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Get a grip on membership to protect your organization from turmoil and takeovers. This guide sheet helps founders and leaders understand the role of members in the governance structures of Pennsylvania nonprofit corporations. Packed with information presented in easy-to-understand terms, this 2-page resource contains a visual representation to help explain the concept of membership, lists the fundamental rights of voting members in Pennsylvania nonprofit corporations (with helpful legal citations to the applicable statutory provisions), and addresses commonly asked questions about member liability. This version of our guide sheet explaining the role of members in nonprofit organizations is also designed to aid legal professionals, to provide easy access to Pennsylvania’s applicable statutory provisions. This version of our guide sheet can help you make quick work of navigating the Pennsylvania Nonprofit Corporation Law provisions relating to membership and can help inform your work, whether you are drafting or reworking any membership provisions in bylaws, or simply need to understand and home in quickly on the legal authority behind the role of members. -
The IRS asks tax-exempt organizations on the IRS Form 990 if they have a process for determining executive compensation that requires an independent review (and approval) of the proposed compensation, the use of comparability data, and contemporaneous substantiation of the deliberation and decision. This template policy meets those criteria and provides a roadmap for properly approving executive compensation.
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This sample document is for a Pennsylvania nonprofit corporation that has sole Member who is a living individual, and who would like to appoint a successor sole Member to the organization. If you designated yourself as a sole member when founding a nonprofit corporation, and are developing a succession plan, this sample succession planning document is a great resource.
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With detailed commentaries, cross references, and citations, this annotated statute is an essential resource for legal professionals serving Pennsylvania nonprofit corporations. It’s an especially helpful tool for professionals who are in private practice or serving as in-house counsel, but also for courts and regulatory agencies with jurisdiction over the nonprofit sector, and for those who are teaching and studying nonprofit law. -
This template consent helps memorialize the startup steps taken by the organization’s initial board of directors, creating a clear formal record for the organization’s minute book. The initial board of directors of a nonprofit organization uses this document to formally accept their board positions in writing, adopt bylaws and policies, appoint officers, and ratify the actions taken in the organization’s startup phase by the incorporator (and any members of the organization). Any other lawful actions they believe are in the best interests of the organization can be included in this consent as part of the startup process.
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If you are not careful when selecting a name, you can stumble into some serious startup trouble and cost your organization some woes early on. Organizations changing names and going through a rebranding process can suffer the same fate. Download our legal checklist for choosing a name for a list of steps to take and things to think through when choosing a name for your nonprofit. This guide sheet is also a helpful resource when it comes to naming and branding your nonprofit organization’s programs.
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An organization that doesn’t have 501(c)(3) status yet but needs to communicate with donors about its tax status can use this letter to recognize donor contributions. This letter also includes language organizations can post on their websites while they are waiting for the IRS to recognize their tax-exempt status. (See also our Donor Acknowledgement Letter – Post-501(c)(3) Status.)
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Use this template to document the initial actions of the incorporator of your new nonprofit. It’s a document used to formally appoint the initial board members of the organization. (See also our Unanimous Written Consent by the Board – Startup Matters, used by an initial board of directors for taking other official corporate action as part of the startup process.)
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This template is for a nonprofit organization that is named after a living individual who is agreeing to license his/her/their name and likeness for use by the organization for its identity and branding materials. This sample agreement contemplates that the individual licensor is the founder and sole Member of a Pennsylvania nonprofit corporation.
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Although applying for an employer identification number (EIN) for a nonprofit organization can be a simple process, founders who are not in the know can waste time and money when applying for EINs. This guide sheet walks through the process step by step, warning of possible pitfalls.
