You can very much have an entity (and even file tax returns or request tax-exempt status at a federal or state level) without incorporation and can have legally binding agreements despite the lack of incorporation. It does sometimes open users up to a bit more personal liability but can be a very good option for people who are just getting together to do something good :).
The uniform definition I generally see is that an "unincorporated nonprofit association as an unincorporated organization consisting of three or more members joined by mutual consent for a common, nonprofit purpose" James On Sat, Dec 22, 2012 at 1:25 AM, Samuel Klein <meta...@gmail.com> wrote: > When you have chapters and affiliates that aren't incorporated, how do you > handle agreements or grants between such entities? SJ. > > > On Fri, Dec 21, 2012 at 10:31 PM, Michael C. Berch <m...@postmodern.com>wrote: > >> On Dec 19, 2012, at 6:49 PM, James Alexander wrote: >> >> On Wed, Dec 19, 2012 at 4:41 PM, Michael C. Berch <m...@postmodern.com>wrote: >> >>> There are no legal or financial stakes, the issue of "municipalities" >>> is an irrelevant triviality, and it just serves to annoy people. >>> >>> -- >>> Michael C. Berch >>> User:MCB >>> m...@postmodern.com >>> >>> >> There most certainly are legal and financial stakes. An incorporated >> organization costs a not insignificant amount of resources and cash to >> maintain even before they do anything at all. This is especially true when >> you are spanning multiple diverse jurisdictions (such as states or >> countries) and have to know at least some of the laws of each. I don't >> think towns/cities are a major problem. I'm sure it will be an added >> wrinkle given that the jurisdiction overlaps the foundations offices itself. >> >> >> I can't speak to jurisdictions outside the U.S., but I have a fair amount >> of experience and expertise with respect to both business and nonprofit >> entities in the U.S. I have formed and advised a number of both as an >> attorney, and I can assure you that there are no problems in operating a >> 501(c)(3) organization (or similar) that operates in multiple or >> overlapping states, counties, or municipalities. It is also not >> particularly necessary that a "chapter" or "affiliate" of a national or >> global nonprofit (like Wikimedia Foundation) be, itself, an incorporated >> entity. (The Board of Directors may specify that as a requirement, but it >> is not a legal one.) >> >> Inexperienced organizations often "over-organize" when it comes to local >> chapters and affiliates, drawing precise geographical jurisdictional lines >> or requiring that the affiliates represent some particular level of >> subnational entities. There are a number of reasons why this happens, >> including intra-organizational politics and misunderstanding of legal >> issues. It is almost never a good idea, and as we see, generates unneeded >> conflicts. >> >> -- >> Michael C. Berch >> User:MCB >> m...@postmodern.com >> >> >> _______________________________________________ >> Wikimedia-SF mailing list >> Wikimedia-SF@lists.wikimedia.org >> https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimedia-sf >> >> > > > -- > Samuel Klein @metasj w:user:sj +1 617 529 4266 > > _______________________________________________ > Wikimedia-SF mailing list > Wikimedia-SF@lists.wikimedia.org > https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimedia-sf > > -- James Alexander jameso...@gmail.com
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