Nonprofit Programs

The Lawyers Clearinghouse Nonprofit Assistance Program connects Massachusetts nonprofits with pro bono legal assistance, education, and resources to help them strengthen their operations and support their communities.

Quick links: Legal Referral Program | Referral Application | Workshops and Consultations | Nonprofit Resources

Stay in touch! Sign up for our email list or check out the calendar for information about upcoming workshops and consultations.

Legal Referral Program

The Legal Referral Program connects eligible nonprofits with volunteer attorneys who help with specific legal matters. The program enhances the ability of community-based nonprofits to move forward with their missions, advised by legal counsel. We try to find attorneys for all requests that qualify for referral, however we can’t promise that an attorney will be located for every matter. The referral process takes time. It’s not a good fit for urgent or time-sensitive matters.

Legal Matters
Pro bono attorneys assist with a variety of legal matters, including nonprofit formation, applying for IRS determination of tax-exempt status, bylaws review, governance policies, written information security programs (WISPS), website terms and conditions, consent forms, contracts, commercial real estate, employment law, trademark registration, reinstatement of tax-exempt status, mergers and dissolutions, fiscal sponsorships and other matters.

Pro Bono Eligibility Guidelines

Lawyers Clearinghouse provides referrals for Massachusetts nonprofit corporations (or unincorporated associations) and founders of Massachusetts nonprofit corporations that:

Serve people living with low or moderate income, or other disadvantaged communities, and
Are unable to pay legal fees without significantly impairing program resources

Please contact us at [email protected] if you have questions about eligibility.

Note: The volunteer attorneys don’t charge for their services, however the nonprofit (or founder) requesting a referral pays any fees for filing documents with government agencies or courts, and any amounts that the nonprofit may owe to government agencies.

If you are starting a new nonprofit, or if you are applying to the IRS for a determination of tax-exempt status or a reinstatement of tax-exempt status, you must have funds for the required filing fees to obtain a referral through Lawyers Clearinghouse. For more information about start-up filing fees and how some founders pay them, see NP Topic: How Some Nonprofit Founders Pay Filing Fees.

The Document Lists (below) for founders of new or recently formed nonprofits help confirm that the project is beyond the vision stage. The founder must be able to describe how the new nonprofit will deliver its programs and services and provide realistic estimates of expenses and revenues for the first three years. They must also have a clear plan for how to raise the necessary funds, based on experience or outreach to funders. Please consider working with a SCORE mentor to create a nonprofit business plan, or with Boston Business Mentors if the nonprofit is in Boston. It’s also important for the founder to recruit other people who will work together to help support the nonprofit’s programs and make sure the administrative tasks get done.

Lawyers Clearinghouse is a member of Exponentum, a national network of pro bono nonprofit and business law providers. If your nonprofit is in a state other than Massachusetts, another Exponentum member may be able to help.

Request Nonprofit Pro Bono Legal Assistance

Step 1 – Online Request
Complete the online Request for Nonprofit Legal Assistance.

Step 2 – Additional Documents
Gather the documents and fill out the forms in the Document List linked below. These documents are a required part of your application. (Click on the link that describes your organization)

New Massachusetts nonprofit corporation (not yet incorporated)
Massachusetts nonprofit corporation (incorporated within the past 12 months)
Massachusetts nonprofit corporation (with IRS determination letter)

Send the documents for your organization to Lawyers Clearinghouse at: [email protected] This email address is only for sending intake documents.

Please send the documents as individual PDF or Word documents, not as one combined document.

If you have questions about the documents or forms, please contact us at [email protected]. We’re happy to help!

Step 3 – Review and Response; Open Matters List
After we review your request, you’ll receive an email from Lawyers Clearinghouse confirming that the request will be included in our open matters list for volunteer attorneys—or advising that we would like additional information before proceeding. In some cases, an organization is not eligible for a pro bono referral, or it may be difficult to find a volunteer attorney to assist with the organization’s request. We will let you know the status of your request when we complete our review.

Once the request is on the open matters list, we will let you know when an attorney or law firm is interested in assisting.

Referral Fee
A referral fee is payable to Lawyers Clearinghouse when a referral is made: $100 for new nonprofits, $200 for existing nonprofits. If it would be difficult for an organization to pay the referral fee, please let us know, and it will be reduced or waived.

Important:

Founders of new and recently incorporated nonprofits must attend the Lawyers Clearinghouse Nonprofit Incorporation Workshop. For more information,
see the Document List for your organization (linked in Step 2 above).
Please only request pro bono legal assistance if you are available to respond promptly to follow-up questions and can participate fully in working with a volunteer attorney.

Questions? Contact the Nonprofit Programs Manager by email or at 617-544-3434 ext. 108. Email is the quickest way to reach us.

Legal Workshops and Consultations

For upcoming legal workshops and consultations, sign up for our email list or check out the calendar.

Legal Workshops for Nonprofits

We offer workshops on a wide range of legal issues. Guided by the expertise of pro bono attorneys, nonprofits keep current on important legal issues, learn about legal and regulatory requirements, improve their organizational management, and increase their ability to serve their communities.

All nonprofit organizations, projects and start-ups are invited to attend our legal workshops.

Nonprofit Incorporation Workshops

The 2-hour comprehensive Nonprofit Incorporation Workshop provides an overview of issues related to nonprofit formation, including incorporation and registration under Massachusetts law and applying to the IRS for recognition of tax-exempt status under Section 501(c)(3). Other topics include state and federal reporting and regulation, board duties, and federal tax rules applicable to 501(c)(3) organizations.

As part of the intake process for a referral to a pro bono attorney, founders of nonprofit organizations and newly formed nonprofits are required to attend the Nonprofit Incorporation Workshop, which is offered several times each year. For more information, please see the Document List included in the intake steps above.

We request a $25 registration fee per organization for the Nonprofit Incorporation Workshops. This fee supports Lawyers Clearinghouse, however if it is difficult to pay, you may register for the workshop without it.

Pro Bono Consultations

Consultation events include a private session with a team of pro bono attorneys on a specific topic or type of legal document, often preceded by a workshop-style educational presentation. Topics of past consultations have included: Bylaws; WISP (Written Information Security Programs); nonprofit “wellness;” commercial leases; and choice of entities.

We request a $25 registration fee per organization for consultations. This fee supports Lawyers Clearinghouse, however if it is difficult to pay, you may register for the workshop without it.