How do I set up a nonprofit corp.?
94140
Forming a nonprofit corporation is much like creating a regular corporation, except that nonprofits have to take the extra steps of applying for tax-exempt status with the IRS and their state tax division. Here is what you need to do:\n\nChoose an available business name that meets the requirements of state law. \n\nFile formal paperwork, usually called "articles of incorporation," and pay a small filing fee (typically under $100). \n\nApply for your federal and state tax exemptions. \n\nCreate corporate "bylaws," which set out the operating rules for your nonprofit corporation. \n\nAppoint the initial directors. (In some states you must choose your initial directors before you file your articles, because you must list their names in the document.) \n\nHold the first meeting of the board of directors. \nObtain licenses and permits that may be required for your corporation. \n\nChoose a Business Name:\n\nBefore you form your nonprofit corporation, you need to decide on a name that complies with the rules of your state's corporate filing office. The information packet you receive from the filing office should contain your state's rules, but the following guidelines commonly apply:\n\n--The name of your nonprofit cannot be the same as the name of another corporation on file with the corporations division. \n--The name must end with a corporate designator, such as "Corporation," "Incorporated," "Limited," or "Corp.," "Inc.," or "Ltd." (This is required in only about half of the states.) \n--The name cannot contain certain words prohibited by the state, such as Bank, Cooperative, Federal, National, United States, or Reserve. \n\nYour state's corporations division can tell you how to find out whether your proposed name is available for your use. Often, for a small fee, you can reserve the name for a short period of time until you file your articles of incorporation.\n\nContact Your State's Corporations Division:\n\nYour state's corporate filing division, usually part of the secretary or department of state's office, will often send you a packet of nonprofit materials that will be immensely helpful to you in forming your nonprofit. This packet may include sample or fill-in-the blank articles of incorporation, your state's nonprofit corporation laws, a filing fee schedule, and forms and instructions for checking the availability of your proposed business name. Contact your state's corporate filing office to obtain this packet.\n\nIn addition to confirming that another corporation in your state isn't already using your proposed name, you must make sure your name won't violate a trademark owned by another company (in your state or out of state). To do this, you'll need to conduct a trademark search. For information about trademark law and name conflicts, see Naming Your Business.\n\nOnce you've found a legal and available name, you aren't usually required to file or reserve the name with your state -- when you file your articles of incorporation, your nonprofit's name will be automatically registered.\n\nPrepare and File Your Articles of Incorporation:\n\nAfter you've decided on your business name, you must prepare and file "articles of incorporation" with the corporate filing office. This document goes by a different name in a handful of states; your state may instead use the term "articles of organization," "certificate of incorporation," "certificate of formation," or "charter."\n\nYour state's corporate filing office will usually provide you with nonprofit articles of incorporation -- either a fill-in-the-blank form or a sample on which you can base your articles. Although preparing this document isn't difficult, you do need to include specific language to ensure that you'll receive tax-exempt status. Your state's nonprofit format
569056
You can do it yourself through the state ( http://www.stateofflorida.com/Portal/DesktopDefault.aspx?tabid=8 ), but the paperwork gets a bit confusing at times.  The easiest way to do it is to use an incorporation service such as: \nhttp://www.floridaincorporationservice.com/\n\nHope this helps!
454935
true and false yu hace to make sure which corporation you list under like s corp, find an accountant which will help u , shop around it should cost under 200.00 to set u up, chex ur state web site i live in fl and www.myflorida.com has all my states answers on it under bussiness im sure yours does too, also my champer of commers wed site was useful in tax laws and inspections ect...  agian look around for an accountant who doesnt over charge ask abound and call  good luck
445369
Go to your City Hall and ask for advice on what you should do to start a non-profit organization. They should have all the answers for you. That is great someone wanting to do something for girls.
252180
Mission statement and goals then a non profit license then the registration of the NPO is a start. \nFound a site for more info below. Good Luck
928044
* Attorney\n* Do it yourself\n\nIf you do it yourself, go to the Secretary of State web site for the relevant site, e.g., Texas, and look for forms. They should have the form for the Articles of Incorporation. (However, you might not want a corporation, and might want an LLC or an LP. To make this decision, talk to your CPA or an attorney.)
