You are probably an unincorporated association unless you've filed for status as a non-profit coroporation in your state. For IRS purposes, your constution and bylaws serve as your "organizing documents" or "Articles of Incorporation". We tend to just refer to them as "the by laws". But they are actually two distinct documents. People often have them in one word processing file, which is fine. Unfortunately, these also sometime merge over time into ONE document. On paper, they need to be two.
The constitution is your organizing instrument. It has your name, your purpose, your structure, your fundamental policies for existence.
The by-laws are the rules by which you operate. It goes into more detail. So the constitution might say that business will be conducted at general meetings. But the bylaws will tell more about how, when, where, what.
To find out if you are already a 501(c)(3), contact the IRS. Also, this group is incredibly helpful with any questions you may have. You can do an onsite search at the website listed below, but the database isn't always complete, so you usually end up calling anyway:
IRS Exempt Organization customer service toll-free line 1-877-829-5500.
Their hours are 8:00am - 9:30pm EST Monday-Friday.
Exempt Organizations Search - Online Version of Publication 78
www.irs.gov/exempt/display/0,,i1%3D3%26g...icId%3D15053,00.html
You are on the right track. The terminology is strange at first, but it really does become understandable quite quickly. Good luck!
[ 07-10-2002: Message edited by: JHB ]</p>
