ARTICLES OF INCORPORATION OF NAME OF ORGANIZATION The undersigned incorporator(s), a natural person 18 years of age or older, in order to form a corporate

entity adopts the following articles of incorporation. ARTICLE I NAME/REGISTERED OFFICE The name of this corporation shall be ____________________________________, located at __________ (street address, city, state, zip). ARTICLE II PURPOSE This corporation is organized exclusively for charitable, scientific and educational purposes (pick one or more), more specifically to __________. To this end, the corporation shall at all times be operated exclusively for charitable purposes within the meaning of Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as now enacted or hereafter amended, including, for such purposes, the making of distributions to organizations that qualify as exempt organizations under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as now enacted or hereafter amended. All funds, whether income or principal, and whether acquired by gift or contribution or otherwise, shall be devoted to said purposes. ARTICLE III EXEMPTION REQUIREMENTS At all times shall the following operate as conditions restricting the operations and activities of the corporation: 1. The corporation shall not afford pecuniary gain, incidentally or otherwise to its members. No part of the net earnings of this corporation shall inure to the benefit of any member of the corporation, except that reasonable compensation may be paid for services rendered to or for the corporation affecting one or more of its purposes. Such net earnings, if any, of this corporation shall be used to carry out the nonprofit corporate purposes set forth in Article II above. 2. No substantial part of the activities of the corporation shall constitute the carrying on of propaganda or otherwise attempting to influence legislation, or any initiative or referendum before the public, and the corporation shall not participate in, or intervene in (including by

publication or distribution of statements), any political campaign on behalf of, or in opposition to, any candidate for public office. 3. Notwithstanding any other provision of these articles, the corporation shall not carry on any other activities not permitted to be carried on by a corporation exempt from federal income tax under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as now enacted or hereafter amended. ARTICLE IV DURATION The duration of the corporate existence shall be perpetual. ARTICLE V MEMBERSHIP/BOARD OF DIRECTORS The corporation shall have one or more classes of members, as provided in the corporation's bylaws. The management of the affairs of the corporation shall be vested in a Board of Directors, as defined in the corporation's bylaws. No Director shall have any right, title, or interest in or to any property of the corporation. OR The corporation shall have no members. The management of the affairs of the corporation shall be vested in a Board of Directors, as defined in the corporation's bylaws. No Director shall have any right, title, or interest in or to any property of the corporation. The number of Directors constituting the first Board of Directors is _____, their names and addresses being as follows: Name Address Members of the first Board of Directors shall serve until the first annual meeting, at which their successors are duly elected and qualified, or removed as provided in the bylaws. ARTICLE VI PERSONAL LIABILITY No (member) officer, or Director of this corporation shall be personally liable for the debts or obligations of this corporation of any nature whatsoever, nor shall any of the property of the (members) officer, or Directors be subject to the payment of the debts or obligations of this corporation.

ARTICLE VII DISSOLUTION At the time of dissolution of the corporation, the Board of Directors shall, after paying or making provisions for the payment of all debts, obligations, liabilities, costs and expenses of the corporation, dispose of all of the assets of the corporation. In non case shall a disposition be made which would not qualify as a charitable contribution under Section 170(c)(1) or (2) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as now enacted or hereafter amended, in such manner as the Board of Directors shall determine. ARTICLE VIII INCORPORATOR(S) The incorporator(s) of this corporation is/are: The undersigned incorporator(s) certify(ies) that she/he/they execute(s) these articles for the purposes herein stated. Signature & Date

Sample Articles of Incorporation

ARTICLES OF INCORPORATION OF NAME OF ORGANIZATION The undersigned incorporator(s), a natural person 18 years of age or older, in order to form a corporate entity under [name of state] Statutes, adopts the following articles of incorporation. ARTICLE I NAME/REGISTERED OFFICE The name of this corporation shall be ____________________________________, located at __________ (street address, city, state, zip). ARTICLE II PURPOSE This corporation is organized exclusively for charitable, scientific and educational purposes (pick one or more), more specifically to __________. To this end, the corporation shall at all times be operated exclusively for charitable purposes within the meaning of Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as now enacted or hereafter amended, including, for such purposes, the making of distributions to organizations that qualify as exempt organizations under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as now enacted or hereafter amended. All funds, whether income or principal, and whether acquired by gift or contribution or otherwise, shall be devoted to said purposes. ARTICLE III EXEMPTION REQUIREMENTS At all times shall the following operate as conditions restricting the operations and activities of the corporation: 1. No part of the net earnings of the organization shall inure to the benefit of, or be distributable to its members, trustees, officers, or others private persons, except that the organization shall be authorized and empowered to pay reasonable compensation for services rendered and to make payments and distributions in furtherance of the purpose set forth in the purpose clause hereof.

2. No substantial part of the activities of the corporation shall constitute the carrying on of propaganda or otherwise attempting to influence legislation, or any initiative or referendum before the public, and the corporation shall not participate in, or intervene in (including by publication or distribution of statements), any political campaign on behalf of, or in opposition to, any candidate for public office. 3. Notwithstanding any other provisions of this document, the organization shall not carry on any other activities not permitted to be carried on (a) by an organization exempt from federal income tax under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code, corresponding section of any future federal tax code, or (b) by an organization, contributions to which are deductible under section 170 (c)(2) of the Internal Revenue Code, or corresponding section of any future federal tax code. ARTICLE IV DURATION The duration of the corporate existence shall be perpetual. ARTICLE V MEMBERSHIP/BOARD OF DIRECTORS The corporation shall have no members. The management of the affairs of the corporation shall be vested in a Board of Directors, as defined in the corporation's bylaws. No Director shall have any right, title, or interest in or to any property of the corporation. The number of Directors constituting the first Board of Directors is _____, their names and addresses being as follows: Name Name Name Address Address Address