869596
I have found a website that compiles various resources on starting a non profit. I especially like the Minnesota Council of NonProfits because the site gives information on governance, developing strategic alliances, fund raising and other ingredients of successfully running a non profit. \n\nhttp://www.lib.msu.edu/harris23/grants/znpbib.htm\n\nAs for funding your non profit, I suggest you check out Foundation Center to help you gain ideas on how to properly establish your organization and get support from private foundations. They have the most extensive database of private donors, and they publish a magazine that can be very helpful to your new non profit.\n\nhttp://fdncenter.org/getstarted/tutorials/establish/index.html\n\nI was previously involved in the setup of a non profit, and we were able to get a pro-bono lawyer who set up everything for us, including getting the 501c3 tax status. Contact other non profits in your area and check if there are lawyers willing to work for free to get you started. \n\nNon profits are just like any business - you need to get the word out in order to get the needed funding to help support your activities. Here are some tips to help you market your non profit:\n\n1. Determine your your target audiences: who are the groups and audiences that your non profit wants to reach. Remember that one target group may respond differently to a marketing message as another group so make sure that each strategy is tailor made for each audience.\n\n2. Develop a communications strategy, creating timelines for marketing efforts such as newsletters, press releases, special events, and others.\n\n3. Develop a visual image. Prepare your logo and other branding tools - and use them consistently across various mediums. Make sure that you repeat your branding messages, slogans in everything you make from brochures to newsletters.\n\n4. Employ multiple communications tactics: Nonprofit organizations often target several audiences, which may respond to different approaches. Various communications campaigns can help establish and maintain a more widespread positive image.\n\n5. Select and use appropriate media: Plan to use a combination of approaches best suited to reaching your targeted audiences and that make best use of your financial resources. Include a variety of methods including phone calls, letters, e-mail, newsletters, PSAs, press releases, and editorials.\n\nFor detailed information on how to start a non profit, I suggest you read the following books:\n\n- Starting and Running a Nonprofit Organization -- by Joan M. Hummel\n- Starting and Running a Non-Profit Made Easy by Entrepreneur Press, David H. Bangs\n- Starting & Building A Nonprofit: A Practical Guide by Peri Pakroo
233016
Non-profit organizations are subject to all the same debt collection practices as for-profit organizations.\n\nHowever, there are ways to structure an organization to protect it from some debt collection practices.  For instance, a large donor could set up a trust that pays the non-profit a little at a time instead of one huge lump sum.  Side corporations could be set up to own the non-profit's equipment and the non-profit could lease the equipment from these entities.  \n\nFor planning specific to your situation, consult both a lawyer and an accountant.
211083
To form your own corporation, you must take these essential steps.\n\n(1) Choose an available business name that complies with your state's corporation rules. \n(2) Appoint the initial directors of your corporation. \n(3) File formal paperwork, usually called "articles of incorporation," and pay a filing fee that ranges from $100 to $800, depending on the state where you incorporate. \n(4) Create corporate "bylaws," which lay out the operating rules for your corporation. \n(5) Hold the first meeting of the board of directors. \n(6) Issue stock certificates to the initial owners (shareholders) of the corporation. \n(7) Obtain licenses and permits that may be required for your business. \n\nChoosing a Corporate Name\n--------------------------\nThe name of your corporation must comply with the rules of your state's corporation division. You should contact your state's office for specific rules, but the following guidelines generally apply:\n\n(1) The name cannot be the same as the name of another corporation on file with the corporations office. \n(2) The name must end with a corporate designator, such as "Corporation," "Incorporated," "Limited," or an abbreviation of one of these words (Corp., Inc., or Ltd.). \n(3) The name cannot contain certain words prohibited by the state, such as Bank, Cooperative, Federal, National, United States, or Reserve. \n\nYour state's corporations office can tell you how to check if your proposed name is available for your use. Often, for a small fee, you can reserve your corporate name for a short period of time until you file your articles of incorporation.\n\nBesides following your state's corporate naming rules, you must make sure your name won't violate another company's trademark.\n\nOnce you've found a legal and available name, you usually don't need to file the name of your business with your state. When you file your articles of incorporation, your business name will be automatically registered.\n\nHowever, if you will sell your products or services under a different name, you must file a "fictitious" or "assumed" name statement with the state or county where you business is headquartered.