1.We've been trying to fill out the paperwork to become a non-profit for 3 weeks now and finally were able to wrap our heads around it... to be honest, its not that hard.. ..its a LOT of PAPERWORK to get through, but if there's a few of you and you have a lawyer helping you file, it just takes a lot of time ot fill out. We're doing it primarily so that we can write grants, and get donations more easily. Also, i dunno if someone brought up the idea of an umbrella agency whose tax ID you could use, but thats always a possibility...We opted not to, because we didn't know of any off hand, didn't really have the time to do the research, and didn't want to have to answer to someone about all our operations.

2. and its true... there's a clause that says, "upon dissolution of your organization all assets must go to another 501(c)3, or the government will take care it for you" Also, If you do file for status, there's an indemity clause that states the corporation will be responsible if there's a law suit not the individuals running the collective ( which is kinda nice.....), but it also states that you can't be sued unless a person can prove gross neglect.... and unless you forgot to tighten down someone's skewer or stem, its hard to prove that.....

We've really been using the 1023 forms posted on the wiki to help us fill our own out, Bike Kitchen and SOPO both have theirs up, and as soon as we finish, we'll be uploading our own.