Forming a nonprofit organization can be perfect for people who want to be their own boss and devote their work to charitable causes. A nonprofit is established just like a for-profit enterprise, with the additional step of applying for tax-exempt status with the Internal Revenue Service.

In Virginia, nonprofits must:

- Be registered as either a non-stock corporation or a limited liability company (LLC).

- Register with the Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services for the ability to raise funds.

- Obtain a local business license, and, if required, register with the Virginia Department of Taxation.

A nonprofit organization becomes tax-exempt (allowing individuals and businesses who donate to the organization to deduct their gifts on their federal tax returns) by filing an application to become classified as a 501(c)(3) organization.

Necessary forms include IRS Form 8718 and IRS Package 1023. For instructions on filling out these forms, read IRS publication 557, Tax-Exempt Status for Your Organization.
All IRS forms can be obtained by calling (800) TAX FORM or downloading them from http://www.irs.gov.

The Business Information Center of the VDBA can e-mail you a step-by-step explanation with live links to numerous resources and all required forms and instructions. Call (866) 248-8814 to request nonprofit instructions or e-mail your request to vbic@vbda.virginia.gov.

Business One-Stop to be unveiled in 2008

Starting a business in Virginia will become easier in early 2008 when the online “Business One-Stop” is introduced.  Entrepreneurs accessing the one-stop site will need to answer only a few simple questions to receive detailed information on the registrations, licenses and permits required.

Debut date of the new “Business One-Stop” will be announced on the Virginia Department of Business Assistance Web site, http://www.vdba.virginia.gov and the Virginia Business

Portal, http://www.business.virginia.gov.

The companies were picked from a dozen finalists for the first Tayloe Murphy Resilience Awards presented by the Tayloe Murphy Center at the University of Virginia’s Darden School of Business.

The winners are:

Manufacturing/Agricultural: Morgan Lumber Co. Inc., Red Oak
Retail: ParknPool Corp., Lexington
Service: BandyWorks, Petersburg
Wholesale: Solid Stone Fabrics Inc., Martinsville
Chairman’s Award: Marstel-Day LLC, Fredericksburg

The awards include scholarships to attend Darden’s executive education programs.

Gregory B. Fairchild, executive director of the Tayloe Murphy Center, said 106 companies submitted entries in the awards competition. They had an annual average profit growth rate of nearly 189 percent and employment growth rate of more than 54 percent from 2005 through 2008.

To be eligible, companies had to be based in areas facing economic problems such as high unemployment, poverty or lack of access to larger markets.

Instead of moving their businesses elsewhere, the winners and the other finalists have been leaders in their communities and provided much-needed jobs, Fairchild said.

W. Tayloe Murphy Jr., a former state natural resources commissioner and member of the House of Delegates, chaired a five-member panel of judges. The chairman’s award is presented at the discretion of the chairman to a deserving company not selected as a winner in an industry category. Marstel-Day was picked this year for its contributions to environmental preservation.

The awards were presented in the Dome Room of the Rotunda at the University of Virginia in Charlottesville.