Information regarding incorporation and tax-exempt status. At the March meeting, Sheila Jenkins, an attorney with the Community Organization Legal Assistance Project (COLAP), spoke to the residents about incorporating EHCO. Jenkins strongly recommends that EHCO incorporates in order to help protect the organization.

As Jenkins explained, if EHCO holds an event (such as the biannual clean-up) and someone gets injured, the members of EHCO can be sued. The members being sued could be anyone involved with the event, not just the officers. By incorporating, we can protect ourselves from possible lawsuits. By law, a corporation is treated as an individual, not a group of individuals. Therefore, any lawsuit would be against EHCO, not an individual.

One other reason for incorporation is that ECHO would be more likely to qualify for tax-exempt status. This is a status, specifically a 501(c)(3), that ECHO would eventually like to become. Tax-exempt status would allow ECHO to receive donations and the donor would be able to write the donation off on their taxes. With tax-exempt status, ECHO could make purchases without paying taxes.

Jenkins is willing to help EHCO complete and file all necessary paperwork at no cost to EHCO. The only other cost would be $30.00 to file the paperwork with the State of Indiana and $10.00 each year after to keep our incorporation status.

Click on the link below to view the information Jenkins passed out at the March meeting.

Should_Your_Organization_Incorporate.pdf


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