You may be starting a non-profit organization and starting to put the pieces together of what you will need. You first need an idea of what you want to do with your organization and you will need to know how many paid employees and volunteers you might need. You should also consider hiring a non-profit lawyer to help you through some of the planning and organization you will go through.
You might wonder why you will need a lawyer to help you. There are some legal reasons why you should hire a non-profit lawyer to help you with your new startup, here are just a few.
Consultation and Name Search
Before your non-profit can begin helping people you will need to plan and organize it. When you hire a lawyer to provide non-profit startup services you are receiving expert help during the entire process including the initial consultation phase. They can help you outline what your organization is about and streamline its services.
A lawyer can help you figure out what your non-profit startup's activities will be, how will they serve your target people, and what expenses you will have. A non-profit startup service's legal team can also help you with the name search for your organization to ensure there is no conflict or existing entity by that name already.
Drafting Your Articles of Incorporation
A non-profit startup will have different articles of incorporation than a business will and this can be complicated if you haven't already done this before. A lawyer with a non-profit start-up service can help you draft, revise, and submit your articles of incorporation to the correct government agencies.
They can also walk you through why you need these articles, what they are for, and what will be expected of the organization from the different levels of government.
Obtain the Correct Classification for Tax Exemption
If you are a non-profit you might be tax-exempt. A lawyer that understands how to set up a non-profit can work with you to discover what type of tax exemption your organization may qualify for. They can check to see if your entity meets the requirements set out in the Internal Revenue Code and help you draft the appropriate documentation during the start-up phase.
A lawyer who is well versed in non-profit organizations understands different non-profits have different tax exemptions, and can also help you maintain required documentation and reports to the IRS so you can keep your tax exempt status.
To learn more about non-profit startup services, contact a lawyer near you.
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