Hands filling out nonprofit paperwork at a folding table, pen mid-stroke on a printed checklist, fluorescent light overhead

Form 1023 — Application for Recognition of Exemption. Page 1 of 26. You've got this.

Field Guide · Est. 2021

You Started a Mission.
Now Learn the Paperwork.

Free guides written by people who've filed the forms — not lawyers, just organizers who figured it out the hard way so you don't have to.

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Morning · Formation

Before you can do the work,
there's paperwork to file.

"I spent three weeks convinced I needed a lawyer to get our EIN. Turns out the IRS website takes fifteen minutes."

— Darnell Washington, Founder, Westside Youth Collective, Chicago

Incorporation8 min read

Choosing Your State of Incorporation: Why It Probably Isn't Delaware

Every nonprofit formation article on the internet tells you to incorporate in Delaware. They're wrong — at least for most of you. If your afterschool program serves kids in Cleveland, Ohio, your board members live in Cleveland, and your bank account is at a Cleveland credit union, you need to incorporate in Ohio. Full stop.

The Delaware myth comes from the for-profit startup world, where corporate law genuinely does favor the First State. Nonprofits operate under a completely different legal framework. Your state's attorney general, not a Delaware court, will oversee your organization. Your donors live where you work. Your volunteers are neighbors.

Here's the actual decision: incorporate in the state where you will conduct the majority of your activities. If you're truly multi-state from day one — rare for new organizations — talk to a nonprofit attorney. Otherwise, save the filing fee and incorporate at home.

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EIN Application5 min read

Getting Your EIN in 15 Minutes: The IRS Online Application, Step by Step

Your Employer Identification Number is your organization's federal tax ID — you need it before you can open a bank account, hire staff, or file for 501(c)(3) status. The good news: the IRS online application takes fifteen minutes and you get your number immediately.

Go to irs.gov and search "EIN online application." The link should take you to a page titled "Apply for an Employer Identification Number (EIN) Online." Do this on a weekday between 7 AM and 10 PM Eastern time — the system goes offline outside those hours.

When the application asks what type of entity you are, select "View additional types, including tax-exempt and governmental organizations," then "Other nonprofit/tax-exempt organizations." You'll be asked for your legal name exactly as it appears on your articles of incorporation.

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Bylaws12 min read

Writing Bylaws That Actually Govern: Five Clauses Most Templates Leave Out

Most bylaw templates downloaded from the internet will get you through the IRS application. They will not help you when your board has a conflict, a founding member wants to leave, or a donor challenges how you spent their restricted gift. Bylaws are not just a checkbox — they are the operating manual for your worst day.

The five clauses that matter most and that most templates skip: a clear conflict of interest policy with disclosure procedures, a board removal process that specifies cause and notice requirements, a quorum definition that accounts for vacancies, a fiscal year designation, and an amendment procedure that requires more than a simple majority.

Work through each clause by asking: "What would happen if we had to use this in an actual dispute?" If the answer is "it's unclear," rewrite it until it isn't.

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Browse all Formation guides (14 articles)
Midday · Money

Grants don't write themselves.
But we can help.

Templates, sample narratives, and budget worksheets you can open in Google Sheets this afternoon.

Download all grant templates (free)
Person writing grant narrative at a desk with budget spreadsheets and coffee cup, afternoon light

$47,000

avg. first grant award for programs using our budget template

Grant Writing15 min read

The Needs Statement: Writing the One Paragraph That Wins or Loses Grants

Foundation program officers read hundreds of applications. The needs statement — usually limited to one page — is where most applications lose. Not because the need isn't real, but because the writer describes their organization's needs rather than the community's. The grant isn't for you. It's for the people you serve. Write from there.

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Donor Letters6 min read

IRS-Compliant Acknowledgment Letters: The Exact Language You Need

Any single donation of $250 or more requires a written acknowledgment letter before the donor can claim a tax deduction. Miss this requirement and you've created a compliance problem for your donor and a credibility problem for yourself. Here's the exact language the IRS requires and how to automate it.

