I (as US citizen) am trying to lobby for a legislative change (not a candidate) in my home state. I suspect I'll be much more successful if I can accept donations and spend money on advertising, etc.

I assume the standard first step would be to form a PAC, 501c4 or similar and accept donations that way. And of course there is the transparency & public trust benefit of doing so, but:

1. Is it legal to just accept donations as an individual, without formally incorporating?
2. If so, what are the downsides? I see a few:

• harder to convince people to donate
• potentially being personally taxed on the income? (gifts?)

Are there other things I'm missing? I'm of course looking into incorporating formally, but it's confusing and a barrier to entry on a task that in theory should be fairly straightforward. Thanks for any insight/advice.