Required Provisions for Organizing Documents When Seeking 501(c)(3) status

[The IRS has specific requirements for the structure of organizations seeking tax-exempt status. Below are two paragraphs from the IRS web site that provides instruction and information about creating tax-exempt organizations. Reviewing this information before filing organizing documents with your appropriate state authority may save you a lot of time and headache further down the road.]

"A charity's organizing document must limit the organization's purposes to one or more of the exempt purposes set forth in section 501(c)(3) and must not expressly empower it to engage, other than as an insubstantial part of its activities, in activities that are not in furtherance of one or more of those purposes. This requirement may be met if the purposes stated in the organizing document are limited in some way by reference to section 501(c)(3). In addition, assets of an organization must be permanently dedicated to an exempt purpose. This means that should an organization dissolve, its assets must be distributed for an exempt purpose described in section 501(c)(3), or to the federal government or to a state or local government for a public purpose. To establish that an organization's assets will be permanently dedicated to an exempt purpose, the organizing document should contain a provision insuring their distribution for an exempt purpose in the event of dissolution. Although reliance may be placed upon state law to establish permanent dedication of assets for exempt purposes, an organization's application can be processed by the IRS more rapidly if its organizing document includes a provision insuring permanent dedication of assets for exempt purposes. For examples of provisions that meet these requirements, see Sample Articles. [which may be found through the link provided at the IRS web site]

"If the organizing document does not contain these provisions, an organization should amend it before submitting its exemption application. State officials can provide more information about how to amend organizing documents."

[FOR MORE INFORMATION VISIT THE RELEVANT IRS WEB SITE]