Proposed, for board reviewFirst 90 days for incorporation, sponsor and policies; board seated by January 2027; IRS filing by month nine
Build the legal container before the first dollar
Form an Oregon public benefit corporation, register with the Department of Justice before any fundraising, sign a written fiscal sponsorship agreement that says who signs agreements, who carries insurance and whether lobbying is permitted, seat a five to seven person board whose named seats make the nonpartisan promise visible, and file for federal tax-exempt status (501(c)(3)) by month nine.
Nothing else on this website can be insured, funded or signed until a legal entity exists. The group cannot accept a tax deductible gift, apply to the region’s main health funder or sign an agreement with a school district as an unincorporated circle of volunteers. Oregon makes the first steps cheap: incorporation, free registration with the Department of Justice before any solicitation, and a written fiscal sponsorship agreement so gifts can be taken while the IRS application is pending.
The sponsor matters more than it looks. It holds legal control of the money, charges a fee, and would be the party that signs with districts and carries insurance in year one. That is why the agreement must say in plain terms whether lobbying is permitted and how it is counted, who signs written agreements with districts, and how the group exits. Interviewing a sponsor hunters already know, such as the Oregon Wildlife Foundation, would change how the whole group is read in Prineville and Madras.
Board seats are the nonpartisan promise made visible. Florida’s state commission after its 2018 school shooting paired a sheriff with bereaved parents and was reported to have approved its final recommendations unanimously. In focus groups with 32 rural Iowa farm and ranch parents who keep firearms, the sheriff’s office was the favored safety messenger, and health care workers, school staff and politically backed sources were seen as less credible. So we propose a board with a hunter or gun shop owner, a law enforcement leader, an educator from outside Bend who is not in a conflict with a district agreement, a parent and a treasurer, with a standing invitation to a Warm Springs designee made in person. Written policies on nonpartisanship, conflicts, safe messaging and gift acceptance would come before the first public event.
Why we think it works
- An Oregon public benefit nonprofit must register with the Department of Justice Charitable Activities Section before soliciting, at no fee, immediately after incorporation. (Oregon DOJ Form RF-C, Registration for Charitable Organizations (Rev. 3/2026), strong evidence)
- A Form 1023-EZ filed within 27 months of formation makes tax exemption retroactive to the formation date. (IRS Instructions for Form 1023-EZ (Rev. 01/2025) and IRS User Fees for TE/GE, strong evidence)
- Fiscal sponsors typically charge 5 to 10 percent and must keep complete discretion and control over project funds under a written agreement. (Propel Nonprofits: A Board's Guide to Fiscal Sponsorship, moderate evidence)
- St. Charles lists organizations without a 501(c)(3) tax ID, and legislative advocacy groups, among the projects and programs unlikely to be funded by its community benefit grants. (St. Charles Health System: Community Benefit Grants and Sponsorships, strong evidence)
- Nonprofits Insurance Alliance provides liability insurance exclusively for 501(c)(3) nonprofit organizations. (Nonprofits Insurance Alliance, strong evidence)
What we would do
- File articles for an Oregon public benefit corporation and register with the Department of Justice Charitable Activities Section before any fundraising; calendar the due date for the annual CT-12 report to the Department of Justice; recruit a treasurer and a volunteer nonprofit attorney in week one and hand them the container so the founders do program work.
- Interview four sponsor candidates in November: the Oregon Community Foundation's Bend office, United Way of Central Oregon, Deschutes Children's Foundation and the Oregon Wildlife Foundation, which offers fiscal sponsorship and is a name hunters know; sign an agreement covering fee, fund control, exit terms, who signs agreements with districts, whose insurance covers Care Network volunteers and any partner that must be named on the policy, and whether lobbying is permitted and counted.
- Seat a working board of five to seven by January 2027: a hunter or gun shop owner, a sheriff's office or police leader (advisory until the agency approves a voting seat), a retired educator or one from a district that is not expected to sign an agreement with the group, a parent, and a treasurer with nonprofit finance experience; visit Warm Springs first and extend a standing invitation to a Tribal Council designee through the Council, with Jefferson County 509J informed.
- Adopt written policies before the first public event: nonpartisanship (no position on Measure 114 or on bans), conflict of interest with recusal from any vote touching a board member's district or business, safe messaging, and a gift acceptance policy that publishes gifts above a set threshold and declines funds from organizations whose primary purpose is firearm policy on either side.
- Carry general liability through the sponsor in year one with written confirmation that it extends to Care Network volunteers; budget Nonprofits Insurance Alliance coverage once the determination letter arrives.
- Set the year-one budget honestly before filing; if projected receipts allow, file the short IRS application (Form 1023-EZ), otherwise the full Form 1023 with pro bono counsel, by month nine so exemption would be in hand before the 2027 to 2028 grant cycles; make the 501(h) election (the IRS election that sets a clear dollar limit on lobbying) with the application and open a separate unrestricted fund for any advocacy cost.
How we would know it is working
- Incorporation and Department of Justice registration completed before the first solicitation
- Fiscal sponsorship agreement, covering fee, exit terms, signing authority, insurance confirmation and a lobbying clause, proposed to the chosen sponsor by day 60; signing date reported
- Every named board seat offered by January 2027 and reported as filled or pending; Warm Springs invitation extended in person
- Written policies, including gift acceptance and a published donor list above the threshold, adopted and posted before the first public event
- Application filed by month nine; determination letter date recorded
What could get in the way
- The sponsor holds complete discretion over funds and may decline or cap a project whose Advocate pillar touches firearm policy, leaving advocacy with no legal home in year one.
- Lead the sponsorship pitch with Lock It Up and the Care Network, hand the sponsor the written lobbying policy and the short year-one agenda up front, and plan an education-only year one with unpaid testimony if the sponsor says no.
- A 501(h) lobbying election and a lobbying tracker from day one tell a gun owner the group plans to lobby before it has handed out a single lock.
- Publish what the lobbying is for before the election is filed. The region's main health funder says legislative advocacy groups are unlikely to be funded anyway, so advocacy money would be small, separate and named.
- Seats offered to law enforcement or gun owners may be read as co-optation by some clinicians, and the reverse; a school counselor or principal from a district that signs an agreement sits in a conflict.
- A written nonpartisan charter adopted before any seat is offered; advisory seats first where an agency must approve; the educator seat filled by a retired educator or someone from a district without an agreement, with recusal rules in the bylaws.
- Incorporation, sponsor negotiation, IRS filing, board recruitment and policy drafting all land on two founders in the same 90 days as program launch, and burnout among nonprofit leaders is widely reported.
- Recruit the treasurer and a volunteer attorney in week one and give them the container; founders attend, they do not host; each board member owns one pillar.
Who we would work with: Oregon Department of Justice Charitable Activities Section, Oregon Community Foundation (Bend office), United Way of Central Oregon, Deschutes Children's Foundation, Oregon Wildlife Foundation (fiscal sponsorship), A volunteer Oregon nonprofit attorney, Nonprofits Insurance Alliance, Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs Tribal Council, Oregon Hunters Association chapters and Redmond Rod and Gun Club (board recruitment)