2. Lower nonprofit postage rates for mailing over 250 identical pieces of mail.

3. Public service announcements on radio and TV (free but limited availability).

4. Limited liability for directors and officers for operations of the organization.

5. Perpetual existence. The corporation continues on after the death of the founder(s).

6. Government and private grants are available for tax-exempt organizations.

7. Miscellaneous—employee fringe benefits not generally available to the self-employed person or business owner, e.g., group life insurance, health insurance, payments of medical expenses and approved corporate pension and retirement plans. Some stores and businesses give a discount to nonprofit corporations and employees of nonprofits. Some publications give an advertising discount to nonprofit organizations.

8. For churches and congregations only: Pastors can receive certain tax benefits. If you want to issue a call to a pastor from a foreign country—to come here and preach or pastor—it is much more costly and much more time-consuming if your church or congregation doesn’t have its 501 (c)(3) tax-exempt status. A church needs to be incorporated to hold property in the name of the church.

Also, property of a church would normally be held in the name of a corporation, not in the name of the pastor or other individual.

9. A nonprofit organization (even a church) needs 501 (c)(3) status to obtain food from a government food bank.

10. Once your organization secures tax-exempt status, it is permanent. You don't have to go back and renew it, ever.