Nonprofit Startup Checklist

A free checklist covering every document, filing, and decision required to launch a 501(c)(3), in the order they actually happen. Mission and name through incorporation, EIN, bylaws, and the IRS exemption application. Written by a nonprofit attorney, not assembled from templates.

What it covers

• Choosing and clearing a name, including why a state entity search is not the same as a trademark search.
• Incorporating with the state, and the specific organizing-document language the IRS requires before it will grant exemption.
• Getting an EIN, and the order this has to happen in relative to incorporation.
• Building a board the IRS will accept, including independence and the questions Form 1023 asks about it.
• Bylaws and the conflict of interest policy, and why the IRS asks whether you have one.
• Choosing between Form 1023 and Form 1023-EZ, and confirming eligibility before you file rather than after.
• The first-year obligations most founders do not know exist until they have missed one.

Who it is for

Founders at the beginning, deciding whether to incorporate and in what order to do things. If you have already formed and are looking for what happens annually, the Nonprofit Annual Compliance Checklist is the one you want instead.

What it does not do

It is a checklist, not legal advice, and it does not prepare your Form 1023 or your organizing documents. It tells you what has to happen. If you would rather it were handled, our 501(c)(3) formation packages start at $999 with filing fees included.

The order is the part people get wrong

• Almost every founder we meet has done the steps in a sequence that creates work later. The most common is incorporating first and reading the IRS requirements second, which means the articles of incorporation have to be amended before Form 1023 can succeed — an amendment, a fee, and a delay that was entirely avoidable.
• The second most common is applying for an EIN before the entity legally exists, which produces an EIN attached to nothing.
• The third is choosing a name, printing materials, and registering a domain before anyone has checked whether the name is available as a trademark. A state entity search confirms only that no other entity in that state holds a confusingly similar name. It says nothing about whether a federally registered mark blocks you from using it.
• None of these are difficult to avoid. They are difficult to undo. That is the argument for a checklist rather than working it out as you go.

Frequently asked questions

Is the checklist really free?

Yes. We ask for your name and email so we can send it and let you know when we publish new resources. You can unsubscribe any time.

Do I need a lawyer to start a nonprofit?

No. Plenty of organizations form without one. The risk is in the parts that are hard to undo — organizing document language, board composition, and choosing the wrong IRS application.