Fill and Sign the California California Articles of Incorporation for Domestic Nonprofit Nonstock Corporation Form

Instructions for Completing the Articles of Incorporation of a Nonprofit Mutual Benefit Corporation (Form ARTS-MU) A corporation organized for other than religious, charitable, civic league or social welfare purposes and planning to obtain state tax exempt status under provisions other than California Revenue and Taxation Code section 23701d and 23701f , and/or federal tax exempt status under Internal Revenue Code section 501(c)(4) or is not planning to be tax exempt at all, is a nonprofit Mutual Benefit corporation. To form a Nonprofit Mutual Benefit Corporation in California, y ou must file Articles of Incorporation with the California Secretary of State. • Form ARTS- MU has been created for ease in filing, however, you can compose your own document, provided it meets statutory requirements. • Before submitting the completed form, you should consult with a private attorney for advice about your specific business needs and whether additional article provisions for the corporation are needed. Important Additional Steps to Obtain Tax Exemption and Avoid Paying the Minimum $800 Annual Tax: • C alifornia nonprofit corporations are not automatically exempt from paying California franchise tax or income tax each year. Most corporations must pay a minimum tax of $800 to the California Franchise Tax Board (FTB) eac h y ear. (California Revenue and Taxation Code section 23153.) • A separate E xemption Application (Form FTB 3500) is required in order to obtain tax exempt status in California . F or more information, go to https://www.ftb.ca.gov/businesses/Exempt- organizations. • For information regarding FTB forms and publications visit their website at https://www.ftb.ca.gov or contact t he F TB at (800) 852- 5711 (from within the U.S.) or (916) 845- 6500 (from outside the U.S.). Fees: • Filing Fee: The fee for filing Articles of Incorporation of a Nonprofit Mutual Benefit Corporation is $ 30.00 . • Faster Service Fee: - Counter and guaranteed expedite services are available only for documents submitted in person (drop off) t o our Sacramento office. - Counter Drop Off: A separate, non- refundable $15.00 counter drop off fee is required if you submit i n per son (drop off) your completed document at our Sacramento office. The $15.00 counter drop off fee provides priority service over documents submitted by mail. The special handling fee is not refundable whether the document is filed or rejected. - Guaranteed Expedite Drop Off: For more urgent submissions, documents can be processed within a guarant eed timeframe for a non-refundable fee instead of the counter drop off fee . For detailed information about this faster processing service through our P reclearance and Expedited Filing Services, go to www.sos.ca.gov/business /be/service- options. Copies: Upon filing, we will return one (1) plain copy of your filed document for free, and will certify the copy upon request and payment of a $5 certification fee. To obtain additional copies or certified copies of the filed document, include payment for copy fees and certification fees at the time the document is submitted. Additional copy fees are $1.00 for the first page and $0.50 for each additional page. For certified copies, there is an additional $5.00 certification fee, per document. Payment Type: Check(s) or money orders should be made payable to the Secretary of State. Do not send cash by mail. If submitting the document in person in our Sacramento office, payment also may be made by credit card (Visa ® or Master Card ®). Processing Times: For current processing times, go to www.sos.ca.gov/business/be /processing-times . ARTS -MU Instructions (REV 03/201 7) 2017 California Secretary of State www.sos.ca.gov/business/be If you are not completing this form online, please type or legibly print in black or blue ink. Complete the Articles of Incorporation of a Nonprofit Mutual Benefit C orporation (Form ARTS -MU ) as follows: Item Instruction Tips 1. Enter the name of the proposed corporation exactly as it is to appear on the records of the California Secretary of State . • There are legal limitations on what name can be used for t he c orporation. For general corporation name requirements and restrictions or for information on reserving a corporatio n na me prior to submitting Form ARTS-MU , go t o w ww.sos.ca.gov/business/be/name-availability. • A name reservation is not required to submit Form ARTS -MU . •A preliminary search of corporation names already of recor d c an be made online through our Business Search at BusinessSearch.sos.ca.gov . Please note: The Business Search is only a preliminary search and is not intended t o serve as a formal name availability search. For informati on on checking or reserving a name, g o t o www.sos.ca.gov/business/be/name- availability. 2a. Enter the complete street address, city, state and zip code of the corporation’s initial address. • The complet e street address is required, including t he s treet name and number, city, state and zip code. • Address must be a physical address. • Do not enter a P.O. Box address , an “in care of” address, or abbreviate the name of the city. 2b. If different from the address in Item 2a, enter the corporation’s initial mailing address. • This address will be used for mailing purposes and may be a P .O. Box address or “in care of” an individual or entity . • Do not abbreviate the name of the city. 3. The corporation must have an Agent for Service of Process. There are two ty pes of Agents that c an be named: • an i ndividual (e.g. officer, director, o r any other individual) who resides i n Ca lifornia with a physical California street address; OR • a registered corporate agent qualifi ed w ith the California Secretary of State. • An Agent for Service of Process is responsible for accepti ng l egal documents (e.g. service of process, lawsuits, other types of legal notices, etc.) on behalf of the corporation. • You must provide information for either an individual OR a r egistered corporate agent, not both. • If using a registered corporate agent, the corporation must have a current agent registration certificate on file with t he C alifornia Secretary of State as required by Section 1505. 