Let me ask you a question: do you pay for the minimum automobile insurance required? Does your church have liability insurance? Your ministry deserves no less care and protection. Our faith in God is why Christian Nonprofit Law Center (“CNLC”) is here. We are all called to be “wise as serpents, harmless as doves.” At CNLC, we will help you wisely and safely steward God’s gifts to your nonprofit.

California recently made big changes to the “Mandate Reporter” law. Have you updated your Youth Protection Policies to reflect the law’s changes? Let CNLC’s attorneys help you update your policies to comply with the law. Most importantly, let us help ensure that every minor you serve is safe, secure and well-protected.

Sharing your facilities or grounds with the community is a great way to be “salt and light.” However, before you do so, be sure to do everything you can to protect your faith-based nonprofit and the community you hope to serve. Do you have a specially tailored, constitutionally sound Facilities Use Policy? Was it drafted to reflect and incorporate the goals of your Articles, constitution and bylaws? Do you employ a Facilities Use Application? Are you unknowingly engaged in illegal discrimination by the way you share your facilities? Before you open your facilities to the community, avoid the hundreds of thousands of dollars in legal fees and be sure you are well protected.

The Articles of Incorporation are a brief document we will file with the California Secretary of State’s office to legally create your nonprofit. They are a public record. They typically provide the name of the corporation, its primary purposes in the most general sense, and the agent for service of process, along with a few other details. Artfully drafted Articles should provide a foundation for the bylaws and make expanding the nonprofit’s activities easier. Articles often unnecessarily fail to allow a church to do important things (such as purchase real property). California requires your Church or religious nonprofit to also have bylaws, even though they do not have to be filed with the Secretary of State’s Office. Bylaws establish the officers of your corporation, their terms of service and qualifications, establish important committees, provide rules for and frequency of meetings, explain how members vote and what matters are subject to a vote. Bylaws give the nuts-and-bolts guidelines for day-to-day business. They can and should be amended from time to time to meet the organization’s changing needs. Your Articles may need to be changed to correspond to changing laws, or as your organization grows. In such cases, a change to the Articles may require a super-majority vote to support the change.

Mass-produced bylaws in a standardized format are potentially hazardous. Successful nonprofits rely on carefully tailored bylaws to serve their unique needs. Well-crafted, personalized bylaws help minimize confusion, personality conflicts and misunderstandings. They can ensure safe monetary guidelines, and most importantly, they will reduce the potential for the liability of your nonprofit. To draft bylaws that can serve you well, CNLC will want to know your team’s goals, vision and ministry. We also need to know your challenges and frustrations to create bylaws that will maximize insulation from liability and serve as a helpful tool that minimizes friction in the operation of your church or faith-based nonprofit.

The short answer is, most likely, you are. If you are a full-time pastor, there is a good chance you are either not taking full advantage of what the law allows or you are not doing so correctly. Over the years, we have encountered very few ministers who are complying with the regulations governing this incredible gift. At CNLC, we can help your team navigate these confusing waters. Google is a remarkable tool, but is it reliable enough to ensure compliance with IRS guidelines?

As with many questions, the answer is “that depends.” It depends partly on your organizing documents (Articles of Inc., Statement of Faith and Bylaws). This is one of many reasons we strongly recommend you avoid standardized forms for your governing documents. Surprisingly, there are many things your church, pastor or priest can do and say that will not legally jeopardize your church or religious nonprofit’s tax-exempt status. One of the most helpful resources is the Alliance Defending Freedom’s web page addressing the topic. See https://www.adfchurchalliance.org/electionguide.