What do you need to do to incorporate? Visit your Secretary of State’s website (or in a few states, the Corporation Commission) and search for how to start a new nonprofit or religious entity.
In most states, you’ll file the document online. But be careful! Your state probably won’t require you to include the nonprofit language that the IRS will require for your later 501c3 filing, which is at least:
- A Purpose Clause that meets IRS standards
- A Dissolution Clause that conveys assets to another nonprofit.
If you don’t know to include these, the IRS will make you file an amendment later.
Our Articles of Incorporation Template provides sample language for those clauses and other things you may want to include. Requirements vary from state to state, and how you word the IRS-required clauses should be specific to your church, so make sure to consult an attorney before filing.
We hope our template gets you pointed in the right direction!