Illinois Non Profit Compliance Lawyer
At MacDonald, Lee & Senechalle, Ltd. , we understand the value that charities, schools, religious entities and other not-for-profit organizations provide for the community. Non-profit organizations may not have the resources to devote to complying with the myriad laws and regulations faced by every entity doing business in Illinois, but they are unfortunately bound by these rules nevertheless. We are dedicated to helping your non-profit follow the letter of the law and comply with the applicable state and federal regulations. Our goal is to lift your burden of worrying about keeping your tax-exempt status and complying with all other business laws so that you can focus on executing your mission and continuing to serve the community.
Registration and Renewal Requirements
To form and maintain a non-profit in Illinois, your organization must file regular updates with the IRS, the Secretary of State and the Illinois Attorney General. You should be filing everything that makes up your organization, including the non-profit’s bylaws, the articles of incorporation, statements of the non-profit’s activities and how it plans to raise and use funds, among other things. Our non-profit compliance attorneys will help you wade through the variety of state and federal filing requirements, including tax laws, to keep your non-profit up and running. We provide detail-oriented and diligent compliance services to make sure that your operations are not interrupted as a result of some overlooked technicality.
Our experienced non-profit compliance attorneys can help you satisfy filing requirements including, among others:
- Articles of Incorporation
- Form CO-1 – Illinois Charitable Organization Registration
- Form AG990-IL – Illinois Charitable Organization Annual Report
- Form 1023 – Application for Recognition of 501(c)(3) Exemption with the IRS
- Form 990 – Annual financial report & information return with the IRS
- Unrelated business income tax filings
Other Significant Compliance Areas
Keeping up to date with your state and federal filing duties is not the only legal hoop your non-profit must jump through. Our Chicago non-profit compliance lawyers are ready to help you deal with a wide variety of compliance issues, including the following:
- Corporate record-keeping
- Conflict of interest policies
- Compliance with bylaws
- Holding regular and proper board meetings
- Director and officer compensation restrictions
- Employee compensation, filing and withholding requirements
- Marketing and promotional activities
- Soliciting donations and properly recording and receipting donations
- Proper use of donated funds
- Public disclosure requirements
- Advocacy and other political activities
Our goal is to keep your organization from being bogged down with compliance issues so that you can focus on your mission.
Retaining Tax-Exempt Status
Maintaining 501(c)(3) tax-exempt status is vital for non-profit organizations to remain afloat. Failing to file your annual returns with the IRS is not the only route to losing tax-exempt status. To maintain tax-exempt status, you must stick to the explicitly-listed tax-exempt activities. One of the most important and often tricky parts of running a nonprofit organization is performing all of the services you wish to perform and remaining true to your beliefs while not crossing any lines into activities that could threaten your status as a nonprofit, tax-exempt organization.
You may run a church that takes a position on certain topics or run an advocacy organization that focuses on a particular issue. Unfortunately, the boundary between espousing your beliefs or supporting a cause and veering into prohibited political activities is blurry at best. If the IRS decides that you are performing political activities or excessive lobbying, you could lose your tax-exempt status and face significant tax liability. Our non-profit lawyers can keep you on the right side of the line while protecting your organization’s ability to help your community as you see fit.
Experienced Legal Representation in Chicago Nonprofit Compliance
For experienced, knowledgeable assistance in dealing with compliance issues for your nonprofit organization, contact the dedicated and professional Chicagoland non-profit attorneys at MacDonald, Lee & Senechalle, in Hoffman Estates at 847-310-0025, and in Des Plaines at 847-298-5030.