The 501(c)3 nonprofit corporate form is a mainstay of the arts and culture world. It’s not overly complex in its basics (a governing board of three or more, organized for charitable purposes, operating toward those purposes, and not distributing benefits of operations to any of the governing parties). We tend to make the form more complicated (with larger boards and sprawling missions), but its always a good idea to return to the basics every now and again to be sure you’re living up to IRS standards.
Thankfully, the IRS wants to help. Their on-line tutorial site, Staying Exempt, offers quick courses in the tax-exempt form, the requirements of nonprofits to remain nonprofits, how to deal with unrelated business income, how to manage employees, filling out the 990 tax form, and required record disclosures.
The site is even populated with friendly cartoon characters (Vernon is shown in this post, say “hi”), to make the journey less intimidating.
Thanks, Barb, for the link.