How to Start a Nonprofit in Kentucky

The Bluegrass State is known for many things: the Kentucky Derby, the Cumberland Gap, bourbon whiskey, and beautiful mountainous countryside. Natural wonders abound: Mammoth Cave is the world’s longest known cave system and Kentucky has more navigable miles of river than any state in the continental United States, which is remarkable considering it is 37th in size.Kentucky’s economy has diversified from its agricultural roots. In addition to agriculture, other important industries include automobile manufacturing (4th in the U.S.), energy fuel production, medical facilities, and the production of 95% of the world’s bourbon whiskey!The nonprofit sector makes a big impact in the Bluegrass State’s economy. Employing over 9% state’s workforce, Kentucky’s 17,000 nonprofit organizations generate in excess of $23B in annual revenue. (Source: Independent Sector.)If you start a nonprofit in Kentucky, you’ll join the ranks of nonprofit organizations as diverse as the Owensboro Symphony Orchestra and the Kentucky Natural Lands Trust.Starting a nonprofit in the Commonwealth of Kentucky is a two step process.

1. Form your board of directors.
2. Name and create your incorporation.

Step #1: Your Kentucky Nonprofit Board of Directors

The board of directors officially controls the nonprofit and has overall decision-making power. The board can appoint another person (or multiple people) to run the nonprofit on a day-to-day basis but this is not required to get started.A minimum of three people are required in Kentucky to fill the roles of President, Treasurer, and Secretary. You won’t need to collect Social Security Numbers for your directors but you will need a valid physical address.Once you’ve formed your board, you can move on to the next step.

Step #2: Use the Kentucky One Stop Business Portal

The Kentucky Secretary of State has attempted to make this as easy as possible by providing a comprehensive website called the Kentucky One Stop Business Portal to do this. You’ll need to create an account on the site before starting.Through the Kentucky One Stop Business Portal, you can check and register a name (the fee is $15 for name registration) and then move on to create the nonprofit. Remember to choose the In State Non-profit Corporation option to begin your Kentucky-based nonprofit organization.The website will lead you through the process, costing just $8 to create your nonprofit corporation. Instructions are available on the Kentucky Secretary of State website.

A Faster, Easy Way to Start Your Nonprofit in Kentucky

Now you have your Kentucky 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 Kentucky 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 1023EZ.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 Kentucky Nonprofit Corporation.