No good deed goes unpunished

Really bad news on the nonprofit front. In addition to other licensing I need, it looks like being able to collect debt will involve being bonded, and for 1-4 employees that's $15,000. Which, if you're employed by a big firm who covers that, is no big deal. I'm not sure I'll pull in $15,000 in a year. But if my research is right, and it makes absolutely no sense to I assume my understanding of bureaucracy is correct, if I'm based in Alabama and I don't have any paid employees in Alabama, then they have essentially no requirements about getting licensed. I'm trying to find a lawyer with some experience to advise me on this. I'm not exactly optimistic, but sunk cost fallacy has me ready to keep trying.