Opening a gym on a nonprofit basis is tricky business. First and foremost, the purpose of the nonprofit, as reflected in its charter, must be 'to provide free rehabilitative and related services to veterans of the armed forces of the United States in order to assist their reentry to civilian society and address any psychosocial issues associated with service.' That is what a charitable purpose looks like. Now, you can have a gym but it must include physical and psychosocial therapy as well. For such a facility, placement is key and I recommend placement nearby a large military installation so that you are more likely to get a reasonable number of veterans needing rehabilitative services. And, you don't want to directly compete with the VA that already provides similar services on an in-patient basis. Setting up a nonprofit requires the creation of a strong nonprofit board with, preferably, a majority of veterans. You will need both a strategic planner and a grantwriter if you expect to ever get this off the ground. The government will probably not support a gym as such but would support transitional facilities that might include a gym. I suggest that you hire a consultant to navigate you through these waters. José A. Rivera, J.D. President & CEORivera, Sierra & Company, Inc. Human Services Consultants jrivera@riverasierra.com P.S. I have no idea what the term 'straight business' means but if it means that you are trying to mix nonprofit formation with getting a profit from the gym, you will find yourself wearing an orange jumpsuit. Nonprofits cannot directly or indirectly earn profit.

What do you mean by 'it will be a nonprofit and also a straight business' ?