File the Certificate of Incorporation

The first step in becoming a corporation is drafting the legal incorporation document--the "certificate" or "articles" of incorporation--and filing the document with the appropriate office within your state government, usually the office of the Secretary of State or Attorney General. In some states, approval must first be obtained from any state agency that will be regulating the proposed programs of the nonprofit organization. State incorporation usually can be accomplished within a matter of weeks, although multiple or complex sate agency reviews can considerably extend that period.

As you prepare the articles of incorporation, you will need to determine the name of the organization, where the organization will be headquartered, and its overall purpose. When preparing the "purposes clause," remember to state the goals of the organization broadly in order to provide program flexibility in the future, and do not include purposes that will trigger state agency reviews of the proposed incorporation unless your organization in fact plans to conduct those programs.