I have the opportunity to work with a community in Costa Rica. They will make certain things for sale and we will actually sell them in the U.S.
I am not sure if I should look at forming a non-profit or a foundation. Where would I go to see the ins and outs of both?
I don’t understand the question. Aren’t foundations non-profit organizations by definition?
And while you didn’t ask, my suggestion would be to work through an existing organization. (One reason being the amount of trouble it would be to establish a new organization.) If the “things” you’re talking about are handicrafts, you could, for example, work through the retailer Ten Thousand Villages. And there are websites that specialize in selling third-world goods.
Yes, foundations are a subset of non-profits.
All in all I’d take Dewey Finn’s advice. A foundation isn’t really suitable for what you’re looking at. There are foundations which do the bulk of their grant-making overseas but it can be a real pain in the neck to put one together, and I wouldn’t attempt one without an accountant who specializes in overseas non-profit work. And while you could set up a different kind of non-profit, again you’d be looking at more horse than you need, probably. You could probably set up the non-profit for a couple hundred dollars without legal help, probably about $1,000-1,500 with help…that last is what some friends of mine who are starting an international non-profit were quoted. (If you do go down this route, what you need is an IRS Form 1023.)
I think it would be cheaper and more effective to work with existing non-profits. Pooling resources is almost always more cost-efficient.