For a kindred or tribe to own property as a tribe, or to build a Hof as a tribe, they must be a legal entity.

This normally requires 4 steps (made up of many smaller steps of course.)

1. The tribe must acquire an EIN number from the Federal Government...for the purposes of having a bank account, taxes (or lack of taxes), etc. This step takes about 10 minutes, can be done on-line, and it is free.

2. Incorporation in your home state. In most states this is a one or two page form, and costs around $25. If you take the form and the money directly to one of the Secretary of State's offices, you can hand it to them...and 10 minutes later they are handing your a certificate of Incorporation as a heathen "church" or religious organization, depending on how you word it on your form.

Being Incorporated as a Church, allows you to ordain heathen clergy. We'll share more information on that when we have a little more time.

3. Tax exempt status in your home state is a little bit more involved. Its free, but it involves a longer form, your Incorporation paperwork (see step 2), your bylaws, and other documents showing you are entitled to be tax-exempt.

4. 501c3 status from the Federal Government. If you are Incorporated as a "church," technically 501c3 status is not required for people to be able to donate money to you and get a tax deduction. But, most churches go ahead and get their 501c3 status...to avoid problems and to provide assurances to those donated that the Federal Government will not question the tax deductions.

501c3 status is a $300 fee...and a lot of paperwork. But if you do it yourself, it will only cost you $300. If you hire an attorney to do it for you, it can cost as much as $2000 to $3000. I know several pagan covens and organizations in the Kansas City area that have done this paperwork on their own successfully, so that is the course we are going to take as well.

BOTTOM LINE:

Your kindred can Incorporate as a heathen "church," become tax-exempt in your state, acquire 501c3 status from the Federal Government, have its own kindred bank account, ordain your own heathen clergy, and exist as a legally recognized entity for a grand total of $325 in Missouri.

In other states, the only thing that will possibly vary is the $25 incorporation fee. The $300 fee for 501c3 is standard across the 50 states.

A few days ago, Jotun's Bane Kindred incorporated as a heathen "church" in the State of Missouri. We have a few more legal steps to take, but that was a big one toward the Kindred owning tribal land...and a Hof (Holy Place, Temple) of our own.

We'll provide more details on this as we move through the process...including examples of how we filled out our paperwork,etc. Many thanks are owed to Aurora...a wonderful pagan lady here in Kansas City that took the time to explain all of this to us, and share examples with us. She is a generous woman of worth.

Mark

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Mark Ludwig Stinson
Chieftain of Jotun's Bane Kindred
Heartland Hof and Hall Fund

Hail JBK! I am quite glad to hear that all your hard work and dedication has brought to this next step in you Kindred's life. I can't wait to hear more on your progress in the near future. May the gods reward you well.

Erik

Thank you. We have a lot of steps left to get to where we want to get...but we'll get there.



Mark

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Mark Ludwig Stinson
Chieftain of Jotun's Bane Kindred
Heartland Hof and Hall Fund