How To Start a Nonprofit in California

California takes up a majority of the east coast and, to no surprise, has the country’s largest population. Here, there is truly something for everyone, whether it be Disneyland, the tech-world in San Francisco, or any of the beautiful beaches. With the largest population, clearly, they will also have the most nonprofits. California’s nonprofit organization count comes in at around 260,556 nonprofits. While they have so many, they can always be more! Check out these simple steps to getting your California nonprofit started to make the Golden State even brighter.

• Step 1: Choose your initial directors
  • You must have three or more members of your board of directors. When filing paperwork, a physical address of each director is required.
• Step 2: Prepare and file your nonprofit’s Articles of Incorporation
  • On the state level, you must file your Articles of Incorporation with the California Secretary of State. Some information you may need:
    • Name
    • Mission/Purpose
    • Primary address that must be the corporation’s physical address
    • Bylaws that contains the rules of procedures that your nonprofit will follow
    • A dissolution clause
  • You must have a registered agent that is a current resident of California. This person will act as the middleman between your corporation and the state as well as the IRS. California does not offer an online version of the Articles of Incorporation, but instead must be filled out and mailed with a filing fee of $30.

A Faster, Easy Way to Start Your Nonprofit in California

Now you have your California nonprofit corporation, you can use your state information and federal EIN to open a bank account for your nonprofit. However, setting up your nonprofit in California is just part of the process of becoming a formal tax-exempt organization. The next step is to file for a federal tax exemption using either IRS form 1023 or 1023-EZ.The average nonprofit takes 100+ hours of time and often several thousand dollars in professional fees to create. In the past, you were faced with locating, understanding, and filing the forms yourself or hiring an expensive attorney who likely doesn’t specialize in nonprofits.ExemptMeNow is the only secure, fully automated, online platform for creating your California Nonprofit Corporation.