Members of the first Board of Directors shall serve until the first annual meeting, at which their successors are duly elected and qualified, or removed as provided in the bylaws. ARTICLE VI PERSONAL LIABILITY No (member) officer, or Director of this corporation shall be personally liable for the debts or obligations of this corporation of any nature whatsoever, nor shall any of the property of the

(members) officer, or Directors be subject to the payment of the debts or obligations of this corporation. ARTICLE VII DISSOLUTION Upon the dissolution of the organization, assets shall be distributed for one or more exempt purposes within the meaning of section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code, or corresponding section of any future federal tax code, or shall be distributed to the federal government, or to a state or local government, for a public purpose. Any such assets not disposed of by the District Court of the county in which the principal office of the organization is then located, exclusively for such purposes or to such organization or organizations, as said court shall determine, which are organized and operated exclusively for such purposes. ARTICLE VIII INCORPORATOR(S) The incorporator(s) of this corporation is/are: The undersigned incorporator(s) certify(ies) that she/he/they execute(s) these articles for the purposes herein stated. Signature Signature Signature Date Date Date

ARTICLES OF INCORPORATION OF (name of organization) I The name of this corporation is _____________________________________________. II A. This organization is a nonprofit public benefit corporation and is not organized for the private gain of any person. It is organized under the Nonprofit Public Benefit Corporation Law for charitable purposes. B. The Specific purposes for which this corporation is organized include, but are not limited to: [the preservation and management of parkland and delivery of programs for scientific, historic, educational, ecological, recreational, agricultural, scenic or open space opportunities.] III The name and address in the State of [ eg. California ] of this Corporation's initial agent for service of process is: Name___________________________________________________________________ Address ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ COMMENT: Section III indicates to the Secretary of State and other interested parties the name of the person to whom legal documents must be sent. The initial agent is usually one of the initial directors of the corporation. If the corporation has established a principal office, this address should be listed as the agent's address. Otherwise, the agent's home address is acceptable. IV A. The corporation is organized and operated exclusively for charitable purposes within the meaning of Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code. B. Notwithstanding any other provision of these Articles, the corporation shall not carry on any other activities not permitted to be carried on (1) by a corporation exempt from federal income tax under Section 501 (c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code or (2) by a corporation contributions to which are deductible under Section 170(c)(2) of said Code, or the corresponding provisions of any future statute of the United States. C. No substantial part of the activities of this corporation shall consist of carrying on propaganda or otherwise attempting to influence legislation; nor shall the corporation

participate or intervene in any political campaign (including the publishing or distribution of statements) on behalf of any candidate for public office. V The names and addresses and office held of the persons designated to act as the initial Board of Directors of this corporation are: [ List their names and addresses. Most states require a minimum of three Board Members/ Officers for incorporation purposes. ] VI A. The property of this Corporation is irrevocably dedicated to charitable purposes and no part of the net income or assets of the corporation shall ever inure to the benefit of any director, trustee, member or officer of this corporation, or to any private person. B. Upon the dissolution or winding up of the corporation, any assets remaining after payment of, or provision for payment of, all debts and liabilities shall be distributed to a governmental entity described in Section 170(b)(1) (A)(v) of the Internal Revenue Code, or to a nonprofit fund, foundation, or corporation which is organized and operated exclusively for charitable purposes, which has established its tax exempt status under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code, and which is qualified to receive "qualified conservation contributions" within the meaning of Section 170(h) of said Code, or the corresponding provisions of any future statute of the United States. C. In the event of a liquidation of this corporation, all corporate assets shall be disposed of in such a manner as may be directed by decree of the superior court for the county in which the corporation has its principal office, on petition therefore by the Attorney General of by any person concerned in the dissolution, in a proceeding to which the Attorney General is a party. IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the undersigned, being the Incorporators of [name of nonprofit] and the initial directors named in these Articles of Incorporation on _____________________, 20___. INCORPORATORS [signature] _________________________________ [typed name], Incorporator [signature] _________________________________ [typed name], Incorporator

DIRECTORS [signature] _________________________________ [typed name], Director [signature] _________________________________ [typed name], Director [signature] _________________________________ [typed name], Director

COMMENT: The minimum actual number of Incorporators and the number of Directors depends on your state's non profit incorporation requirements that can be obtained from the Secretary of State or known to law offices or published in non profit guidebooks.. It is advisable to have at least three directors. Also note that if the initial directors are named in the Articles of Incorporation, it is not necessary to have incorporators. However, having both incorporators and initial directors may be advisable if the nonprofit wishes to demonstrate broad community support. Remember that any incorporators and all named directors must sign the Articles of Incorporation, as provided for above, and must also acknowledge having signed the Articles. This acknowledgement must be a separate form from the body of the instrument (see sample declaration below). DECLARATION We are the persons whose names are subscribed below. We collectively are all of the incorporators of _______ [name of nonprofit}_______ and all of the initial directors named in the Articles of Incorporation, and we have executed these Articles of Incorporation. The foregoing Articles of Incorporation are out act and deed, joint and severally. Executed on _________________, 20____, at _____________________________, [city and state]

We, and each of us, declare that the foregoing is true and correct. [signature] _________________________________ [typed name], Incorporator [signature] _________________________________ [typed name], Incorporator [signature] _________________________________ [typed name], Director [signature] _________________________________ [typed name], Director Note: Information adapted from "The Non-Profit Primer: A Guide Book for Land Trusts", a publication of the State Coastal Conservancy. Second Edition, 1989.