If your charity makes a change to the articles of incorporation, you need to notify the Secretary of State. I had opportunity to look at the process in California for filing such a notice.
There are comparable filing requirements in your state. Explore your Secretary of State’s website to find instructions. To help others here’s what I found for California.
The instructions on how to file a Certificate of Amendment (along with a bunch of other forms) can be found at this page on the California Secretary of State’s website. The ninth item addresses amending the articles and item 11 addresses a restatement of the articles.
Click on the pertinent link and you get a PDF file of the instructions. Even though the instructions are public documents I will not include them here because they can change at any time. Here is a link to the instructions for change of nonprofit articles.
A few things to note:
- The change in the bylaws needs to be approved using a specific format with specific wording. The last page of the PDF gives a sample document which can be tailored as necessary. The official board motion needs to be signed by the board chair or president along with the corporate secretary.
- The PDF gives the name of the office and address to file the document.
- Filing fee is $30 plus an additional $5 if you want a certified copy of the change. You really want a certified copy.