How can a club amend its articles of association to be recognized as a non-profit organization?
November 27, 2022 | 50,00 EUR | answered by Dora Krause
Dear Tax Consultancy,
I am Renate Vollmann and I lead an association that is dedicated to promoting environmental education for children and young people. We have been active for several years and have operated as a recognized non-profit organization. However, we have recently realized that our articles of association no longer meet the current requirements to maintain our status as a non-profit organization.
The current situation is that our articles of association are outdated and no longer comply with current legal regulations. This concerns me as we rely on this recognition as a non-profit organization in order to receive donations and funding.
My question is therefore, how can we best adapt our articles of association in order to regain our non-profit status? What specific steps do we need to take? Are there certain formulations or passages that must be included in the articles of association in order to be recognized as a non-profit organization?
I would greatly appreciate your support and advice on this matter, as it is crucial for us as an organization to maintain our non-profit status.
Sincerely,
Renate Vollmann
Dear Mrs. Vollmann,
Thank you for your inquiry and your trust in my expertise as a tax consultant for association taxation and nonprofit status. It is very important that you take care of adjusting your statutes in a timely manner in order to remain recognized as a nonprofit association and thus be able to receive donations and funding.
First of all, it is important to understand the specific requirements for statutes of a nonprofit association. A nonprofit statute must meet certain formal legal requirements and contain content provisions that comply with the requirements of nonprofit law.
Formal legal requirements include, among other things, the registrability of the statute, i.e. it must comply with the requirements of the respective association law and be able to be registered with the relevant register court. In addition, the purposes of the association must be clearly defined in the statute and nonprofit purposes in the sense of the tax code must be pursued.
For your association, which is committed to promoting children and young people in the field of environmental education, you should therefore specify in your statutes exactly what nonprofit purposes you are pursuing, such as the promotion of environmental protection, education and upbringing of children and young people, or the promotion of nature conservation.
Furthermore, you should clearly and unambiguously specify in your statutes how these purposes are to be realized, for example, by organizing environmental education events, supporting environmental projects, or collaborating with schools and other educational institutions.
It is also important that your statutes contain certain clauses to ensure that the funds of the association are used exclusively for nonprofit purposes and no profits are distributed to members. These include regulations on the use of association funds, management, and dissolution of the association.
To specifically adjust your statutes, I recommend that you consult an experienced lawyer or notary who can assist you in revising your statutes. They can help you incorporate the necessary formulations and passages into the statutes to meet the requirements for nonprofit status.
It is important that you take the time and carefully work on adjusting your statutes to ensure that they comply with current legal regulations and that your association remains recognized as nonprofit.
I hope that my information is helpful to you and I am available for further questions. I wish you success in adjusting your statutes and in your commitment to promoting children and young people in the field of environmental education.
Sincerely,
Dora Krause
