Talk to the IRS and to your state's Business Registration office, both of them have a wealth of info to help you. You shouldn't have to incorporate to get a tax ID number. At least in NJ you register you organization name with your county clerk and the organization with the state, and then fill out the relevant state and federal forms requesting a tax ID number...and make sure you check the boxes that say you have no employees so that you don't have to file payroll tax forms. None of this should require a lawyer, it's basically the same as setting up your own business. Going for formal 501(c)3 non-profit status to make your organization's revenue tax-exempt and donations to it tax-deductible is a bit more complicated, and you should talk to a lawyer. But if your annual budget is small enough, that may not be necessary since you won't owe taxes anyway.