How to Open a Bank Account for Your Class Reunion (and Sell Tickets Online)
When ticket sales open, classmates start sending money, and it has to land somewhere. It shouldn't be one volunteer's personal account: the reunion's money gets mixed in with their own, and any tax form the payment processor sends goes out in their name. Give the reunion an account of its own instead. It takes four steps, and the video above walks through them in about two and a half minutes.
1. Make it official: form an unincorporated association
When two or more people agree to work together for a shared nonprofit purpose, they've formed an unincorporated association. Put it in a short written agreement signed by at least two committee members. In most states there's nothing to file. The agreement should cover:
- The association's exact name and its purpose, such as planning your class reunion.
- The officers: usually a chair, a treasurer and a secretary.
- Who can sign for money, and a rule that two people approve every payment.
- A charity that receives anything left over once the reunion is paid for.
Then vote it in and record it in your meeting minutes: adopt the agreement, approve opening a bank account and name at least two signers. The bank will ask to see those minutes.
2. Get the reunion its own EIN
An Employer Identification Number (EIN) is the reunion's own tax ID. Apply online at IRS.gov. It's free, so skip any website that charges for one. One officer applies as the "responsible party" with their Social Security number or ITIN. The application takes one sitting, and the EIN is issued right away. Save the confirmation letter (notice CP 575) as a PDF before you close the page: the bank will ask for it, and Stripe may too.
3. Open a checking account at a credit union
Open the account in the reunion's exact name, matching the EIN letter. Bring the EIN letter, the signed agreement, the minutes and a photo ID for each signer. Call the branch first: requirements vary, and some credit unions don't offer accounts for organizations.
On fees, many credit unions charge a few dollars a month for an organization's checking account, or nothing at all. Big-bank business checking often runs about $15 a month unless you keep a minimum balance.
4. Take ticket payments with Stripe
Your treasurer signs up for Stripe as a company and chooses "Unincorporated association" as the business structure. (Stripe's Nonprofit option is meant for 501(c)(3) charities.) Enter the name and EIN exactly as the IRS letter shows them, and connect the credit union account for payouts. A brand-new EIN can take three to four weeks to show up in IRS records, so start about a month before tickets go on sale.
Then create a Payment Link for each ticket type, with a custom field that asks each classmate for their name at graduation so payments match your class list. Stripe's standard rate is 2.9% + 30¢ per card payment: on a $100 ticket, Stripe keeps $3.20 and $96.80 lands in the reunion's account. Card surcharges are restricted, so build the fee into the ticket price. The first payout takes about 7–14 days; after that, payouts arrive in about two business days.
At tax time
Under the federal rule, payment processors send Form 1099-K only above $20,000 and more than 200 payments in a year, and with the reunion's own EIN, any 1099-K goes to the reunion, not to a volunteer. Many reunions qualify as tax-exempt social clubs under section 501(c)(7) and file the free Form 990-N e-Postcard when their receipts are normally $50,000 or less. State rules vary: in California, for example, a social club applies with FTB Form 3500 and then files Form 199N. This guide is general information, not legal or tax advice, so ask a tax professional which return fits your reunion.
Want this handled?
Rewind Reunions sets all of this up with your committee as part of planning the reunion, so the money side is ready before the first ticket sells.
