How to Start a Nonprofit in Kansas

Kansas—also known as The Sunflower State—is located in the heart of the United States and is exactly the same distance from the Atlantic and Pacific oceans! Because of its central location, Kansas has become an increasingly important distribution hub and also boasts a significant aerospace and agricultural sector.Kansas is also home to over 15,000 nonprofits, so the state is important for more than just commerce. The Kansas nonprofit sector employs almost 160,000 people—9% of the state workforce—and generates more than $14 billion in combined annual revenue (source: Independent Sector). It’s a large and expanding part of the Kansas economy.If you’re passionate about a cause and want to start your own nonprofit, you can become a part of the state’s growing nonprofit scene. Here’s how to start your nonprofit in Kansas…The three basic steps are:

1. Form your board of directors.
2. Reserve your name (or check availability).
3. File for incorporation.

Step #1: Your Kansas Nonprofit Board of Directors

The board of directors officially controls the nonprofit and has overall decision-making power. The board can appoint another person (or multiple people) to run the nonprofit on a day-to-day basis but this is not required to get started.What is required is a minimum of three people to fill the roles of President, Treasurer, and Secretary. You won’t need to collect Social Security Numbers for your directors but you will need a valid physical address.Once you’ve formed your board, you can move on to the next step.

Step #2: Reserve the Name of Your Kansas Nonprofit

Technically, reserving the name of your nonprofit is not required but you absolutely should check the availability of your desired name. If you do not check for availability, your nonprofit’s application for incorporation (step 3) may be rejected because it is deemed too similar to to another corporation’s name.Reserving the name of your nonprofit is the safest option because it stops another person registering under that name. The fee for this is currently $35 for a paper application and $30 online. To reserve the name, head over to the Kansas Secretary of State website, find the section for filings and forms for business entities, and look for the Reservation of Corporate Name form.If you want to skip name reservation and just check for availability, there is a name availability tool on the Kansas Secretary of State website. The name availability tool is available in the Business Filing Center->Business Entities section.

Step #3: File Your Not For Profit Corporation with the Kansas Secretary of State

Your nonprofit is filed in your home state, in this case Kansas. Nonprofit is the standard industry term but in Kansas the form you’ll need is listed in the Corporations Not For Profit section of the Secretary of State website.You’ll need to locate the Filings and Forms - Business Entities section of the site and look for the form labeled Not-For-Profit Corporation Articles of Incorporation. Articles of Incorporation give the secretary of state the information needed to approve and create your nonprofit in Kansas. The fee is $20 whether you file online or submit a paper application.Here’s some of the information you’ll need to provide with your Articles of Incorporation:

• Name and address of your registered agent.
• Mailing address for your nonprofit.
• The tax year end.
• Purpose of the corporation.
• Name and mailing address of of the board of directors (from step #1).
• Name of the corporation (step #2).

Once you’ve completed the form, file online or print and mail it to the Kansas Secretary of State and you will hear back from them when they decided whether to approve or deny the application.The next step is to get 501(c)(3) tax-exempt status, which is done at a federal level. However, before that, you must obtain an EIN.

A Faster, Easy Way to Start Your Nonprofit in Kansas

The average nonprofit takes 100+ hours of time and often several thousand dollars in professional fees to create. In the past, you were faced with locating, understanding, and filing the forms yourself or hiring an expensive attorney who likely doesn’t specialize in nonprofits.ExemptMeNow is the only secure, fully automated, online platform for creating your Kansas Nonprofit Corporation.