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Application for Nonprofit Status
The application for nonprofit status must include:
- Employer Identification Number
- We have the EIN in hand, 94-3280008, as it was mailed to us by the IRS, having been applied for by The Company Corporation on our behalf.
- Certificate of Incorporation
- We have the Certificate in hand, forwarded by The Company Corporation, as filed with the State of Delaware. The Certificate must be approved and dated by the appropriate state official from, in our case, the State of Delaware. To get a Certified copy of the Certificate of Incorporation I must request this from The Company Corporation and pay a $35 fee.
- Action Item: The President should secure a Certified copy of the Certificate of Incorporation via The Company Corporation.
- Articles of Incorporation
- The Articles were presented to the State of Delaware by The Company Corporation, their standard format for nonprofits, on July 22, 1997. The Articles approved by the Board on July 20, 1997, after a vote by the Membership, differ in exact wording by not in substance. The original Articles to accompany the IRS 1023 form must be accompanied by a signed declaration from me, the President, attesting to its validity.
- Action Item: The Board should modify our Articles to conform to the exact wording used during incorporation.
- Bylaws
- The Bylaws were voted upon by the Membership and adopted by the Board. The Bylaws to accompany the IRS 1023 form must be accompanied by a signed declaration from me, the President, attesting to their validity.
- Description of Activities
- Per the IRS Publication 557, which guides application for nonprofit status via IRS 1023 form, stated that the Articles or other organizing instruments such as Bylaws often contain descriptions of the organization’s purposes and activities. Our Bylaws certainly do. To comply with this requirements, I will attach a complete set of the Bylaws, quote from them where appropriate, and refer to them by Article and Section.
- Balance Sheet
- A Balance Sheet showing the receipts and expenditures for the current year must be included with the application. The description of expenses should differentiate between those “made directly for furtherance of exempt purposes and expenditures for administration and general operations.” In our case, I don’t believe we’ve spent funds to further our exempt purposes beyond the $35 fee to secure a Certified copy of the Certificate of Incorporation to accompany the IRS 1023 form.
- Action Item: The Treasurer should produce a Balance Sheet reflecting receipts and expenditures for the fiscal year 1997.
- 2 Year Budget
- If operations have not yet begun or the organization has been in existence for less than a year, a proposed 2 Year Budget is required, accompanied by a current statement of Assets and Liabilities. We have this Budget, which was approved by the Board, and have no assets beyond the balance in our bank account, and no liabilities at present.
- Action Item: The Treasurer should include Assets and Liabilities in the Balance Sheet.
- Fund Raising Activities
- The IRS 1023 form requires a description of how our “activities will be financed”. Our activities should include registering our web page with search engines and applying to foundations and government agencies. A list of these foundations and government agencies would be helpful, as would a printout of the proposed home page developed by the Public Relations head.
- Action Item: The Vice President should list foundations and government agencies which we intend to solicit.