Nonprofit Compliance – A Starter Checklist

By Styskal, Wiese & Melchione

March 7, 2025

So you’ve done the initial legwork of starting a nonprofit. Congratulations! It’s exciting that you can have a greater impact within your community. With all the initiation activities behind you – the (lengthy) 501c3 application, filing for incorporation, and getting your board organized – you are ready to dig into programming and other impactful work. But what do you need to do to ensure that you maintain your tax designation and follow state requirements?

Creating a checklist for your organization and adding items to an annual calendar is a great way to ensure that you are doing the regular tasks necessary to maintain your organization, prevent knowledge and information loss with turnover, and keep its fundamental operations in good working order.

There are many online resources to help you think through various requirements. The IRS Charities and Nonprofits portal provides links to check on your organizations’ status, submitting online filings, and educational resources on a range of topics for different types of nonprofits. Additionally, CalNonprofits has a nonprofit compliance checklist with lists and useful links to forms and external guidance.

Below is a short checklist of commonly required forms, tasks, and considerations for a typical nonprofit. Please note that this list is not comprehensive but is intended to provide a starting point to your planning. Also, some of these items may be specific to California, so if you are incorporated in a different state you will need to check on local requirements.

State Requirements (California):

•  Annual Registration Renewal Fee Report (RRF-1 Form): Due four months and fifteen days after the close of your fiscal year to Attorney General’s Office (May 15 for calendar year filers)
  • Every nonprofit that holds assets for chartable purposes or doing business in the state of California must register with the Attorney General’s Office’s Registry of Charities and Fundraisers and maintain registration by way of annual renewal. This is so that the Attorney General can ensure that there isn’t unlawful use of charitable assets.
• Annual Information Return (FTB Form 199/Form 199N): Due the fifteenth day of fifth month after close of your fiscal year to State of California (May 15 for calendar year filers)
  • Depending on the complexity of the organization’s finances, you may wish to consult with an accountant on this form.
• Statement of Information (Form SI-100): Due every 2 years, same month as initial Filing of Articles
  • This filing requires that you report the officer names of the three required officer positions including a Chief Executive Officer (or board chair), Chief Financial Officer (or treasurer), and Secretary. This may provide a good check for you on whether these officers are indeed still actively involved in the organization, especially if the organization’s activities have recently been dormant. If you need to replace officers, you will need to hold a board meeting to take official and documented action to this effect following the rules set out in your Bylaws.
  • This filing also requires that you report the name of your Agent for Service of Process, also referred to as a Designated or Registered Agent. This agent serves as an organization’s official legal point of contact and is the designated receiver of any legal documents. The agent does not need to be directly affiliated with the organization (e.g. staff or board director), but does need to have their information on file with the State.
  • While the Statement of Information is only due every two years, it is important for internal operations to ensure these positions are still filled with active individuals (i.e. no one has recently left the organization), so set a reminder to check in on these positions at least once a year.

Federal Forms:

• Return of Organization Exempt from Income Tax (Form 990/990-EZ/990-N/990-PF): Due the fifteenth day of 5th month after close of your fiscal year to IRS (May 15 for calendar year filers)
• As with the state annual return, you may wish to consult with an accountant on this form. Also, if your organization has unrelated business income over $1,000 you will need to file the file Exempt Organization Business Income Tax Return (Form 990-T)

Other Operational Considerations:

• Local Business Licenses
  • Each local jurisdiction has different requirements for what types of business may need to procure a business license. Be sure that you understand your local jurisdiction and have researched what their requirements are.
• Mailing Address
  • Be sure that you have checked whether you are able to receive mail for the organization at the address that you have on file with the state. For instance, some nonprofits share the address of another corporation or an individual. If your landlord is not aware that there is a new organization operating from your location, you may have problems with the building or post office receiving mail without procuring or providing a written agreement.
• Insurance
  • There are many types of insurance options available for nonprofits. The most common types are general liability, directors & officers (D&O), and workers compensation. General liability protects your organization from common accidents or injuries that may occur on the premises or at programs, D&O protects the personal assets of your nonprofit’s board and officers against claims resulting from decisions made in their official capacity, and workers compensation insurance is mandatory in California if your nonprofit has employees.
• Bank Accounts
  • It is best practice to establish an independent bank account for the nonprofit organization. Make sure that the signatories on the bank account are active with the organization, designated to transact on accounts, and that login credentials are secure.
• Records Keeping
  • Records such as board meeting minutes, tax documents, filings, donation records, and contracts are crucial to retain in a place that is easily accessible and known to the leadership team. Be sure that you have a procedure, or better yet document Records Retention and Destruction Guidelines, for keeping your key organizational files safely stored.
• Annual or other recurring requirements in your Bylaws
  • Most Bylaws designate meetings or reports that are regularly recurring in any given year. Although these may not be specific requirements of the state, you are expected to govern the nonprofit by the rules that you have established in your Bylaws. Examples of these types of items are: board meetings, annual reports, annual membership meetings, and financial reports. Go through your Bylaws to identify these items and add them to your calendar.
• Other more specific forms for some nonprofits
  • There are other reporting requirements for nonprofits with certain types of activities, such as those that have employees or independent contractors, those that have limited political or legislative activities, those that hold raffles, and those seeking a welfare exemption from property taxes.
• Donation Receipts and Records
  • Providing donation receipts is important both from the perspective of good fundraising practices as well as to comply with IRS requirements. The IRS requires that written acknowledgement containing specific information be provided for a charitable contribution of $250 or more. Donation receipts are also a great way of building donor relationships and tracking your donations regardless of amount.

Nonprofits are treated as fully operational businesses in the eyes of state and federal regulators and indeed have many of the same operational considerations as any other business. If you are organized and diligent about making sure necessary functions and filings are taken care of, you can focus your energy on the work you are doing to make a difference!