Check the state database to make sure that your name is available. If not, you’ll want to add info to your name such that it is unique. You can always use a DBA or Doing Business As Name in order to keep the name that you really want. In this case, you’ll have a ‘legal’ name and a DBA name.
In our case, “Green Beverly” was not available, so we created a legal name of “Green Beverly 107Q Inc.”. And, we filed a DBA with the City for “Green Beverly”.

If you don’t already have a board of directors (BOD), you’ll need to create one. To do this, you’ll want to create a list of potential candidates and consider their value to the organization (Time, Treasure, Talent) before narrowing the list down to an initial board of at least 3 members. Of those 3 members, one is the Chair or President, one is the Treasurer, and one is the Secretary or Clerk. This is the minimum requirement to incorporate.

At Green Beverly, we started with 4 board members including the Executive Director.

Upon solidifying the initial board of directors, you’ll want to create your Mission (if you don’t have one). The mission is essential and sets the stage for everything that follows.

Once you have a Mission, you can create your business plan. The business plan will include your business model, your go to market strategy, your organizational structure, and your 3-year budget.

You are now ready to complete your governing documents - your Bylaws and your Conflict of Interest Policy.
There are templates online for both documents.
In your Bylaws, you have to specify whether you are a membership organization or not. If just starting out, I would suggest that you state that the organization will not have any members as a membership organization does add some additional responsibilities.
At Green Beverly, our initial Bylaws stated that we were not a membership organization and then we amended our Bylaws to state that we were after 3 years.
We would recommend a legal review of your documents by a lawyer - hopefully one that is willing to do the review pro-bono.
Both the Bylaws and the Conflict of Interest documents are voted on and signed by the board.

You are now ready to apply for corporate business status (incorporated) on the MA state site. You are filing your “Articles of Organization” ($35 filing fee)

As a part of this, you need to determine your Fiscal Year start/end. We recommend NOT setting your Fiscal Year to end on Dec. 31 as you don’t really want to be doing end of year accounting activity during the holiday season or while you are trying to wrap up your annual appeal (fundraising).

The next step is to file for your EIN (Employment Identification Number).
Green Beverly received its EIN within a day or two.

With an EIN, you can open a bank checking account.
Green Beverly chose a local bank that is known for its philanthropic community support.

Now, you are ready to apply for tax-exempt status with the IRS.
Unless you expect your gross receipts to be less than $50k/yr in the first three years, you’ll want to complete Form 1023 versus Form 1023-EZ. The filing fee for Form 1023 is $600.

Now you sit and wait for tax-exempt approval. This can take several months.
In 2021, Green Beverly waited 5 months for approval from the IRS.

You are now official a 501(c)(3) nonprofit! Congratulations!

There are some annual filing obligations. Including the filing of an annual report and taxes.