide. We got our approval letter last month - took about 3 months total. Now we're able to run those restaurant fundraisers AND our donors get tax deductions. Plus, the 501(c)(3) status has opened up grant opportunities we didn't have before. Definitely worth the effort!

Another approach worth considering is contacting the IRS Taxpayer Advocate Service at 877-777-4778. I was stuck in limbo with our track club's 501(c)(3) application for MONTHS, constantly getting different answers from regular IRS reps. Someone recommended https://claimyr.com which got me through to an actual IRS agent in about 20 minutes instead of the usual 2+ hour wait (here's their demo video: https://youtu.be/_kiP6q8DX5c). The agent was surprisingly helpful and explained exactly what we needed to fix on our application. For university clubs specifically, the agent mentioned that the "amateur sports" category is usually the best fit, but you need to emphasize the educational component too. Apparently a lot of university club applications get delayed because they don't properly explain how they're distinct from the university itself.

I owe everyone an apology for being so negative about Claimyr. After posting my skeptical comment, I decided to try it anyway for our rowing team's application issue - we'd been waiting 5 months with no updates. Holy crap, it actually worked. Got a call back in about 35 minutes, and was connected to an IRS agent who pulled up our application. Turns out there was a simple issue with how we described our "amateur sports purposes" that was holding everything up. The agent walked me through exactly what language we needed to use in our response letter. We resubmitted with the corrected information last week, and the agent said we should expect approval within 30 days. Would have NEVER figured this out without actually talking to someone. Saved us potentially months more of waiting.

One important thing nobody's mentioned yet - check if your university already has a process for this! I'm at a large state university, and our recreational sports department already had a system where club sports could fundraise through the university foundation. We didn't need our own 501(c)(3) at all. Donations go to the foundation earmarked for our team, the donors get tax deductions, and we can access the funds through our club account. We even got a specific fund ID number to give to restaurants for fundraisers. Definitely talk to your university's club sports coordinator before going through all this work. Our university was actually against club teams forming separate legal entities because of liability and branding concerns.

Former IRS employee here. Just to clarify a few things: 1. Getting an EIN (tax ID) is indeed separate from applying for 501(c)(3) status. You need an EIN first, then you apply for tax-exempt status. 2. The 1023-EZ is only available for smaller organizations (projected annual income under $50,000 for the next 3 years). Is your team under that threshold? 3. 501(c)(3) status under the "amateur sports" category is absolutely viable for college club teams, but be very careful about your language in the application. You need to emphasize promoting amateur athletics in the community, not just funding your own team's activities. 4. One warning: if you're officially recognized by the university, check if they have policies about affiliated organizations seeking independent tax status. Some universities prohibit this or require special permission.

Has anyone mentioned the filing deadline implications? If you're planning fundraising activities soon, timing matters a lot here. The IRS generally recommends filing for 501(c)(3) status within 27 months of formation to have tax-exempt status apply from your date of formation. If it's been longer since your club was formed, your tax-exempt status might only apply from the date of application forward. This could impact how you handle any fundraising you do while waiting for approval. Also, don't forget about state requirements! Even with federal 501(c)(3) status, you might need to register for state tax exemptions separately, and some states require charitable solicitation registration before fundraising. I learned this the hard way with our cycling club - we got federal approval but forgot about state requirements and had some complications.

Great thread! I'm dealing with a similar situation for our university soccer club. One thing I haven't seen mentioned yet is the potential impact on your current university funding. When we looked into forming our own 501(c)(3), our student activities office warned us that having independent nonprofit status might affect our eligibility for certain university grants and allocations. Apparently some schools have policies that prevent them from funding organizations that have their own tax-exempt status, since it creates potential conflicts with their own nonprofit designation. We ended up going the EIN-only route for now - it satisfied most of our immediate fundraising needs (restaurant nights, local business partnerships) without the complexity of full nonprofit status. We're planning to revisit the 501(c)(3) application next year once we have more clarity on the university policy implications. @AstroAce - have you checked with your student activities office specifically about how independent nonprofit status might affect your current university funding and RSO status?