Naming your California nonprofit
Creating and registering a business name is a legal requirement to operate your nonprofit in California. Other legal requirements for naming your new organization include conducting a thorough search to ensure its availability, registering it with the California Secretary of State, and considering additional measures like trademark protections to maintain control over your brand. Although the process of creating, registering, and protecting your California nonprofit’s business name can feel daunting, we’ve broken the process down into an easy-to-follow three step guide.
While it is possible to form a California nonprofit on your own, consulting with an attorney or legal professional experienced in nonprofit law is advisable to ensure compliance with all relevant requirements.
The expert attorneys at Ambika Law, PC are ready to help.
STEP 1
Choose a Unique and Memorable Business Name
A business name can be a powerful tool in a nonprofit’s overall brand, opening doors to partnerships, collaborations, and funding opportunities. The right business name for your organization should invite trust, evoke emotion, and encourage individuals and organizations to support your mission.
Select a business name for your California nonprofit that quickly conveys your organization’s mission, vision and values by:
• Using keywords that align with your organization’s core purpose
• Ensuring that your business name is simple, concise and easy to pronounce
• Employing catchy phrasing to make a lasting impression and facilitate word-of-mouth promotion
It is important to obtain buy-in on your desired business name from all key stakeholders in your organization. You may also want to select and agree upon a back-up name in case your desired name is unavailable.
Working with an attorney experienced in California nonprofit law can help you select a name that will comply with all legal requirements while accurately reflecting your organization’s brand.
STEP 2
Perform research on availability
Before registering your desired business name, you’ll need to perform research to ensure that the name is available for use. The California Secretary of State will reject an organization’s name if it is too similar to an existing name on the agency’s records or if it is misleading to the public. In addition, you must ensure your desired business name does not infringe on another person’s trademark rights.
Take the following steps to ensure your desired business name is available for use:
Lookup Your Desired Business Name with the California Secretary of State
Run a Trademark Search with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office
Ensure that social media handles and web domains are available
If you intend to operate your nonprofit outside of California, you’ll also need to research the specific legal requirements for forming a business entity in that state. Trademark law can be complicated and we recommend working with an attorney experienced in California nonprofit law to ensure your organization is compliant with state and Federal requirements.
STEP 3
Reserve your name with the California Secretary of State
The California Secretary of State allows you to reserve your name for 60-days, preventing another person from registering a business in that name while you complete the nonprofit formation process. We recommend that you take this step as soon as you have identified a name you like and have confirmed it is available for use.
To reserve your desired business name in California for 60-days:
Submit a Name Reservation Request Form to the California Secretary of State
Reserving your name will give your organization ample time to complete the remaining steps of the nonprofit business formation process while having peace of mind that your nonprofit’s biggest brand asset is secured. You may also want to consider filing for a trademark on your business name at this stage. Working with an attorney experienced in California nonprofit law can help streamline the process of filing all required documents to reserve your California nonprofit’s business name and secure desired trademarks.
