Raising Money for Charity through Dinner/Dance event...technical stuff....Please help!?

Let me start off by saying that I am a young teenager who wants to raise money for charity in a fun way. I decided to hold a dinner/dance event where there will be entertainment, food, silent auctions, raffles, etc. to make money for children in need. I want to get the food and many items DONATED, but many places won't do this unless they can write it off their taxes. They can write it off if your are an official nonprofit organization. I do NOT have an official nonprofit organization.

1) Is there a way that the donors can write their item/service donations off their taxes even though I do not have an official nonprofit organization?

2)If it is the only option, what is the easiest and cheapest way to become an official nonprofit:?

Good for you for being so proactive in charity work. As a business owner who donates to several different charities, I'll answer as best I can.
1) Business owners can donate to anything they choose. But when it is not an official non-profit, the IRS tends to either find the deduction to be not valid or suspicious, or end up auditing the business. No business owner will risk that.
2) There is no easy and cheap way to become a non-profit. It is also not a short process. The best thing to do would be to contact the organization you are raising money for, and ask one of their staff members to get involved. They will help you by sanctioning the event, and this will make businesses much more likely (and comfortable) to donate food/services. They can also help with the event itself, and getting discount prices on services/items that will have to be paid for.

Good luck!

A BIG KUDOS to you for setting a positive example for other young people. I own a busness and donate to two charities every year. To encourage other businesses you can give them a receipt reflecting a dollar amount and designate on that receipt who the charity is that will benefit them. The IRS also allows a charitable deduction up tp a certain amount WITHOUT a receipt, something like $300 so if each business donates less than that amount, they are covered. ALSO, you can try and get a local company to SPONSOR your charity drive, that way everyone benefits.