By-Laws, Annual Report & IRS Form 990

By-Laws

Click here to view a PDF of the Constitution and By-Laws of the Broome County Council of Churches, Inc.

Annual Report

Click here for a printable copy of our Annual Report.

The Annual Report uses the format of the Council of Churches' "Together" newsletter to highlight the previous year's achievements, activities, and events, and includes messages from the Executive Director and the President of the Board of Directors, and lists the names of the Council's top donors for that specific year.

IRS Form 990

Click here for a printable copy of our 2011 IRS 990
Click here for a printable copy of our 2011 Financial Statement

The Form 990, entitled “Return of Organization Exempt From Income Tax”, is a report that must be filed each year with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) by organizations exempt from Federal income taxes under section 501 of the Internal Revenue Code, and whose annual receipts are "normally" more than $25,000 a year. It is an information return and not an income tax return since the organizations that file it do not usually pay income taxes (exceptions are explained on the IRS’ Web Site: www.irs.gov).

The Form 990 provides the public with financial information about a given organization - and is often the only source of such information. It is also used by government agencies to prevent organizations from abusing their tax-exempt status. A great deal of very valuable and detailed information about the Form 990 can be found in the IRS’ “Instructions for Form 990 and Form 990-EZ” and “Instructions for Schedule A (Form 990).” 

Essentially, the Form 990 serves two purposes. First, it provides information that helps government agencies (the IRS and state charity regulators) enforce the laws that govern nonprofits. For example, it helps government regulators learn whether groups have been spending their funds in a way that might cause them to lose their charitable and tax-exempt status. Second, the Form 990 provides a great deal of financial information about the filing organization’s financial condition, about its financial strength or weakness, and about such matters as the sources of its income. 

The Form 990 is a very public document and it is becoming more public. Copies of the 990 forms must be given to anyone who requests them (either in person or in writing) and who pays a reasonable fee - $1 for the first page and 15 cents for every page thereafter and postage, if applicable.

The Form 990, in addition to being the main IRS reporting form for nonprofits, is the basic component of the annual report that must be filed with a large number of state offices that regulate charitable solicitation. Many states require supplemental reports as well as the Form 990. New York State requires the “CHAR500” (Annual Filing for Charitable Organizations).