I'd looked at making ToJ and CGA non-profit organizations years ago, discovered how much paperwork and expense was involved, and decided against it at that time. I'd always planned to revisit the possibility at some point, so I'd be interested to hear how your first year as a 501c3 goes!
I checked out a NOLO book at the library to get it going, state corporation fee was $75 (had that in 1 day), IRS tax exemption fee was $400 had that in a week (they say to expect 90 days)