When starting a new nonprofit, a common question is “what is the best state to incorporate in?” Particularly for our New York clients, seven-out-of-ten times, our answer is Delaware. What about the remaining three?
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Welcome to our guide to starting a New York nonprofit organization. The purpose of this blog post is to provide a general overview about how to start a nonprofit organization under New York and federal (United States) law. There are many different types of nonprofit that you can form. These include 501(c)(3) charitable, educational or religious organizations, 501(c)(4) community welfare organizations, 501(c)(6) chambers of commerce, 501(c)(7) social clubs, 501(c)(10) lodge system fraternities and sororities and 527 political action committees, amongst others. If you are interested specifically in forming a New York 501(c)(3), it may be helpful please see our comprehensive guide to starting a New York 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, which also includes free forms prepared by our firm for you to do so.
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While most starting out in the nonprofit community are aware what 501(c)(3) means, many are unaware that there are different classifications, or types, of 501(c)(3) nonprofits. Specifically, there are two main 501(c)(3) nonprofit types: public charity or private foundation, each of which with their own subclassifications. In practice, the classification and subclassification of a 501(c)(3) is known as its “foundation status.”
Determining the foundation status of an organization is important because the type of a 501(c)(3) nonprofit dictates what a nonprofit can do, cannot do and must do. In general, being classified as a private foundation is less tax advantageous than being classified as a public charity. The purpose of this blog post is to provide an overview of the different foundation statuses available to a nonprofit.
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“Nonprofit” or “Nonprofit Organization (NPO),” “Non-Governmental-Organization (NGO)” and 501(c)(3) are terms often used, in the United States, informally to describe the same thing: an organization exempt from taxation under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code (i.e. “501(c)(3)” organization). However, each of these terms actually has a different and specific meaning. In short, an “NGO” is a subset of a nonprofit, not every nonprofit or NGO is a 501(c)(3), and all 501(c)(3)s are nonprofits.
Read More “Nonprofit, NGO & 501(c)(3) – What’s the Difference?”
We are often asked how many directors a nonprofit needs. The answer really depends on a variety of factors including where the nonprofit was incorporated, whether the nonprofit is a 501(c)(3) or other 501(c) organization, what kind of 501(c)(3) the nonprofit will be, and the identities of the directors. This blog post will answer many of the frequently asked questions about the composition of nonprofit and 501(c)(3) boards of directors.
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Here is our comprehensive guide to starting a 501(c)(3) nonprofit NGO in New York. The path to 501(c)(3) can be overwhelming, involving review at both the federal (U.S.) and state levels. We hope this guide will be of help to you in navigating the complexities involved in the state process — incorporating a nonprofit NGO under New York law — and the federal process — being recognized as exempt from federal income tax under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code (the U.S. tax law).
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There is significant overlap between copyright and trademark protection. Some material, such as logos and packaging, can be protected both under trademark and copyright laws.
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The “Most Favored Nation” or “MFN” clause, in business parlance, most often refers to a risk mitigating technique whereby a contracting party is guaranteed to get the best deal available, now and in the future. What it means is “we’ll enter into this deal now, but if I give a better deal to someone else, you’ll get the same deal.” Today’s post will discuss the application and crafting of a “Most Favored Nation” clause.
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Creating a New York Limited Liability Company (LLC) can be a challenge. This post explains step by step how to form an LLC under New York law. It is meant to assist those who want to form a New York LLC without a lawyer, accountant or online document preparation company, and provides the basic legal forms to do so.
While getting the appropriate legal support from a lawyer is always recommended, having a lawyer, accountant or online company help you form a NY LLC is not always necessary. Online companies essentially charge a few hundred dollars to help you fill out a form with your own input, plus a few hundred more for filing fees. Lawyers charge somewhat more, but are able to give legal advice and craft your New York LLC documents to your specific needs. However, cash is often tight for an entrepreneur embarking on a new enterprise, and some choose to go with an online company to save on cost. We understand and want to provide you the basic tools to form a NY LLC as cheaply as possible — by doing it yourself!
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The last post, “How do I get Copyright Protection?,” gave an overview of what is copyright, what can be copyrighted, and how you can obtain copyright protection in the United States and internationally. Most significantly, we discussed how you get copyright protection automatically for copyrightable stuff, and that copyright registration and copyright notices (e.g., using the © symbol) are not necessary to obtain copyright protection, but do confer benefits.
Today, as promised, we will discuss copyright notices and registration further. Specifically, this post will explain
Your intellectual creations can be some of your most important assets. Copyright protection can help protect these creations from being used or replicated without your permission. Today’s post will explain the following:
A corporation or Limited Liability Company (LLC) is a huge personal liability shield against the world. This is, perhaps, the main reason for a business owner to form a corporation (i.e. “incorporate”) or an LLC. Today’s post aims to describe what limited liability protection is about, why you may want it for your business, and some things to keep in mind to stay protected.
The protection offered by a limited liability entity, such as a corporation or LLC, arises from the legal personality of the entity. The law recognizes these entities as “persons” separate from their owners. Just as one person generally cannot be held responsible for the actions of another, so too are owners of a corporation or LLC generally not responsible for what could be considered the entity’s “actions.” The concept of legal personality can be traced far back to ancient Rome.
Read More “Why Form an LLC or Incorporate? – Understanding & Protecting the Limited Liability Shield”