Shadow Dog Literary Inc. is a registered Massachusetts nonprofit currently pending 501c3 status. Given the current federal overhaul, we have no idea when our application will be processed. Under the law, we are permitted to operate as a 501c3 while our filing is pending, including raising funds and seeking sponsors. We must inform you that if our 501c3 status is not approved by next tax season or somehow gets rejected, your sponsorships and donations may not be tax deductible. Please keep this in mind.
As stated by the IRS: When the IRS approves a timely filed exemption application, exempt status is recognized back to the date the organization was created. Thus, while an application is pending, the organization can treat itself as exempt from federal income tax under section 501(c)(3). For example, it must file Form 990 (instead of an income tax return) while its application is pending. However, contributors to the organization do not have advance assurance of deductibility because the organization’s exemption is pending. If the organization ultimately qualifies for exemption for the period in which the contribution is made, the contribution will be tax-deductible by the donor. Alternatively, if the organization ultimately does not qualify for exemption, then the contribution will not be tax deductible. Read it here on the IRS website.