I got suckered into starting a team. We had a guy who rode, owned a business, and wanted to sponsor some of us that race. Sounds simple enough right?
He wanted to be able to write a check to an entity for accounting purposes. In order to open a bank account you have to get a federal tax ID. That's easy too.
But then to file correctly you have to register the entity with the state as a corporation. Um, sure, can't be too bad right? The cost to file in my sate is around $300.00.
Then you have to fill out the paperwork to have the corporation setup as a non profit. Corporations require articles defining the structure and rules. They also require officers.
Non profit social clubs also have membership restrictions, so I legally have to collect dues and maintain a membership roster to maintain the status.
Uh, sheesh, this is becoming a major PITA.
And you have to register with USAC to boot in order to get the name on the licenses.
All so the guy could write a check to the team.