How do you go about setting up an account to receive charitable donations for a man in need of help?
You can approach this in several ways. If you simply want to enable friends and family to give money to this individual, to support his bills, etc., then you can simply ask them to send checks directly to him. You would not be establishing a separate charity, and contributions would NOT be tax deductible, nor could you solicit contributions from the public. If you want to solicit contributions from the public, you need to form a separate entity (usually a non-profit corporation, but the form differs state-by-state). This entity will need to be operated on a not-for-profit basis, and will need to register with the state charities commission, attorney general or other appropriate regulatory body that oversees charitable solicitations in the state. You need a lawyer to help with this. If, in addition, you want contributors to be able to make tax-deductible contributions to the fund, you will need to apply for and receive tax-exempt status from the IRS under Section 501(c)(3). The applicat
