Where WDA stands in becoming an official non-profit
One of my side projects for the past month or so has been looking into what it will take to make Whitman Direct Action into a legitimate non-profit. We currently hold our status as an organization through being an ASWC-sponsored club and, correct me if I’m wrong, a project under Joe’s synagogue, the Havurah, in Ashland, Oregon. Donations made to WDA go through the Havurah so that the donor’s generosity is tax-deductible.
This system has worked for our past projects, and is working fine for our current project, but isn’t the best long-term solution because it’s dependent on Joe’s connection to his willing and flexible synagogue. Seeing as he’s a senior this year, it might even only work for this project cycle.
There are many potential solutions, however, so it shouldn’t be too much of a hang-up. Worst-case scenario is that we have to move funds through ASWC. The best of these solutions, I would argue, is to incorporate WDA as a non-profit and do it all ourselves. Although this would require a bit more logistical effort than we’ve had to put forth previous, I believe both the process of incorporation and the organization we design will help ensure WDA’s overall longevity.
That is, if we don’t get absorbed by the college at some point in the process.
From my research, the most significant steps towards incorporating WDA as a non-profit are these:
- Recruiting a board of directors. A board of directors is a crucial component in maintaining an organization over the long-term. Members are usually elected for terms over several years and thus give informed guidance to new, potentially confused members.
- Drafting articles of incorporation. In layman’s terms, this is the application to the state for non-profit status. It is also likely the document which requires amount of legalese.
- Writing bylaws. The bylaws, in brief, outline how the organization should optimally run. They include instructions for choosing new board members, how often meetings should be, etc. Although this runs, in someways, counter to the way WDA has wanted to exist, it would probably be possible to draft these bylaws to reflect our current values.
Other steps include filing tax forms and drafting a two-year budget, but the steps above are probably the most important and time-consuming.
At this point in time, the very first step is determining whether we, as the organization we are now, think this is a worthy cause to pursue. It will require everyone’s effort, although some more than others, and more importantly everyone’s support. Sometime after that we’ll need legal assistance to write legalese, but that will happen when we know what we want to translate.
Good resources on this process:
- Whatcom Council of Nonprofits - How to Start a Nonprofit
- USDA Rural Development - 501(c)3 Fact Sheet
Tags: ASWC, development