501(c)(3) Non-Profit Status

IRS

IRS publication 557, Tax Exempt Status for your Organization (Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office). ...local copy... This IRS paper outlines the rules we have to follow as non-profit in order to maintain that status. Esp. important are the various reporting regulations (chapter 2, page 8ff), donor interaction obligations (page 13ff) and the whole chapter 3 (page 19ff) that deals with 501(c)(3) organizations.

Annual:
- - form 990: until May 15th following year; penalty: USD 20 per late filing day, up to USD 10,000.
Case-based:
- - form 8300: in case the PSF receives more than USD 10,000 in cash in one transaction and in the course of doing business (not as donation)
Changes to the bylaws:
- - a copy of the changes needs to be sent to the EO area manager, or included in the form 990 filing (page 19, IRS 557)

For cases where the foundation accepts quid pro quo donations and provides services partially in return for the donation, the PSF must provide a written disclosure statement (page 13, IRS 557).
This is important for PyCon tickets that include a donation and possibly also for associate member fees.
For donations over USD 250, the donor will need a donation acknowledgment from the PSF in order to be able to deduct the donation (page 13, IRS 557).
Special requirements apply for donations of intellectual property (page 15, IRS 557).

Special care must be taken not to exceed certain limits for lobbying expenditures (page 44, IRS 557)

http://foundationcenter.org/ - Foundation Center Information about how to start and run a foundation.