Adam,

As mentioned in earlier replies, the requirements to incorporate are
determined by the state you're incorporating in, but the form of the
Articles of Incorporation (sometimes called the Certificate of
Incorporation) and the Bylaws (usually the only 2 documents you need to get
started) can be quite similar from state to state.  Some states have a
website for the Secretary of State on which some offer examples of the
documents you are looking for.  CT Corporation is a nationwide organization
that does the preparation and filing of incorporation documents.  See their
website for a local office near you - http://www.ctcorporation.com  The
Volunteer Lawyers for the Arts in your state is also a good resource, but
preparing these sort of documents is really quite simple to do yourself,
and I'd be happy to walk you through it.  Also, you should check out Board
Source an organization that specializes in non-profit Board of Directors
and related issues (ethics guidelines, governance issues, etc.). I know
they publishe a book on Bylaws.  The website is
http://www.boardsource.org.  Their phone number is (800) 883-6262. You
could also check out some internet legal forms clearing housees like
http://www.uslegalforms.com but what you find there is sometimes sketchy
and should still be reviewed by a lawyer (which I'd be happy to do for you
gratis). If after everything else, you still can't find what you need,
email me offlist and I'll see if I have anything you might look at in my
document files that you can use as a starting point.

- Annemarie B. Rice

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