My wife and I are starting a new business that will offer guided hiking services in the North Georgia Mountains. We initially intended to organize and operate as an Limited Liability Corporation. We filed the appropriate paperwork with the state and have recieved confirmation of our registration as an LLC. As our vision for this endeavor has grown, we have realized that to better coincide with the mission of our organization we should have registered as a non-profit organization. (Our goals for this endeavor are more religious ministry and environmental education than a profit-producing business.) There have been no significant financial transactions involved to this point with the exception of the registration fee with the Secretary of State and the purchase of some resource materials. I have a few legal questions about this situation.
First, are there any legal issues that I need to be careful of as I change (or more appropriately replace) the organization from a LLC to a non-profit?
Second, would it compllicate the situation legally if we were to continue the processes of the business as an LLC until our non-profit registration is complete (approx. one month) and then switch things over and dissolve the LLC?
Finally, would the presence of the LLC at any point jeopardize the tax-exempt status of the non-profit?
First, are there any legal issues that I need to be careful of as I change (or more appropriately replace) the organization from a LLC to a non-profit?
Second, would it compllicate the situation legally if we were to continue the processes of the business as an LLC until our non-profit registration is complete (approx. one month) and then switch things over and dissolve the LLC?
Finally, would the presence of the LLC at any point jeopardize the tax-exempt status of the non-profit?