3a & b. If Individual Agent: • Enter the name of the initial agent for service of process and t he agent ’s complete California stree t addr ess, city and zip code . •I f an individual is designated as the initial a gent, complete Items 3 a and 3b ONLY. Do not complete Ite m 3c . • The complete street address is required, including t he s treet name and number, city and zip code. • Do not enter a P.O. Box address, an “in care of” address, or abbreviate the name of the city. • Many times, a small corporation will designate an officer or director as the agent for service of process. • The individual agent should be aware that the name and t he phy sical street address of the agent for service of process is a public record, open to all (as are all the addresses of t he c orporation provided in filings made with the Californi a S ecretary of State.) ARTS-MU Instructions (REV 03/201 7) 2017 California Secretary of State www.sos.ca.gov/business/be 3c. If Registered Corporate Agent : • Enter the name of the initial registered corporate agent exactly as registered in California. • If a registered corporate agent is designated as the initial agent, complete Item 3c ONLY. Do not complete Items 3a and 3b. • Before a corporation is designated as agent for another corporation, that corporation must have a current agent registration certificate on file with the California Secretary of State as required by Section 1505 stating the address(es) of the registered corporate agent and the authori z ed em ployees that will accept service of process of legal documents and notices on behalf of the corporation . • A dvanced approval must be obtained from a register ed c orporate agent prior to designating that corporation as your agent for service of process. • No California or foreign corporation may register as a C alifornia corporate agent unless the corporation currently is authorized to engage in business in California and is in go od s tanding on the records of the California Secretary of State. • Provide your Registered Corporate Agent’s exact name as registered with the California Secretary of State. To confirm that you are providing the exact name of the Register ed C orporate Agent, go t o ht tps://businessfilings.sos.ca.gov/frmlist1505s.asp. • A corporation cannot name itself as agent. 4. The purpose statement is required. Do not alter. 5. These additional statements must not be altered. • You may enter the specific purpose of the corporation i n I tem 5a. • Items 5 b: Th is statement is required if you intend to apply for tax exempt status from the Internal Revenue Service or the California Franchise Tax Board under Internal Rev enue C ode section 501(c)(4) and California Revenue and Taxation Code section 23 701f. • If the corporation is seeking other types of tax exemptions, you must compose your own Articles of Incorporation. 6. Form ARTS- MU must be signed by each incorporator. • If you need more space for signatures: - Place the additional signatures on only one side of a standard letter -sized piece of paper (8 1/2" x 11") clearly marked as an attachment to Form ARTS -MU and attach the extra page(s) to the completed Form ARTS -MU . - All attachments are part of this documen t. •M ultiple Form ARTS-MU s with differen t signatures will be returned without being filed – use only one form. • Do not include the title of the person signing. ARTS -MU Instructions (REV 03/201 7) 2017 California Secretary of State www.sos.ca.gov/business/be Mail Submission Cover Sheet (Optional): To make it easier to receive communication related to this document , including receipt of the copy of the filed document, complete the Mail Submission Cover Sheet. For the Return Address: enter the name of a designated person and/or company and the corresponding mailing address. Please note the Mail Submission Cover Sheet will be treated as correspondence and will not be made part of the filed document. Where to File: Completed forms along with the ap plicable fees, if any can be mailed to Secretary of State, Business Entities Filings Unit, P.O. Box 9442 60, Sacramento, CA 94244-22 60 or delivered in person (drop off) to the Sacramento office, 1500 11th Street, 3rd Floor, Sacramento, CA 95814. This form is filed only in the Sacramento office. Legal Authority: General statutory filing provisions are found in Section s 7120-7 122.3 et seq. and 7130 -7135 et seq. All statutory references are to the California Corporations Code, unless otherwise stated. Statement of Information: A Statement of Information (Form SI-100 ) must be filed with the California Secretary of State within 90 days after filing the Articles of Incorporation and every two years thereafter during the applicable filing period. The applicable filing period is the calendar month in which the Articles of Incorporation were filed and the immediately preceding five calendar months. ( Section 8210.) Additional Resources: For a list of other agencies you may need to contact to ensure proper compliance, go to www.sos.ca.gov/business/be/resources . Note: The California Secretary of State does not license corporations. For licensing requirements, please contact the city and/or county where the principal place of business is located and/or the state agency with jurisdiction over the activities of the corporation. ARTS -MU Instructions (REV 03/201 7) 2017 California Secretary of State www.sos.ca.gov/business/be Secretary of State Business Programs Division Business Entities, P.O. Box 944260, Sacramento, CA 94244-2600 Mail Submission Cover Sheet Instructions: • Complete and include this form with your submission. This information only will be used to communicate with you in writing about the submission . This form will be treated as correspondence and will not be made part of the filed document. • Make all checks or money orders payable to the Secretary of State . • Do not include a $15 counter fee when submitting documents by mail. • Standard processing time f or submissions to this office is approximately 5 business days from receipt . All submissions are reviewed in the date order of receipt. For updated processing time information, visit www. sos.ca.gov/business/be/processing- times. Optional Copy and Certification Fees : • If applicable, include optional copy and certification fees with your submission. • For applicable copy and certification fee information, refer to the instructions of the specific form you are submitting. Contact Person: (Please type or print legibly) First Name: __________________________________________________ Last Name: _______________________________________________ Phone (optional) : ________________________________ ______________ Entity Information: (Please type or print legibly) Name: ________________________________________________________________________\ __________________________________________ Entity Number (if applicable) : _____________________________________ Comments: ________________________________________________________________________\ _____________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________\ _____________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________\ _____________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________\ _____________________________________ Return Address: For written communication from the Secretary of State related to this document, or if purchasing a copy of the filed document enter the name of a person or company and the mailing address. Name:   Company: Address: City/State/Zip:   Secretary of State Use Only T/TR: AMT REC