Forming a non-profit charitable organization?

[theph3nom]

Hi, I was wondering what, if any, are the paramaters for creating a non-profit charitable organization and how would I go about creating said organization within these paramaters.

I live in the state of Rhode Island and I am looking to form an organization that collects used game systems and games (old and new) and allows children that are less fortunate to experience what is a huge part of my life, the art of the video game industry.

I would appreciate any suggestions, tips, or instruction I could get on this matter, and please note that I am 16 years of age should age come into play with forementioned parameters.

 

[David_Staub]

What a great idea!

I cannot tell you specifically about Rhode Island, but I can give you some general pointers.

First, you need to form the entity under the Rhode Island non-profit corporation. To incorporate, Articles of Incorporation (Form No. 200) must be filed with the Office of the Secretary of State, Corporations Division. When the Articles are properly completed, signed and submitted with the correct filing fee, a Certificate of Incorporation shall be issued. The Articles of Incorporation must be accompanied by a filing fee of $35.00, and payment should be made payable to the Rhode Island Secretary of State.

The form is available online as a fillable PDF file at:
http://www.sec.state.ri.us/corps/corpforms1205/Corporate Forms/domesticnonprofit.html/200.pdf

Be careful when filling in the Articles of Incorporation because there is specific wording needed if your non-profit corporation is also going to be a charitable organization under the IRS rules discussed in item three below. A non-profit pays no taxes (generally) but contributions are not deductible by the donor unless the non-profit corporation is also a charitable organization under the IRS rules.

Second, you need to prepare a set of bylaws that specifies in more detail how your non-profit corporation is governed. As above, there is specific wording needed in the bylaws if your non-profit corporation is also going to be a charitable organization.

Third, if you want contributions to your non-profit corporation to be deductible, your non-profit corporation must be determined to be a charitable organization by the IRS. This requires jumping through some hoops, including special language in the Articles of Incorporation and bylawa, as well as filling out a form that requires detailed income about the sources and uses of any funds. If people are giving a few used games, you may want to consider whether the tax deduction will be a motivating factor. If not, you may save yourself a lot of trouble by eliminating this step.

Good luck.

 

[theph3nom]

Wow, thanks a lot for all the help, David! That is quite a lot of help, indeed.

My main concern is the fact that I am a minor. I believe I have some research to do because I do not know if being a minor would officially allow me to start a non-profit organization. Considering the fact that it would be founded and run by a minor, my orginal thought was that legal paramaters, etc. would not apply because it would not be recognized as an official organization.

Is there anyone I could talk to within my state/local government or otherwise concerning these matters and if my being a minor would exclude me from the fore mentioned paramaters, etc.?

Thanks again!