Community
Law CenterPro Bono E-News
June 2005
Community
Law Center
Pro Bono E-News
June 2005
The Pro Bono Project of the Community Law Center provides Non Profit Organizations in the Baltimore area with pro bono and low cost legal assistance. Please feel free to contact 410-366-0922 if you should have any questions about becoming a client of the Community Law Center's Pro Bono Project or our new Small Business Legal Services Project. We are here to serve you.
Welcome to the New Directing Attorney
The Community Law Center welcomes Kelly Pfeifer, Esq. as Directing Attorney for the Pro Bono Project. She is also a staff attorney for the Environmental Justice Project. Kelly is also a registered landscape architect and worked as a land planner in the metropolitan Baltimore area prior to becoming an attorney. Her professional experience includes working with nonprofits, government agencies, community groups and the Community Development Clinic at the University of Maryland School of Law. Kelly, her husband and their two beagles live in Canton, where she is a member of the Canton Dog Park Committee and a block representative.
Community Association Directory
The Department of Planning for the City of Baltimore provides a directory of all community associations in the city area on its website at http://www.ci.baltimore.md.us/government/planning/cad.html. A hard copy of the directory can also be requested by e-mail or phone - kenneth.hranicky@baltimorecity.gov or 410-396-8356. Consider whose job it should be to keep this directory updated with your organization’s information. Then, add this duty to your organization’s by-laws to ensure that the data is current and correct. You never know who may be trying to contact you!
2005 Maryland Pro Bono Service Award
The Community Law Center is pleased to announce that it has been chosen as a recipient of a 2005 Maryland Pro Bono Service Award. This award is a symbol of the Law Center's commitment and dedication to the legal profession and is recognition for helping to ensure equal access to justice. The Law Center is very grateful for the appreciation and recognition of its pro bono efforts though this award. The awards ceremony will take place on June 18 at the Maryland State Bar Association Annual Meeting and the award will be presented by Judge Robert M. Bell, Chief Judge, Maryland Court of Appeals.
The Community Law Center is proud to announce the latest addition to its array of legal services available to the residents of the Greater Baltimore area. The Law Center’s Small Business Legal Services Project provides pro bono and low cost legal services to small businesses and micro enterprises in the Greater Baltimore region.
Our Services for Business Owners
o Entity Formation (for example, forming a corporation or LLC)
o Intellectual Property Protection (trademark, copyright, patent)
o General Contract Drafting/Review
o Assistance with Financing Documents and Negotiations
o General Business Matters
How does a small business owner or micro entrepreneur become a client?
Each potential client must complete a Business Information Form, which the Small Business Legal Services Project Attorney will use to determine the applicant’s eligibility. When making the eligibility determination, the Attorney will consider both the entrepreneur’s income and the entrepreneur’s potential impact on the surrounding community. If eligible, the Attorney will conduct an in-person interview to ascertain the scope of the potential client’s legal needs. In cases that involve lawsuits or that are otherwise beyond the Small Business Legal Services Project’s scope of services, the Project attorney will refer the case to another pro-bono or low-cost legal service provider.
What fees are required?
Each client will be required to pay fees charged by the state and federal agencies. The fees for the Attorney’s time will be heavily discounted and based upon each client’s needs and the information set forth in the Business Information Form. In some cases, the Client will be asked to pay an upfront fee or retainer.
You have a great idea for a business and you are excited to begin. The first question that comes to mind is, “Where do I start?” Below are some helpful links to assist you in achieving your dream of owning a successful small business. When reading through this information, please keep in mind that the Small Business Legal Services Project can assist you with many of the tasks that lay before you such as contract review, entity formation, trademark applications, etc. Enjoy surfing and please contact us with any questions!
Starting a Small Business in Maryland
http://www.dat.state.md.us/sdatweb/checklist.html
http://www.blis.state.md.us/BusinessStartup.aspx
Business Plans, Training
Morgan State University
Entrepreneurial Development and Assistance
Center
Licensing/Permits
http://www.baltimorehousing.org/index/permits.asp
Micro enterprise
http://www.emicromaryland.com/ehome.asp
Please support our Small Business clients! The businesses that we serve range from graphic designers to hair salons to job training programs. These individuals are pursuing their dreams and enriching the neighborhoods of Baltimore and surrounding areas! Visit them today!
http://www.caroline-center.org/
http://www.blowupcolorlab.com/
Toddler's First LLC 410-638-5295
My organization wants to obtain its 501(c)(3) tax-exempt status; What do you do? The term 501(c)(3) refers to the section of the IRS code that addresses organizations with charitable purposes. An organization has to meet certain criteria to be given the distinction of being a non-profit by the IRS. Once an organization has earned this distinction, however, donations from donors are tax deductible. There are many items that need to be in place before the application process can be pursued and the Law Center's Non-Profit Legal Services Project can assist with this application process.
A. ORGANIZE. You should have a core group of people committed to a common purpose and who understand how they will establish the organization and raise the money to carry out the planned activities. The group should develop a basic working plan for the organization or project by setting its goals, planning activities and developing a fundraising plan.
1. Create Articles of Incorporation (also called a Charter): This document, when filed with the State creates a new legal entity.
2. File the Articles of Incorporation with the State of
Maryland (as a non-stock corporation)
Department of Assessment and Taxation
Charter Room 809
301 W. Preston Street
Baltimore, Maryland 21201-2395
The cost is $100.00 (Fees are subject to change, check their
website
http://www.dat.state.md.us before you go.)
3. Draft the Bylaws. The purpose of bylaws is to lay out the rules of conduct and authority for the board of directors, officers and members
4. Organizational Meeting. The organizational meeting is the first official meeting of the new corporation. The persons who must be present or sign the minutes are the directors named in the articles of incorporation. By the time you hold the organizational meeting, you should have a diverse and committed group as the board of directors. An all-family or one-person board will not pass muster with the Internal Revenue Service. Bylaws should be in at least draft form.
5. Federal Employer Identification Number (EIN). This is like
a Social Security number for an organization. Every organization
needs such a number in order to open a bank account or transact
business with the federal government - even if there will never
be any employees. To get an EIN, you must file an "Application
for Federal Employer Identification Number" Form SS-4, with the
IRS.
To get IRS forms call: (800) 829-3676 or visit
http://www.irs.gov
6. IRS Tax Exemption. Nonprofit does not mean tax exempt. An
organization can be incorporated and nonprofit without being tax
exempt. Most beginning small businesses do not make a profit.
The only way an organization can be determined to be tax exempt
is to make an application to the IRS. There are two exceptions
to the application requirement:
1) The organization's gross revenues normally do not exceed
$5000 or
2) The organization is a church or an integrated auxiliary of a
church.
Most organizations applying for tax exempt status will seek a 501(c)(3) as a charitable, educational organization. In a 501(c)(3) organization, the IRS will require a board of directors to have an arms-length relationship with the organization and not benefit from its services.