Arizona's Business Corporation Act sets incorporation procedures.
The Arizona Nonprofit Corporation Act is a popular term for those sections of the Arizona Business Corporation Act that pertain only to certain types of nonprofit organizations. According to the Arizona State Legislature's Revised Statutes, specific nonprofits are covered in Chapter 19, articles 1 through 4 of the Arizona Business Corporation Act.
Background
The American Bar Association drafted a Model Business Corporations Act in the 1950s to standardize the process of forming corporations throughout the United States. According to Paul Marcotte, writing in the "American Bar Association Journal," all or parts of the Model Business Corporations Act had been adopted by the legislatures of 35 states in 1988. Arizona is one of those states.
Nonprofit Sections
Most of the Arizona Business Corporation Act lists general rules, regulations and procedures that any entity, either for-profit or nonprofit, must follow to incorporate in the state of Arizona. Chapter 19, articles 1--4 further clarify regulations for nonprofit Cooperative Marketing Associations, Electric Membership Co-ops, Fraternal Societies, and Electric Generation and Transmission Cooperatives.
Considerations
The Arizona Business Corporation Act lists two basic steps to incorporating a nonprofit. The first is to file articles of incorporation with the Arizona Corporation Commission and the second is to publish the articles in a newspaper for three consecutive days. Forms and further information are available from the Arizona Corporation Commission.
