It is important for the National Treasurer to know if you are separately incorporated. An event that is separately incorporated, but affiliated with the Project, has decided to assume some of the financial responsibilities, including IRS reporting, and other liabilities. They (we hope) remain affiliated with the Project, listed on our national website, and follow all the policies and get the benefits and resources. Below is a detailed explanation of separately incorporated entities, lifted from an email from the legal advisor.

If you are separately incorporated, then your income and expenses are your own, not the Project's. Let's say you file an annual Form 990, and the Project includes your income on the Project's annual filing as well. That's bad. Two organizations do not own the income, it belongs to one or the other. We have to avoid such mistakes.

If you have gotten an EIN, but you have not sent any paperwork to the Secretary of State in your state, (for example, you just wanted to open a bank account), then you probably have NOT incorporated. Reason: to incorporate, a group needs to file "Articles of Incorporation" with the State.

If you have done that and formed a corporation or other type of group with the state, then you are now a separate legal entity from National. You are affiliated with us, and we would love for you to remain affiliated with us, but for IRS purposes only, you are not part of us. You must tell the National Treasurer so that he does not report your income on the national forms. .

If you are not part of us, then you have your own reporting requirements. But there are exceptions:

• if you make under $5,000 a year (most of you do), then you are NOT required to send in the application for tax exempt status or send in the annual filings. And you can still operate as if you were tax exempt, as long as you are following all the rules of a tax exempt group (and you are following those rules, otherwise you'd be breaking National's rules as well). But you don't have the letter to "prove" this to your donors. Some donors don't care, but you might not be able to borrow National's letter if a donor requests a letter.
• If you make between $5,000 and $25,000 a year, you need apply for your own exempt status with the IRS. But you will not need to file annual Form 990's detailing your finances. You will however need to e-file and informational return 990-N. See http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-tege/epostcard_faqs_final.pdf

I hope this makes it all clearer to you what happens when you separately incorporate and why you are excluded from National's annual filings. These are the reasons I need to know who is separately incorporated.