Question About Fundraisers?? ETA

B. -
In response to your additional post - you may run your own business and not have anyone to answer to - um, but the IRS at tax time. BUT selling tickets for your own product then giving some of the money to the food pantry is not really a legit fundraiser. There is no part of that you will be able to tax deduct. And it is unethical to sell raffle tickets in the name of another organization (or "for the benefit of) without their consent and permission. Check with with your local state charities office - this may be illegal as well.

It is great that you want to help out and be involved. Why don't you have your business just make a can donation to the food pantry? That way they get help and you get a legitimate tax deduction. If you can't afford a cash donation maybe you could give volunteer at the local pantry and help stock shelves and distribute food.
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I have worked for years in non-profit fundraising and a true, IRS 501(c)3 does spend money to fundraise. I.e, if you are holding a benefit dinner any income remaining after the cost of the meals, venue, etc. is considering the dollar amount raised. Of course the key here is to have as much donated towards the event as possible in order to raise the most money. Anyone buying tickets to the dinner should receive a tax letter for their donation amount less the actual cost of the dinner.

If you are holding a raffle then the raffled items should be donated and the appropriate in-kind donation tax receipt given to the donor.

If you are doing a fundraiser for a non-profit organization (you mentioned Empty Stocking) first check with them and find out what their policies are regarding fundraising. If you are doing this to promote your for-profit business then you are entering a sticky area. The best way to do that would be to have your company donate the product to the organization and let them handle the fundraising. If you are donating and handling the fundraising dollars you may find yourself in a questionable situation. Your company should really not financially benefit from the fundraiser unless your company is an event planning consultant type business and gets paid a fee for this type of service. Even if this is the case you should follow basic marketing principles to maximize the benefit to the organization you are contracting with.

Good Luck

You need to make sure you get all your i's dotted and t's crossed just right.

Get a tax id number, non profit set up. Make sure you have a solid business plan.

On a personal note, I would not touch this until I spoke with a tax accountant and legal counsel. You do not want IRS coming after you for some minor mistake you made due to not understanding the laws. IRS does not care if you understand or not. A simple mistake can cost you thousands in fines.

I think you can only keep what you need to run that fundraiser, and I could be wrong but I think the company usually donates the prize.

Sorry, I don't know what ETA is?

The first part of your post says your going to supply a prize for a fundraiser? Fund raisers come in many shapes and sizes. Are you talking about a raffle or auction? Since you have a particular organization in mind you should contact that organization. Typically you would supply/donate the prize and write off the value of that prize as a chartible contribution.