Legal-Ease: Establishing charities and non-profit corporations

Lee R. Schroeder is an Ohio licensed attorney with Schroeder Law LLC in Ottawa. He limits his practice to business, real estate, estate planning and agriculture issues in northwest Ohio. He can be reached at lee@leeschroeder.com or at (419) 523-5523. This article is not intended to serve as legal advice, and specific advice should be sought from the licensed attorney of your choice based upon the specific facts and circumstances that you face.

Because some people try to create charities for their own personal gain, the process to create a charity in Ohio for which donations are tax deductible is lengthy and intricate.

Charities are most often organized with the Ohio Secretary of State as non-profit corporations. Ohio has a number of requirements for non-profit corporations, including that the organization must have three directors and that the organization must have an annual meeting for all members of the corporation.

Clients frequently ask me to assist them in establishing charities, sometimes for a specific cause and sometimes for general community benefit. Usually, clients desire that contributions made to that charity be tax deductible for those making contributions or donations.

Unfortunately, charities and non-profit entities can be manipulated for personal gain by dishonest people. The typical scheme is that a couple or group of people will establish a charity and hire themselves to manage the charity. Some donations may go to charitable causes, but often the primary purpose is for the organizers to profit.

Read more about how to establish charities and non-profit corporations in the state of Ohio in Lee’s article in the Lima News here: Legal-Ease: Establishing charities and non-profit corporations

Source: LimaOhio.com, “Legal-Ease: Establishing charities and non-profit corporations,” by Lee R. Schroeder, April 2, 2016

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