[Businessmtg] Topic: Incorporation?

[Steve Rankin]

Hi ASPers,

Thanks Jerry for the explanation of our situation and your recommendation.

I've had the opportunity to consider this situation for a while, both with ASP and with another non-profit I was involved with.  As Jerry noted, the informal methods used by banks & non-profits are all but extinct.

The alternatives are:

1. Have our treasurer open a PERSONAL bank account in their name, using their social security number, etc.  In other words, such a bank account would legally belong to the treasurer and not ASP.  IMHO, this is not acceptable.

2. Attempt to open a bank account under the guise of a "club" status using an EIN.  I understand that this may be a possibility in some jurisdictions, I'm certain that this is not a widespread alternative, nor is it well adapted to an organization that crosses state lines.  In other words, I don't understand how this is an appropriate and workable solution for ASP.

3. Incorporation. Many Al-Anon Districts, Intergroups, Literature Depots, Areas, etc are incorporated.  Incorporating gives the organization a permanence that is unaffected by the rotation of leadership.  This allows ASP to be the legal owner of its bank accounts as well as any other assets.  Incorporating also gives ASP the opportunity to receive charitable non-profit status.  The only downside is the cost & bureaucratic hoops of incorporating.  My f2f District was incorporated prior to my serving as DR, but I was responsible for filing the annual docs with the state--very simple.  My f2f Area was also incorporated before I became treasurer, but I was responsible for both the annual docs with the state as well as the tax returns with the IRS--the Area had about $80K annual income which was well over the $25K threshold for filing Form 990.

While it is common for organizations to obtain legal assistance in incorporating, I've looked over the application process, including the application for 501(c)3 status and it seemed surprisingly straightforward--at least in our case--there are other types of NPO's that have many more hoops to jump through. 

As I see it, our decisions are:

1.  To incorporate (or not, but if not, then please provide a workable long-term alternative),
2.  Which state to incorporate in,
3.  Who will lead the process
4.  Get cracking, as Jerry so aptly put it.

Hugs,
Steve