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Budget Templates10 min read

Building a Program Budget That Funders Will Actually Approve

Most first-time grant applicants submit budgets that look like household expense lists. Funders want to see a budget that connects dollars to outcomes — how much does it cost to serve one child for one year? If you can't answer that question, you can't write a budget, and you can't make the case that your program is worth funding.

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Everything in one place.

One email. No spam. We'll send you a curated folder of our most-used resources: sample bylaws, a completed Form 1023 (redacted), grant narrative templates, a 12-month compliance calendar, and our board meeting agenda pack.

Sample bylaws reviewed by a nonprofit attorney

Completed Form 1023 — redacted for privacy, annotated for clarity

Grant narrative template with annotated examples

12-month compliance calendar (state + federal)

Board meeting agenda pack (5 templates)

Donor acknowledgment letter template (IRS-compliant language)

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Afternoon · Operations

Running the organization
is a full-time job.

Board governance templates, volunteer management forms, and the compliance calendar that keeps you out of trouble with your state's attorney general.

Small nonprofit board meeting around a folding table, printed agendas visible, afternoon light from window
Board Governance

The One-Page Board Meeting Agenda That Keeps Meetings Under 90 Minutes

Most nonprofit board meetings run long because they have no agenda discipline. The board chair reports for twenty minutes, the treasurer presents a spreadsheet no one can read, and the real decisions get pushed to email threads that never resolve. A structured one-page agenda changes this.

7 min readRead guide
Volunteer Management9 min read

Volunteer Waivers: What You Actually Need and What's Legal Theater

Volunteer waiver templates circulate endlessly in the nonprofit world. Most of them are copied from for-profit event waivers and are either unenforceable, unnecessary, or both. Here's what a waiver can actually protect you from, what it can't, and the three clauses that matter.

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Compliance5 min read

The 12-Month Compliance Calendar Every Small Nonprofit Needs

State charitable registration renewals. Form 990 deadlines. Board meeting minutes. Annual conflict of interest disclosures. None of these tasks are hard. All of them have real consequences if you miss them. This calendar puts everything in one place.

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Evening · Reflection

You're not the first
to figure this out alone.

Founder stories, burnout resources, and recaps from our monthly community Q&A calls. The people doing this work are remarkable — and they're willing to talk about what they got wrong first.

"The loneliest part of running a small nonprofit is thinking you're the only one who doesn't know what they're doing. Everyone is figuring it out."

— Chronicle community member, Q&A recap #14

Claudette Moreau, Executive Director smiling warmly, New Orleans

Claudette Moreau

Executive Director, Bayou Reading Project

New Orleans, LA

"I filed our 1023 from my kitchen table on a Tuesday night after the kids were in bed. Chronicle's annotated example was the only reason I didn't give up on page 8."
Terrence Okafor, Volunteer Treasurer reviewing documents, Detroit

Terrence Okafor

Volunteer Treasurer, Eastside Community Garden

Detroit, MI

"I'm an accountant by training, but nonprofit bookkeeping has its own language. The fund accounting guide saved me from three separate mistakes in our first audit."
Ruth Ann Hendricks, retired educator and foundation founder, Asheville

Ruth Ann Hendricks

Founder, Second Chapter Foundation

Asheville, NC

"I retired from thirty years in education and thought starting a foundation would be straightforward. The compliance calendar alone has kept us out of trouble twice."
Founder Wellness

When the Mission Becomes the Weight: Recognizing Nonprofit Founder Burnout

Nonprofit founders don't talk about burnout because they feel they don't have the right to — the people they serve have it harder. This is the logic that ends organizations. Here's what the research says, what the community reports, and what actually helps.

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First Tuesday of every month, 7 PM Eastern. Experienced nonprofit administrators answer questions from the community. No agenda. All questions welcome.

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