Practice area
Church and Non-Profit
501(c)(3) applications and tax-exempt status, formation and bylaws, real estate, contracts, employee policies and child-supervision policies for nurseries.
Chapter 01
Where church and non-profit paperwork goes wrong
Most congregations and charities begin with a mission and a few willing volunteers, and the legal structure comes later, or never quite gets finished. A church can meet in a rented hall for years before anyone writes bylaws that say who may sign a contract. A ministry can take in gifts before anyone has applied for tax-exempt status. A nursery can open without a written rule about who may be alone with the children.
Entity law for churches and non-profits is its own corner of the law. Formation, 501(c)(3) applications, tax-exempt status, real estate, contracts and employee policies all have to line up, and a gap in one tends to show up in another.
A small white clapboard country church among old oaks
How the firm works with churches and non-profits
The founders of Cornerstone Law Group are Christians, and church and non-profit entity law is a stated practice of the firm, not a sideline. The work covers 501(c)(3) applications and tax-exempt status, formation and bylaws, real estate, contracts, employee policies, and child-supervision policies for nurseries.
Thomas Woehrle practices business and church planning. He taught business law at George Mason University from 1979 to 2007. Working from the Fredericksburg office, the firm serves churches and non-profits across Northern and Central Virginia.
Chapter 03
What to bring, and what happens next
Bring whatever governing papers exist: articles or a charter, bylaws or a constitution, board or elder minutes, any letters from the IRS, deeds or leases, and the policies you already use for staff and volunteers. If none of that exists yet, come anyway. Formation is where a lot of this work starts.
The first consultation is free. Call (540) 898-8881 to reach the Fredericksburg office and describe what your church or organization is trying to do. The conversation covers the paperwork you have, the paperwork you need, and the order to tackle it in.
The founders of Cornerstone Law Group are Christians, and church and non-profit entity law is a stated practice of the firm.
On the table
Founding papers first, running papers on top.
Meet the lawyers or read about the firm’s business law practice.
Founding
- Formation and bylaws
- 501(c)(3) applications
- Tax-exempt status
Running
- Real estate
- Contracts
- Employee policies
- Child-supervision policies for nurseries