When setting up your nonprofit organization, the two key steps you want to accomplish: select the best legal structure for the organization (a nonprofit corporation is the most commonly used) in your state of main activity and apply for its tax-exempt status with the IRS. In addition, you should investigate what other registration and licensing requirements apply to your organization in order to be compliant with federal, state, and local laws and to be able to reap the additional benefits your tax-exempt status provides.
Indemnification is the organization’s direct expression of willingness to protect its board members (and its senior staff) from the financial burdens of liability.
Most nonprofits start as all-volunteer organizations (AVO), without a paid staff. The organization operates with the support of its board and maybe additional volunteers.