Advice re: forming a 501(c)(3) organization?

M* H*

Greetings,

I am involved with a community garden on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC.
There are about 40 community gardens in DC, but we are the first to attempt
to incorporate as a nonprofit organization.  This is an absolute necessity
for us: annual property taxes are prohibitively expensive, therefore we NEED
to obtain tax-exempt status.  We have thought of asking an established
nonprofit to take us under their wing, but thus far, none have been willing,
and we are also not enthusiastic about relenquishing our autonomy.

Has anyone on this list had experiences with applying for 501(c)(3) status
for a community garden?  Any advice or resources would be very welcome.  You
can communicate with me via this list or contact me directly.

By the way, I requested the publication on "How to form a 501(c)(3) Org."
from the ACGA, but Sally McCabe tells me that it is out-of-date and no
longer in publication, and I notice that it has recently been removed from
their website.

Thanks in advance,

Matthew Heberger
King's Court Community Garden
Washington, DC

Program Coordinator
The International Network on
Participatory Irrigation Management
600 Pennsylvania Avenue SE, Suite 340
Washington, DC 20003  USA
Tel: +1 202 546 7005
Fax: +1 202 318 0215
email: coordinator@inpim.org
Internet: http://www.inpim.org

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