Create and manage a nonprofit in a few clicks

You are forming a new nonprofit corporation and need to get the basics right on day one. That usually means articles of incorporation, bylaws, an initial board package, and the internal policies that banks, grantmakers, and (eventually) the IRS expect to see. Honestly, most early disputes start because nobody wrote down who can sign contracts or approve spending.

You are already operating, but the organization has grown up around informal habits. A founder is still acting like the sole decision-maker, the board meets "when needed," and donations flow through whatever platform is convenient. That is when you use governance templates to formalize meetings, voting, officer roles, and financial controls before a conflict, audit, or grant application forces the issue.

You are fundraising across state lines, running events, or paying contractors. Each of those moves can trigger specific compliance steps: state charitable solicitation registrations, donor disclosures, raffle rules, independent contractor agreements, and clear refund/cancellation terms for ticketed events. The document work feels annoying until the first donor complaint or state inquiry lands in your inbox.

• You are applying for tax-exempt status and want your internal paperwork to match what you tell the IRS on Form 1023 or 1023-EZ.
• You are bringing on a new executive director and need a clean offer letter, authority limits, and a board-approved compensation record.
• You are accepting restricted gifts and need to document the restriction so it does not turn into a future fight.

• Nonprofit formation documents: core templates for incorporating a nonprofit, adopting bylaws, and organizing the initial board actions.
• Governance and board management: meeting notices, agendas, minutes, written consents, officer appointments, committee charters, and conflict-of-interest paperwork.
• Fundraising and donor documents: donation terms, restricted gift acknowledgments, donor privacy language, sponsorship agreements, and event fundraising terms.
• Policies and compliance: whistleblower policy, document retention policy, expense reimbursement rules, and basic financial controls for checks, cards, and approvals.
• People and operations: volunteer agreements, independent contractor agreements, and simple service contracts that clarify scope, payment, and ownership of work product.

In the US, there is no single "nonprofit law." You are usually dealing with three overlapping layers: (1) your state nonprofit corporation statute (often based on the Model Nonprofit Corporation Act), (2) federal tax law for exemption under Internal Revenue Code section 501(c)(3) (or another 501(c) category), and (3) state charitable solicitation and consumer protection rules if you ask the public for donations. If your documents conflict across those layers, you end up rewriting them under pressure.

For 501(c)(3) charities, the IRS cares about structure and behavior. Your organizing documents and operations must lock in a charitable purpose and a proper dissolution clause, and you must avoid private inurement and improper private benefit. That is not academic. A sloppy compensation record, a sweetheart deal with a board member, or using funds for a founder's personal expenses can become a tax problem, a governance problem, and a reputational problem at the same time. Transactions with insiders should be documented and approved under a conflict-of-interest process before money changes hands.

Fundraising is where many nonprofits get surprised. Many states require registration before you solicit donations, and some require specific disclosures on solicitations or receipts. Online fundraising does not magically avoid this. If you are sending email campaigns nationwide, using donation widgets, or running peer-to-peer drives, you may be creating a multi-state compliance footprint. A tight set of donor terms, event terms, and board-approved fundraising policies will not eliminate every obligation, but it prevents the most common mistake: improvising promises to donors that the organization cannot actually keep.

• Lawyer-reviewed and practical, written for how US nonprofits actually operate, not for theory.
• Built to support board governance, including minutes and written consents that match how decisions are made in real life.
• Regularly updated to reflect common IRS expectations and recurring state-level compliance patterns.
• Delivered in editable Word and ready-to-sign PDF formats, so you can customize without rebuilding from scratch.
• Plain-English drafting that still respects legal requirements, especially around conflicts, restricted gifts, and authority to sign.