Non-profit or not, incororporating is something any group running a convention ought to do if just to limit liability for the board members. At that point it's either file for non-profit status or pay taxes on all funds that aren't used for business expenses which would probably take at least as much documentation as dealing with 501(c)7 (non-profit non-charitable) status. If you go for 501(c)3 there's a little more documentation required. In any case, you really ought to budget for the services of an accountant. The money spent is well spent knowing that things will be filed on time and correctly.
Non-profit or not, incororporating is something any group running a convention ought to do if just to limit liability for the board members. At that point it's either file for non-profit status or pay taxes on all funds that aren't used for business expenses which would probably take at least as much documentation as dealing with 501(c)7 (non-profit non-charitable) status. If you go for 501(c)3 there's a little more documentation required. In any case, you really ought to budget for the services of an accountant. The money spent is well spent knowing that things will be filed on time and correctly.