For accounting periods starting on or after January 1, 2010, small California tax-exempt organizations are required to file an annual return with the Franchise Tax Board (FTB) by the 15th day of the 5th month after the close of the organization's tax year. Currently, tax-exempt organizations with annual gross...
CALIFORNIA LAW
New California Law Affecting Fiscal Sponsors
California nonprofits serving as fiscal sponsors (and potentially any California nonprofits with negative unrestricted net assets) must be aware of the new law that may require them to maintain directors’ and officers’ liability insurance and disclose annually to the Attorney General how they comply with their charitable trust responsibilities....
CalNonprofits: Step by Step Guide for Starting a Nonprofit
Emily and I wrote the Step by Step Guide for Starting a Nonprofit for our good friends at CalNonprofits. Check it out here. If you're an executive or board member of a nonprofit and not familiar with CalNonprofits, you should be. Here's a short excerpt from their website:...
Changes to California Articles of Incorporation Filings
Effective January 1, 2013, the articles of incorporation of a California nonprofit corporation must now include the entity street address and mailing address. The changes to the requirements and a fill-in form for a nonprofit public benefit corporation are available here. The changes to the requirements and a fill-in...
Board Actions by Written Consent & Interested Director Transactions
Boards of California nonprofit public benefit corporations may take actions by voting at meetings or by the unanimous written consent of all directors. Generally, a unanimous written consent takes the form of a document detailing a board action or actions signed by all the directors then in office. This...
California Benefit Corporation and Flexible Purpose Corporation
California Governor Jerry Brown announced today that he signed into law AB 361 (Benefit corporations) and SB 201 (Flexible purpose corporations). These laws will provide social entrepreneurs with two additional forms of legal entities to consider when creating their social enterprises and represents a tremendous step forward for businesses...
California Property Tax Exemption: Must Primarily Benefit Californians
In California, in order to qualify for State property tax exemption, a nonprofit’s property must be irrevocably dedicated to religious, hospital, scientific, or charitable purposes; and “the charitable activities must be found to primarily benefit persons within the geographical boundaries of the State of California.” For a...
Pursuing Profit and Purpose: The Debate in California’s Statehouse and What it Means for Us
Emily and I just returned from a panel discussion at The HUB San Francisco on Pursuing Profit and Purpose: The Debate in California's Statehouse and What it Means for Us presented by The Aspen Institute and Omidyar Network. The focus was on two bills going through California's legislature that could...
California’s New e-Postcard Filing Requirement
Beginning January 1, 2011, California conforms to 2006 federal law that requires small tax-exempt organizations with gross receipts of $25,000 or less, other than churches and church-related organizations, to e-file an annual informational notice (Form 199N), similar to IRS Form 990‑N, known as the e-postcard. The due date for...
Inactive Organizations & Revocation of State Tax Exemption – California FTB
I recently responded to a comment on a listserv regarding an action by the California Franchise Tax Board (FTB) to revoke a charity's state tax-exempt status for reporting no income on its annual registration renewal for several years running. The charity reported zero income between 2006 and 2009, resulting...