What changed
Bylaws and nonprofit status — edited Aug 31, 2026 by Unknown editor
This is the first recorded version, so every line is shown as added. Note: Imported from content/wiki
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Most clubs run for years on goodwill and a checkbook. The paperwork matters the first time something
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goes wrong: a treasurer moves away, a landlord asks for a certificate of insurance, a member wants a
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receipt for a donated radio, or two factions disagree about who may call a vote.
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## Bylaws
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Keep them short enough that members actually read them. The parts that prevent real disputes:
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- **Membership** — who qualifies, what dues are, when membership lapses, and whether family or
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student memberships exist.
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- **Officers** — titles, terms, who may run, and how a vacancy is filled mid-term.
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- **Meetings and quorum** — a quorum small enough that business can be done in a bad month.
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- **Voting** — in person, by proxy, or electronically; be explicit, because clubs that never wrote
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this down spent 2020 arguing about it.
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- **Money** — who may sign checks, what a single officer may spend without a vote, and who reviews
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the books annually.
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- **Dissolution** — where the assets go if the club folds. A 501(c)(3) is *required* to say assets
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pass to another exempt organization.
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- **Amendment** — the notice and margin required to change the bylaws.
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A separate, easily changed set of **standing rules** is the right place for anything you expect to
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revisit: net times, repeater access policy, meeting location, equipment loan terms.
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## Incorporation
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Incorporating as a nonprofit corporation in your state is usually inexpensive and does two useful
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things: it gives the club a legal identity that can sign a lease or hold title to a repeater, and it
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shields individual officers from most club liabilities. It also requires an annual report in most
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states — put the filing date in the club calendar, because reinstating an administratively dissolved
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corporation costs more than the report ever did.
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An **EIN** from the IRS is free, takes minutes online, and is what a bank will ask for. Do not open
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an account under a member's Social Security number.
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## Tax status
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Two exemptions come up for radio clubs, and they are not interchangeable:
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- **501(c)(3)** — charitable and educational. Donations are deductible to the donor, and the club can
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apply for grants, receive corporate matching gifts and often get discounted or free meeting space.
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In exchange, activities must genuinely be educational or charitable, and political activity is
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restricted. Most clubs qualify on the strength of license classes, public demonstrations and
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emergency communications training.
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- **501(c)(7)** — a social and recreational club. Simpler to justify, but donations are *not*
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deductible.
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Small organizations can usually apply with the streamlined **Form 1023-EZ**. Once exempt, file the
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annual return every year — a **Form 990-N** e-Postcard for the smallest clubs — because three
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consecutive missed filings revoke exemption automatically, and getting it back is a paid, months-long
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exercise.
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If your club is not exempt itself, ask whether a nearby exempt club, council or a NARA
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[club council](https://usnara.org/clubs) can act as a fiscal sponsor for a specific project.
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## Insurance
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Two policies matter more than clubs expect:
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- **General liability** — required by most public venues, parks and county fairs before they will let
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you set up, and by most repeater site owners before they will let you mount an antenna. Many venues
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want to be named as an additional insured, which is a routine request to an insurer.
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- **Property** — for club-owned radios, repeaters, towers and trailers. Homeowner's insurance
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belonging to whoever stores the gear generally does not cover organizational property.
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**Directors and officers** coverage is worth pricing once a club holds significant assets or hires
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anyone. Clubs working with young people should also adopt a youth protection policy — two-adult
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rules, parental consent, background checks for organizers — both because it is right and because
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schools and scouting organizations will ask for it. See
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[youth and schools](/wiki/clubs/youth-and-schools).
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## Records
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Keep, in one place a successor can find: the bylaws, the incorporation certificate and annual
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reports, the EIN letter, the IRS determination letter, insurance certificates, bank statements,
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minutes, the membership roster, and the club station license and trustee documentation. See
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[club station licenses](/wiki/clubs/club-station-license).