Official Process

In our last blog, we told you that we finished and mailed out the 501(c)3 application, well this blog describes and gets you up to date on all the boring legal work that was done in order for the application could be submitted.

Preparing Documents

After my visit to Colorado in mid-May, CJ and I finished the final drafts of the By-Laws, and Conflict of Interest Policy, that would be up for vote and approval at the first Board meeting. I won’t get into the detail of each document, but these are two of the most essential documents for the operation of a non-profit and are required as part of the 501(c)3 application.

We also completed a draft work plan that includes a seven-year financial forecast and facilities implementation plan. It also incorporated the new path that God has directed us for SWR to purchase its own land instead of leasing it back from CJ and me, which was the direction we originally thought. Based on what I learned on my site visit earlier in May, we revised the financial forecasts to account for SWR being “off-the-grid” from an electrical source standpoint. To provide clarification to the Board roles, CJ and I also drafted up the responsibilities for each role, since all but one of the Board members have not been on a Board of a non-profit before.

Board of Directors Meeting                     

On May 31, 2012, SWR had its first Board of Directors meeting. At that meeting, I presented an update on the status of the 501(c)3 application, the draft work plan, the various roles on the Board, the estimated project budget, and the official document, Articles of Incorporation, which was submitted to the state of Colorado back in February. We also walked through the By-Laws and Conflict of Interest Policy and discussed each line item in the documents. The Board was then asked to vote on the documents, with both being unanimously approved with minor revisions.

We also discussed the various committees that SWR should create. CJ and I saw the need for three committees initially that would focus on the financial, marketing, and facilities aspects of the operation of the non-profit. The committees will concentrate on the details of these aspects so the Board as a whole can stay out of the weeds.  The Board approved our recommendation for the committees as well as for the committee members. The next Board meeting will be scheduled in the fall.

It was hard to write something exciting about the legal process in developing the retreat, but the work described here is very complex and it took an extensive amount of time and effort to complete. God guided us through each step and we thank Him that it’s done!!! I promise that my next blog will be more exciting. 🙂