Category: Church Paperwork
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When Exactly is My Church Plant 501c3 Tax Exempt? How to Know
Many planters want to know – when is my church plant 501c3 tax exempt? The answer is ‘both now & later’. Let me explain: What’s the Problem? As a sort of separation of church and state, the IRS has taken an arm’s length approach to churches’ tax matters. So they grant churches an automatic 501c3 tax exemption. No problem […]
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How to Get Faster 501c3 Application Processing
The IRS is 9 months behind (as of 2014) 4-6 months behind (as of 2017) 9 months behind (as of 2023) in processing a new 501c3 application. Seriously. Oh, they’ll cash your ($850 through 2017) $600 application check (as of 2018) on the first day they get your packet, but then you go into a big […]
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How to Apply for Your Church Plant 501c3
You know that your new church plant falls under the IRS’ blanket 501c3 exemption, but you’ve run into several situations where you really need the 501c3 Determination Letter in writing. Or maybe you’re just planning ahead and see the long-term advantages to sending in the application now, before your Grand Opening. What’s the Problem? The […]
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Church Plant Freebie Friday: Amazon Smile
Amazon is donating money to non-profit organizations when shoppers register through Amazon Smile. Once the regulars at your church plant register, ½% of all their (qualified) purchases automatically come to your church. Or better yet, get all of your regulars to register for the nonprofit in town that your church partners with. Do it as […]
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Shutting Down Church Plants
It is always a sad day when you have to go about shutting down a church plant. While there are some paperwork and technical details involved, the primary role and responsibility of the leadership during this time is to care for the people in the congregation. As I’ve had to learn through this process, here […]
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Church Plant Dissolution Clause
If you want to set up your new church for official IRS 501c3 nonprofit recognition, know they’ll be looking for your church plant dissolution clause. What’s the Problem? Anything donated to a church is to be used for its nonprofit purposes. The IRS gets pretty picky about donations being ‘laundered’ through a nonprofit that is […]
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Church Plant Finances
Your church plant needs to have some money-handling procedures in place to create an environment of trust and protect your staff & volunteers from accusation. Your church plant is seeing contributions come in from outside supporters and local givers. Different people are handling the checks (and sometimes cash) that are donated. Someone’s got to balance […]
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Church Plant Financial Audit
What’s the Problem? You want to handle your church plant finances with utmost integrity. But sometimes expediency or a situation that may feel like ‘necessity’ lures planters into sloppy financial practices. Do you want to be able to assure supporters & local givers that their investment in the Kingdom is being put to best use? […]
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How Much Do You Pay Church Plant Staff? (part 2 of 2) Church Plant Staff Benefits
Now that you’ve got a basis for how much to pay the first hires of your church plant, you need to consider what kind of church plant staff benefits to offer. Fringe Benefits Here’s a short list of non-salary benefits that are common in Corporate America. You’ll need to decide which to offer based on […]