I have had a meeting with Ed Lawson (our resident attorney from the
Centralug) on the process and fees associated with doing the non-profit
filing for GNHLUG.
The basic idea is that we can file an abbreviated form creating a
non-profit status for a $25 fee. What we get is our non-profit status
allowing us to do business and we are allowed to run $5,000.00 or less
trough the account. This will allow us the year to figure out if it is what
we want to do as a group.
The non-profit status will allow us more of an opportunity to ask for
donations when and if we need them. An example is we have had a couple of
chances for speakers, but they needed expenses paid. It makes it difficult
to ask Corporations to pay for these if we aren't a non-profit where they
can write off the donation. It isn't the same as the business expense that
a corp can use when showing product at the LBS.
I asked Ed the below question and the most important part of the answer is
the last sentence. When we have meetings and events and invite people to
attend, we are all on the hook for liability. If we file as a non-profit
corp, we eliminate that possibility. An important point for any of you
owning property, your own company, investments, having a family, etc.
So, to get it started we need 5 signatures and I am one, and I do have 4
others who are willing/want to sign the documents to get us started. I will
front the $25 fee from BearPaw Technologies as the first donation.
The people who have offered to sign are Ed Lawson, Dave Seidel, Lori
Hitchcock, Jeff Smith, myself. There have been others as well who have
indicated they wanted to sign to get us started.
If you have reservations or are against us filing, please voice them here
for everyone to see as we will be moving forward soon otherwise.
Jerry
>> I have a question concerning the filing we were discussing. You said we
>> only needed 5 people to sign, but do we need to actually provide officers
>> to the State, or with this particular filing, they only need 5 people who
>> say they are responsible.
Jerry
>You only need five people to sign and they can be anyone. They do not have to
>be anyone connected to the organization actually and certainly not officers
>since there is nothing to be an officer of from a legal standpoint. They
>should be persons associated with the proposed organization from a practical
>standpoint. there is no downside to forming a voluntary
>association/non-profit
>corporation. It helps to limit individual liability and provides an entity
>which can make contracts. Now, everyone, technically, is on the hook so to
>speak.
>
>Ed Lawson
>
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Jerry Kubeck Customer Support Appropriate Solutions, Inc.
[EMAIL PROTECTED] www.AppropriateSolutions.com
