HI Michael, Those resources are great, thanks for providing. It is a complicated process and needs to be done right (e.g. to get the right tax status etc.). I particularly liked managementhelp.org/strt_org/strt_np/str t_np.htm so thank you for sharing! Cheers Mike

While it is possible to run an elder interpretive dance program as a for profit enterprise (S Corp., C Corp., or LLC), the difficulty is that such a venture would have to rely on charging either elders for participation or the general public for being an audience. Neither works very well. Your best bet is to form a nonprofit corporation. Since you sound very entrepreneurial, there are some warnings. In exchange for the privilege of forming as a nonprofit, the law requires that: the corporation be formed for a public, charitable purpose; the corporation is ultimately run (or owned, if you will) by the board of directors (usually no less than three) who have the power to hire and fire the founder/director (you) at will; and finally, the corporation cannot earn profit or franchise itself. The benefit you get for being a nonprofit and moreso from being tax exempt under 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code is that: a) you can apply to the government for grants; and b) contributions from the general public or any fundraisers can be deducted from the donor's tax return. Elder dance programs particularly when framed as therapeutic programs are in high demand from agencies that serve elders and almost every city has one, each state has one and so does the federal government. But, for dance, most funding comes at the local level. An interesting government marketplace where elders predominate is your local housing authority. Also, in larger cities, most of the nonprofit senior centers are actually grants from the city government. Nonprofits can trademark their name but, as I said, cannot franchise. What a nonprofit can do is grow. Establishing another dance center is like opening another school. You can just do it provided you have a revenue stream to support it. The steps to setting up a nonprofit are: 1. Getting the form from the secretary of state from your State at their website. 2. Forming a board of directors and hosting a one day retreat with them so that they are properly trained with respect to board duties. 3. Getting help to specifically tailor the form so that it has the necessary language that IRS requires for a tax exemption. 4. Filing the articles with the Secretary of State. 5. Obtaining an Employer Identification Number. 6. Filing Form 1023, An Application for Tax Exemption with IRS (this requires a fee payable to IRS). 7. And, if going after Federal funds, filing with CCR.gov and Grants.gov both of which require getting a DUNS number. That's why it is sometimes better to get professional help but it is do-able solo. Honoring Elders is a good thing so I wish you Godspeed. José A. Rivera President & CEO Rivera, Sierra & Company, Inc. jrivera@riverasierra.com

An elder interpretive dance organization can easily be framed as a not-for-profit.  The key requirements under all state laws is that the organization be formed for a 'charitable' purpose and that there be no 'profit' to the enterprise.  In a not-for-profit, the board is the executive authority over the corporation and controls the actions of the director/founder.  If you form as a not-for-profit, you an apply for grants at federal, state and local levels.  Would it be better to run such a dance organization as for-profit LLC?  You can but it would only survive by fees and subscriptions and that is tricky given the nature of the enterprise.  Yes, a nonprofit can apply for trademarks or service marks.  A franchise is only done by for-profits.    

Hey Mindful,   That is an interesting idea for a business, I hope it works out well for you.   I also went down a similar path a few month back, looking at not for profit and I found some resources that you may want to check out also.   Here is a good pdf summary of what to consider before stating a not for profit:   http://www.managementhelp.org/strt_org/start-fp-np.pdf   And this site has just about everything you need to know about everything else to consider, and they break it into easy to read articles also:   http://www.managementhelp.org/strt_org/strt_np/strt_np.htm   Hope these help   Good luck with you business        

Becoming or starting a non-Profit can be daunting and time consuming; if you believe in what you're doing it will be well worth the effort.  If your intentions are truly geared towards philanthropy follow your heart and go the non-profit route.  Honesty and good intentions will help you make your decision. I don't believe you will be able to get a grant to start any sort of business weather it's non profit or not.  Thanks for all great resources on this thread.

I was looking into starting a non-profit, and I didn't realize how much you have to do to get the non-profit status. I read How to Form a Nonprofit Corporation (http://www.nolo.com/product.cfm/ObjectID/5C6811EB-C2B2-414C-B126D98C0F53...) which was tremendously helpful in understanding the legal obligations of starting a non-profit. I bought a couple other books from amazon, but none of them were nearly as helpful as this one. --- This post has been unlinked. Read about Community Best Practices here. Message Edited by ChristineL on 02-01-2010 11:22 AM

Before you make a decision, you may want to look into the requirements for maintaining a non-profit as well as getting the 501c status. Nonprofits are a lot of fun and have great perks, but the grant market for funding is extremely competitive, taxes (Form 990 and such) are complicated and finding long-term volunteer staff is difficult. Just something to think about... best of luck!

To help you make a decision, you might want to check the IRS requirements to become a non-profit found at www.irs.gov/charities/index.html Not all businesses can qualify for non-profit status and the process can be time-consuming and expensive. Therefore, you might want to initially start as an LLC while you look into obtaining non-profit status. If you decide to pursue it, you can then re-register your business entity type.