I'm the co-chair of a student-run organization called "Performers for Progress." We have a website, and we'd like to add the possibility of "online donations" to the site. Does Paypal offer a free way for people to donate? We don't have a tax-exempt status because we're so small and it takes forever to file non-profit status.

How can I set up a free Paypal donation button (or similar) on my site?

In order to get Paypal at nonprofit rate, you need to submit your organization’s tax letter and bank statement proving nonprofit status. Without that, you're out of luck. In fact, without having proof of tax-exempt status, you are going to be hard pressed to prove you are in fact a nonprofit for this purpose. See About.com's section on What Do I Need to Know About Credit Cards for Accepting Donations http://nonprofit.about.com/od/faqsfundraising/f/creditcards.htm for more information and options.