This can either be a corporation or a trust, however most
corporate foundations choose the corporate form because it is more familiar, provides some legal
protection for the directors, and is a little bit more flexible. All variants of corporation are
available, but since a nonprofit has no true ownership, a state’s “nonprofit corporation” form is
usually sufficient. We will also assist you with electing trustees or board members.
Typically,
these are selected from managers of the firm, or, in privately held firms, the owners. Assist with
incorporating the entity. This would include drafting and filing articles of incorporation and
paying the appropriate fees to whichever state you are incorporating in. Also assist with
obtaining a Federal Tax ID (EIN) from the IRS. The IRS considers the date that you receive your
EIN to be within your first accounting period. So, if you get an EIN in November and your
accounting year ends in December, your first tax return would be due in March. This is true even
if you haven’t completed the rest of the steps or haven’t received your tax-exempt letter from the
IRS.
