A Non-Profit Corporation can be formed for religious, charitable, educational, literary, or scientific purposes.  There can be no financial gain to its members and there can be no participation in political campaigns. 

The members of a non-profit corporation are protected for liability concerns except in the case of a personal guarantee made by a member in the event that the corporation does not have adequate credit.

 A non-profit corporation cannot issue shares or hand out dividends.  When the non-profit corporation is dissolved, its assets can only be distributed to another tax-exempt organization. 

 Tax-wise, members can be held personally liable for the reporting and payment of taxes, but you should be able to acquire tax-exempt status for certain taxes.

 A non-profit corporation has a perpetual existence, so it could go on forever.  It can offer many benefits to its employees, such as medical insurance, pension plans, and sick pay.

Your non-profit would also get other perks, such as lower postal rates, discount advertising and Internet rates, lower membership rates to places such as Costco, and access to subsidized training by the federal government.

To register as a non-profit, you have to file your Articles of Incorporation and maintain by-laws and minutes.  You also have to file a Form 1023 with the IRS to qualify for the 503 (c) (3) Federal Tax Exempt status.