Bob Finch wrote;
IF you are not set up to accept money without paying taxes, then YES you SHOULD fix that immediately. And I mean next week. I can think of NO GOOD reason for you to be paying taxes on funds donated for such an endeavor. NONE. Tell me where you live, and I will help you find a good lawyer that does this. It should not cost much at all.
speaking from experience, setting up a tax-exempt org is no minor undertaking. in fact, it's a down-right p.i.t.a. it's not a bad idea, but it takes a lot of work and more than few hours with a lawyer. it entails organization by-laws, a board of directors, and keeping books. a better option might be to seek project status with a "fiscal sponsor." that's an already-established tax exempt non-profit that technically keeps yr books for you. -kludge