\n\nAppointing Directors\n--------------------\nDirectors make major policy and financial decisions for the corporation. For example, the directors authorize the issuance of stock, appoint the corporate officers and set their salaries, and approve loans to and from the corporation. Directors are typically appointed by the initial owners (shareholders) of the corporation before business begins. Often, the owners simply appoint themselves to be the directors, but directors do not have to be owners.\n\nMost states specifically permit a corporation to have just one director, regardless of the number of owners. In other states, a corporation must have at least three directors, except that a corporation with only one owner can have just one director, and a corporation with only two owners can have two directors.\n\nFiling Articles of Incorporation\n---------------------------------\nAfter you've chosen a name for your business and appointed your directors, you must prepare and file "articles of incorporation" with your state's corporate filing office. Typically, this is the department or secretary of state's office, located in your state's capital city. While most states use the term "articles of incorporation" to refer to the basic document creating the corporation, some states (including Connecticut, Delaware, New York, and Oklahoma) use the term "certificate of incorporation." Washington calls the document a "certificate of formation," and Tennessee calls it a "charter."\n\nNo state requires a corporation to have more than one owner. For single-owner corporations, the sole owner simply prepares, signs, and files the articles of incorporat
10451
Check out the NAIC website, at http://www.betterinvesting.org/about/ .  The National Association of Investors Corp has information about how to set up an Investment Club.\n\nAlso, the Securities Exchange Commission (SEC) directs you to the NAIC site:  see http://www.sec.gov/answers/clubs.htm\n\nYou may also want to check out:  http://www.wildcapital.com/starting_club.htm .  There you can get some ideas as to how to organize your club, and establish the rules (bylaws).\n\nBest of Luck!
243568
There is some very useful information at the Foundation Center website.  The FAQ on how to establish a nonprofit organization is here at http://fdncenter.org/getstarted/faqs/html/starting_nonprofit.html  (or go to Get Started - FAQS from the main page).  The FAQ also lists resources for obtaining additional information.\n\nSee here for Boardsource resource on starting a nonprofit  http://www.boardsource.org/clientfiles/EBooks/Vision.pdf\n\nBest of luck to you!
570205
You need to set up a Not-for-profit company on the state level.  Start with your states website.  Something like www.state.(two letter abbreviation of state).gov.\n\nYou can use any bank...use one you like.
642163
Don't... at least not without spending quite a bit of time carefully researching all of the legal and tax requirements for successfully founding and running a nonprofit, and then developing a very thorough written business and funding plan.  Doing it properly is not as easy as it seems, and doing it wrong can have a lot of nasty tax and legal repercussions for both you and your donors.  Founding a new nonprofit corporation is not something you should jump into impulsively, or try to do as a hobby on the side of your "day job."  Doing it well requires a full time commitment of about five years.\n\nDo your homework by talking with corporate attorneys, accountants, the executive directors and/or development directors of local nonprofits in your area, nonprofit support groups like CompassPoint, and doing internet research on the IRS regulations and your state tax and attorney general regulations.  Then, if you decide that founding a brand new nonprofit is more than you can realistically tackle (and most informed people do), consider instead approaching another well-established nonprofit and asking them to serve as fiscal agent for your program or fund.  Good luck.
216222
One of the most comprehensive FAQs on LLC I know is by Nolo.com:\n\nhttp://www.nolo.com/article.cfm/objectID/ED01121A-B4BF-498A-8BC0DBD121A0C869/111/182/245/FAQ/\n\nOther resources are:\n\nHow to form an LLC in your state (with state by state links) http://www.mycorporation.com/llc/info/index.htm\nhttp://www.bizfilings.com/learning/llcfaq.asp
183498
Fill out a lot of forms.  A corporation is a legal entitiy and requires serious consideration.
278075
Go to this website www.inc.com\nLots of free info there\n\n1. Write  business plan-plenty of FREE places online to see examples\n\n2. Trademark your company name and/or idea-You can visit the Library of Congress online to get the forms-this is fairly inexpensive\n\n3. Tell everyone you know about your business, word of mouth is powerful. You will be surprised how quickly people are willing to help\n\n4. Get an accountant, one who specializes in small businesses\n\n5. He/She will help you get incorporated
269516
(i) First you file the Articles of Incorporation with the Corporation Bureau.\n\nhttp://www.paopen4businessbriefcase.state.pa.us/tax/default.asp?LN=375&LG=37\n\nOnce the Articles have been approved:\n\n(ii) You prepare the by-laws of the Company\n\n(iii) You apply to the IRS for 501(c)3 - tax-exempt status