You'll need to study your state laws as they pertain to organizations. Our club is both incorporated and a 501(c)3.

First, having your 501 status is the only legal way you can say you are a non profit. You may be one, but you need to be registered as on with the IRS in order to declare it.

In my state, we needed to be incorporated and registered with the state before we could apply for and receive our 501.

I'd try and connect up with other clubs in your area to see what they did. Maybe they have a liability form that you can use as a template for your activities. We got lots of help from other local clubs that had btdt for setting all this up.

I highly recommend following through with this. As for blowing it off, well- all it takes is one sue happy rider who had some sort of unpleasant experience to ruin everything. If you do not have the protection of an organization and/or insurance, it is a small thing for a plaintiff in a lawsuit to go after individual assets, get the group shut down and all sorts of other fun things. Being well organized will protect you individually from actions against the group.

I know for mountain bike clubs with IMBA affiliation, Mackay insurance provides very good policies for a very reasonable cost. There ought to be something out there for road clubs too. And a waiver is only as good as the lawyer that's trying to pick it apart.

I am not a lawyer, nor a tax attorney but I do have my own organizations experience to go from. Please check with some professionals about what is recommended for clubs in your state.

I.