HTML Writers Guild: 501(c)(3)Incorporation Issues FAQ

NOTE: This document is preserved for historic reasons and does not necessarily reflect current HTML Writers Guild policy or practice. This document dates from 1996.

HWG 501(c)(3)Incorporation Issues FAQ

Last Updated 29 May, 1996
Send comments to HWG President (president@hwg.org)

A text version will be available from the Guild's ftp site.

Why Incorporate?
Who pays for it?
How will this change the current operation of HWG?
Where can I find the legal doccuments and finincal reports?
Who are the officers?
Can or does the GB have the necessary authority to act for the membership, in this matter without a vote?
Where should the Incorporation take place?

1. Why Incorporate?

From day one it has been the goal of the founders of the Guild to do this. The why is real simple: Go to the Website and look at the line near the top of the page with the current membership number. There is the reason. If we were to continue the Guild in its current state it would likely die from overpopulation quickly. With a membership of well over 10,000 people we need to be able to provide and offer services that without incorporating we just do not have the means to offer.

As a case in point, currently every single resource that we have is donated to us by members who see what we are doing as a "good thing". Iserver has donated a virtual server to house the Guild website and mailing lists. However in the past week we have gone over the alloted space at least twice and as a result have lost mailing list member lists.

We moved into Iserver in January '96 and we have already outgrown it. We can ask for more space or get additional space at any number of

2. Who pays for it?

The cost of incorporation will be paid for by GB members as has been done with past costs.

3. How will this change the current operation of HWG?

At first not really much if anything at all. As you know we have elected corporate officers to get the process started. These, and I must add here that I feel rightly so, have all come from the GB. This is not to say that all of the positions will always be filled by GB members, but for getting started we felt that this was the correct and proper thing to do. The officers are a good mix of old and new GB members and all have exhibited a strong desire to spend as much time involved in whatever issue comes up to ensure that things are done the right way. I have no doubt that the officers in place are the best people to lead us through this process. As far as the GB is concerned, I don't forsee this having a real effect on it at the moment at all.

Membership. It has always been and will continue to be one of the primary if not THE primary goals of the GB to ensure that anyone who wishes to become a member of the Guild can do so

4. Where can I find the legal doccuments and financial reports?

As these doccuments come into being they will be placed on the Website, in the OpsCenter area for viewing by the membership. As this process moves forward we will place not only the doccuments at this location, but links to other sites that will help you to understand about whats going on and why we are moving in this direction.

5. Who are the officers?

The initial officers, as elected by the Board, are:

Bill Spurlock, President
Cindy Svec Ruzich, Vice-President
Roxanne Reid-Bennett, Treasurer
Al Smith, Jr., Secretary
Patrick Wiseman, Of Counsel

6. Can or does the GB have the necessary authority to act for the membership, in this matter without a vote?

The HWG Governing Board does NOT have to amend the bylaws for incorporation. There is no need. The GB is in charge of *administering* the Guild. There are no prohibitions about the form of administration - that was deliberately left open-ended so as the organization grew, the GB would have the ability to manage the Guild in whatever way the GB saw fit. The bylaws do not require us to amend them in order to incorporate.

7. Where should the Incorporation take place?

Unless someone knows differently there is as far as we can tell at this point no benefit to incorporating as a 501(c)(3) in one state over a other as there would be in a regular corporation where several states offer incentive in their laws to incorporate there. There will be some differences in terms of officers residency and such but that looks to be about the extent of it.