Another friend and myself would like to start a Singer's Club in our town. It would mainly be organized as a song circle, with participants paying a small amount, say $5.00 a head, for refreshments, renting the space, etc. We'd also like to have a kitty established so that we can, occasionally, book an artist that we admire every now and then. We'd like to open a bank account under the name of the organization so that we can keep the money safely and so that we can write occasional checks. But, it all seems so complicated! When we get to the bank it's "Are you a corporation"..."Um, no".   "Are you a registered non-profit?".   "No, we aren't out to make a profit, but we aren't a registered charity either."    If you say you're an organization they want to see the articles of incorporation, by-laws, officers, etc. We're only two friends who want to start a singer's club. There seems to be no concept of a small informal club that gets together to do things and wants a way of managing their money.

Does anybody know the easiest way to handle this????

We are in the United States, BTW.