{"id":15235,"date":"2026-06-01T16:30:51","date_gmt":"2026-06-01T16:30:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/gc.gcdev3.com\/mcn\/nonprofit-resources\/legal\/"},"modified":"2026-07-10T17:41:41","modified_gmt":"2026-07-10T17:41:41","slug":"legal","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/gc.gcdev3.com\/mcn\/nonprofit-resources\/legal\/","title":{"rendered":"Legal"},"content":{"rendered":"<h2 id=\"legal\">Legal<\/h2>\n<div class=\"entry-content\">\n<p><i>Visit the\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.mass.gov\/ago\/doing-business-in-massachusetts\/public-charities-or-not-for-profits\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Public Charities Division of the MA Attorney General\u2019s Office<\/a>\u00a0for important regulations and forms.<\/i><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h4 id=\"accountability-transparency-and-disclosures\"><strong>Accountability, Transparency and Disclosures<\/strong><\/h4>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www2.guidestar.org\/rxa\/news\/articles\/2007\/paper-thin-transparency.aspx?articleId=1122\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Guidestar: Paper-Thin Transparency<\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.irs.gov\/pub\/irs-pdf\/p1771.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">IRS Charitable Contributions: Substantiation and Disclosure Requirements (.pdf)<\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.irs.gov\/Charities-&amp;-Non-Profits\/Exempt-Organization-Public-Disclosure-and-Availability-Requirements\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">IRS: Exempt Organization Public Disclosure and Availability Requirements<\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.councilofnonprofits.org\/tools-resources\/public-disclosure-requirements-nonprofits\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">NCN: Public Disclosure Requirements for Nonprofits<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h4 id=\"bylaws-and-articles-of-incorporation\"><strong>Bylaws and Articles of Incorporation<\/strong><\/h4>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.harborcompliance.com\/information\/nonprofit-articles-of-incorporation\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Harbor Compliance: Nonprofit Articles of Incorporation<\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.harborcompliance.com\/information\/nonprofit-bylaws\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Harbor Compliance: Nonprofit Bylaws Template<\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/lawyersclearinghouse.org\/nonprofit-programs\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Lawyers Clearinghouse: Legal Referral Program<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h4 id=\"code-of-ethics\"><strong>Code of Ethics<\/strong><\/h4>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www2.guidestar.org\/rxa\/news\/articles\/2004\/how-ethical-is-your-nonprofit-organization.aspx?articleId=827\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Guidestar: How Ethical is Your Nonprofit Organization?<\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.councilofnonprofits.org\/tools-resources\/document-retention-policies-nonprofits\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">NCN: Document Retention Policies<\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.councilofnonprofits.org\/tools-resources\/ethics-and-accountability-nonprofits\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">NCN: Ethics and Accountability for Nonprofits<\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.councilofnonprofits.org\/tools-resources\/whistleblower-protections-nonprofits\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">NCN: Whistleblower Protections for Nonprofits<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h4 id=\"fiscal-sponsorship\"><strong>Fiscal Sponsorship<\/strong><\/h4>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.fiscalsponsordirectory.org\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Fiscal Sponsorship Directory<\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/tsne.org\/fiscal-sponsorship\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">TSNE MissionWorks: Fiscal Sponsorship<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h4 id=\"insurance-and-risk-management\"><strong>Insurance and Risk Management<\/strong><\/h4>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/managementhelp.org\/riskmanagement\/index.htm\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Free Management Library: Risk Management, Disaster Planning and Protecting Against Crime<\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.councilofnonprofits.org\/tools-resources\/investment-policies-nonprofits\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">NCN: Investment Policies for Nonprofits<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h4 id=\"pro-bono-and-reduced-fee-legal-assistance-for-nonprofits\"><strong>Pro Bono and Reduced Fee Legal Assistance for Nonprofits<\/strong><\/h4>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.icnl.org\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">International Center for Not-for-Profit Law<\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.lawyersclearinghouse.org\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Lawyers Clearinghouse: Pro Bono with Impact<\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.councilofnonprofits.org\/tools-resources\/pro-bono-and-skilled-volunteers\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">NCN: Pro Bono and Skilled Volunteers<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h4 id=\"taxes\"><strong>Taxes<\/strong><\/h4>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/efile.form990.org\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Form 990 Online<\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.guidestar.org\/rxg\/help\/faqs\/form-990\/index.aspx\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Guidestar: Form 990 FAQs<\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.irs.gov\/Charities-&amp;-Non-Profits\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">IRS Tax Information for Charities &amp; Other Non-Profits<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h4 id=\"other-resources\">Other Resources:<\/h4>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/gc.gcdev3.com\/mcn\/business-directory\/\">Business\u00a0Directory:<\/a>\u00a0 Looking for expert legal support? Check out our Business Directory, which is made up of MCN members who serve nonprofits. <a href=\"https:\/\/gc.gcdev3.com\/mcn\/membership\/\">Join now<\/a>\u00a0to become part of this directory.<\/li>\n<li>Visit our\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/app.massnonprofitnet.org\/page\/grant-listings\/index\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Grants &amp; Awards\u00a0<\/a>and\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/gc.gcdev3.com\/mcn\/events\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Training &amp; Events<\/a>\u00a0pages to view upcoming opportunities.<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/gc.gcdev3.com\/mcn\/blog\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Nonprofit 411 Blog:<\/a>\u00a0Opinions and insight from MCN affiliates, who specialize in services that help nonprofits grow.<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.tfaforms.com\/348161\">SectorNews Newsletter:<\/a>\u00a0Our\u00a0free monthly newsletter sent to over 13,000 nonprofit professionals from across the Commonwealth.<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.irs.gov\/Charities-&amp;-Non-Profits\/Exempt-Organizations-Business-Master-File-Extract-EO-BMF\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">IRS Exempt Organizations Business Master File<\/a>:\u00a0Information on all of the state\u2019s tax-exempt organizations.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>If you have a resource or tool you think might be a good fit for this or any of our resource pages,\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.tfaforms.com\/400064\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">you can submit it here<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p><i>These Resource Pages contain external links. The Massachusetts Council of Nonprofits is not responsible for the privacy policies or content of these links. MCN does not endorse the products or services provided by these links.<\/i><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Legal Visit the\u00a0Public Charities Division of the MA Attorney General\u2019s Office\u00a0for important regulations and forms. &nbsp; Accountability, Transparency and Disclosures Guidestar: Paper-Thin Transparency IRS Charitable Contributions: Substantiation and Disclosure Requirements [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":23,"featured_media":0,"parent":15198,"menu_order":17,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"class_list":["post-15235","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.7 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Legal - Mass Council of Nonprofits<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Legal - Mass Council of Nonprofits\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Legal Visit the\u00a0Public Charities Division of the MA Attorney General\u2019s Office\u00a0for important regulations and forms. &nbsp; 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