Click here for information on the LegalCORPS Nonprofit Legal Needs Assessment Program.

Without sound legal advice that can head off problems, a nonprofit organization's entire mission can be at risk.

LegalCORPS assists small nonprofits by connecting them with volunteer business lawyers who can provide high-quality, free business legal services.

Nonprofits face legal issues with both ongoing legal concerns and emerging issues. Some ongoing concerns are common to nonprofit and for-profit organizations alike.  Some are:

• Human resources, including employment and benefits; 
• Contracts relating to leases, buying buildings, signing state and county contracts; 
•  Articles and bylaws; mergers and dissolutions; 
• Intellectual property (particularly copyright and trademark).
  

Some emerging issues are unique to the nonprofit sector, however. They include:

• Special state and federal reporting requirements;
• Lobbying expenditures limits;
• Regulations directed at mitigating conflicts of interest and monitoring executive compensation;
• Tax-related issues around unrelated business income.

LegalCORPS volunteers assist eligible nonprofits after they have incorporated and received tax-exempt status from the IRS. (For eligible religious organizations, they must be qualified for tax-exempt status.) LegalCORPS can help organizations that have not yet incorporated and received tax-exempt status to find the assistance they need to do so.

LegalCORPS volunteers do not assist organizations in litigation or other adversarial proceedings.

In determining a nonprofit organization's eligibility for the assistance of LegalCORPS volunteer lawyers, LegalCORPS considers a number of eligibility requirements (96 KB), which include the size of its annual budget. Qualified organizations need to complete an application form (164 KB) (or Word version ) and return it to LegalCORPS for review, along with a $50 administrative fee (unless the applicant previously has requested and received a waiver of that fee).

If LegalCORPS determines that an organization is not eligible for the assistance of LegalCORPS volunteer lawyers, it can help the organization find the assistance it needs.

Nonprofit Legal Needs Assessment Program

Through this LegalCORPS program, Minnesota nonprofits can assess whether they need to take action to ensure that their organizations and operations are on sound legal footing.   Volunteer attorneys, teamed with volunteer paralegals, will use a LegalCORPS-developed "toolkit" that provides a checklist of legal topics to discuss and documents to review.  There is NO CHARGE to participate in this program.

For much more detail on the program, and how to participate, read this announcement .

To apply to participate, complete and submit this form (in Word) .   (Or in PDF .)

F.A.Q. 

Click here for Frequently Asked Questions by clients.

Others Who Can Provide Advice 

Sound legal advice is just one element nonprofit organizations need to thrive.  LegalCORPS helps connect nonprofit organizations (and low-income owners of small businesses) with assistance in other important areas of nonprofit and business management support.   Here are some organizations that also assist small businesses and/or nonprofits.

Eligilibity Requirements (96 KB)

Nonprofit Application (Word)
Nonprofit Application (164 KB)