NPDCSNJ Workshop: How to Start a Non Profit Organization

September 23, 2026 7:00 PM - 8:30 PM (EDT)

Description

This is a crash course in (almost) “everything” that someone thinking about creating an NPO needs to consider in what is already a crowded and growing field. There are now more than 1.5 million non profit organizations registered in the United States, including public charities, private foundations, and other non profit organizations. Private charitable contributions increased to an estimated $410.02 billion in the middle of the last decade. Out of these contributions, religious organizations received 30.9%, education organizations received 14.3%, and human services organizations received 12.1%. During the first half of that decade, approximately 25.3% of Americans over the age of 16 volunteered for a nonprofit.

Objectives:

Participants in this course will:

• Learn how to becoming a tax-exempt NP Corporation:
  • Step 1/State: Incorporation (file COI with appropriate state agency)
  • Step 2/Federal: Apply to IRS to be recognized as tax-exempt and forms 1023 and 1023 EZ.
• Understand the concepts of tax-exempt vs. tax-deductible
• Learn how to draft governing documents, including Certificate of Incorporation, Bylaws, and COI policy
• Understand the Model Nonprofit Corporation Act and specifically the implications of the decision to be a membership organization vs. a board-only entity
• Identify and understand “misconceptions,” including but not limited to:
  • Non profit = tax exempt
  • NPOs can’t raise money unless tax exempt
  • Founders can “do what they want”
  • NPOs can’t make a profit
  • State and local property tax exemptions are “automatic”
  • NPOs can’t lobby

Course Content:
This course includes a discussion of the challenges and rewards of creating a non profit organization (NPO), including a brief history of NPOs in the US, a glossary of 10 commonly encountered terms, and a list of 15 of the historical “firsts” attributed to NPOs in the United States. It also includes understanding what entities already exist. That means that, if you’re thinking of starting an NPO, you’re not alone. The number of Section 501 (c) (3) Tax-Exempt Organizations Registered with IRS basically doubled from 650,000 in 1998 to 1,300,000 in 2019…and is now more than 1,500,000.

The course discusses how to determine whether your proposed purposes fit within 501 (c) (3) of the IRS Code as an entity that will be “organized and operated exclusively for religious, charitable, scientific, testing for public safety, literacy, or educational purposes, or to foster national or international sports competition…or the prevention of cruelty to children or animals.”

It also includes New Jersey filing requirements with the NJ Office of Charities Registration, observance of corporate formalities and maintenance of corporate records (e.g., board meetings, resolutions, etc.), and the concept of “perpetual existence.”

In New Jersey, non profit organizations with revenue in excess of $10,000 in a given year must file the appropriate report with the Department of Community Affairs Charities Registration office. When revenue exceeds $25,000, the form for the report changes.

The session also includes a detailed bibliography and a statement of New Jersey Mandatory Notices.