Brooklyn's Progress
August/September 2007

BY JILL SHEEHY

Starting a non-profit usually comes from the basic desire to do good – their missions are usually one of aid to a community or cultural group. It should be a breath of fresh air, then, that the number of non-profit organizations in the United States grew by 68 percent between 1993 and 2003, according to a report from the Washington, D.C.-based National Council of Nonprofit Associations.

However, the legal end of forming a non-profit organization is hardly simple. To help with some of the legal implications, the Brooklyn Business Solutions Center, in cooperation with the Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce, held a workshop on June 12 that dealt with how to form a non-profit corporation.

With the growing interest in the non-profit sector, demand for help is high. Workshop organizer, Carl Sherman, acquiesced.

“Within the last three to six months, we’ve gotten a tremendous number of requests from people interested in not-for-profits, so we thought this would be a good topic for a legal workshop.”

“A lot of people the Solutions Center meets are in social services and the sector recognized what the community needed. It is definitely a need-based interest,” said Mr. Sherman, a legal consultant with the Brooklyn Business Solutions Center.

The workshop, which was open to the public, was given by Lawyer’s Alliance of New York, which provides business and transactional legal services for nonprofit organizations that aim to improve the quality of life in New York City.

Leading the workshop was Viva Obioha, a staff attorney with the Alliance whose prior legal work with the elderly allows her to specialize in housing and social services.
Ms. Obioha hit on all topics, running the gamut from the basic definitions to getting fiscal sponsorship. She led the group on a spirited discussion about topics like New York State non-profit requirements, the advantages and disadvantages of and procedures for incorporating, as well as the limits placed on lobbying and political activities.
In all, the evening proved that legal advice is hard to go without.

“We’re pointed about getting people legal assistance before starting a business,” said Kathryn Lightner, a business counselor with the Brooklyn Business Solutions Center.

“Not-for-profits are a complicated procedure,” agreed Mr. Sherman. “We advise people not to try it on their own.”

For more information about the legal help that the Brooklyn Business Solutions Center provides, contact Carl Sherman at 718-875-3400, or at csherman@brooklynchamber.com.