California nonprofit organizations are required to file a Statement of Information, form SOI-100, with the Secretary of State every two years.
Filing deadline
Perhaps most difficult thing about the form is it is due every other year in the anniversary month of when the NPO was organized. Since that probably doesn’t follow any other paperwork deadline you have, it will be necessary to create some special reminder so you can remember.
Filing out the form
The form is really simple. All that is needed is the organization name and address, name of the CEO, Secretary, and CFO. Finally, name of the person who will accept service in a lawsuit (for simplicity, list one of the three people already listed) and signature.
The form and instructions can be found at: SOI-100-Statement of Information
That is a fillable form, meaning you can type the information on the webpage and hit the print button. Address an envelope, sign the form, and you’re done.
Oh, don’t forget to send along a check for $20.
You can also try to file online here. Will need a Visa or MasterCard to pay the filing fee. I cannot vouch for that approach for NPO’s since I have not used it before. However it looks like it should work. Would be very easy.
What happens if you don’t file?
This is where things get ugly. If you drop sufficiently delinquent on your filing, the Secretary of State can suspend your corporate status. If you let this go on long enough (I’m not sure how long would be enough) your organization would no longer be a legal entity. This is really bad because if you don’t exist, you can’t accept contributions and you can’t sign contracts. I’m not an attorney so I cannot explain the specific implications of that scenario. However, as a businessman I can tell you that is a bad place to be. Don’t go there.
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