Community Housing Development Organization CHDO Amendments to Articles of Incorporation and Bylaws CLICK HERE - to view the federal regulations governing CHDOS Articles of Incorporation CLICK HERE - to download sample  amendment to articles of incorporation (wordprocessing file). There are five legal status requirements that an organization must meet to be certified as a CHDO by a local government using federal HOME funds. These are: Must be a corporation Purpose - Among its purposes, the organization must have the provision of decent housing that is affordable to low and moderate income people. This must be evidenced by a statement in the organization’s charter, articles of incorporation, by-laws, or resolutions. No Individual Benefit. No part of a CHDO’s net earnings (profits) may benefit any members, founders, contributors, or individuals. This requirement must be evidenced in the organization’s articles of incorporation. Note: this also required in order for an organization to obtain a 501(c)(3) tax exemption. Clearly Defined Service Area. The organization must have a clearly defined geographic service area which can be described and documented for the local government funding agency. CHDOs may serve individual neighborhoods or large areas. However, while the organization may include an entire community in their service area (such as a city, town, village, county, or multi county area), they may not include the entire state. Nonprofit Status. The organization must have a tax exemption ruling from the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) under Section 501(c) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986. The ruling must be evidenced by a 501(c) certificate from the IRS. After downloading the sample Articles of Amendment they will need to be edited to fit your purposes. The downloaded document is a sample of Articles of Amendment that can be used to amend your Florida nonprofit Articles of Incorporation so as to qualify the organization as a "Community Housing Development Organization" (CHDO) while at the same time maintaining your "charitable" exemption under section 501(c)(3) of the IRS Code. Instructions to amend Articles of Incorporation: First, you must examine your present articles incorporation to determine the numbering of the sections which correspond to the language in the amendment document.  Then edit the amendment document to correctly reference those section numbers. Then, file these Articles of Amendment with the Florida Department of State. There is a $35.00 filing fee. Mail the Articles of Amendment and a check payable to "Secretary of State", to: Florida Department of State Division of Corporations P.O. Box 6327 Tallahassee, Florida 32314 cc Bylaws CLICK HERE - to download sample bylaw amendments (wordprocessing file). The HOME Program establishes requirements for the organizational structure of a CHDO to ensure that the governing body of the organization is controlled by the community it serves. These requirements are designed to ensure that the CHDO is capable of decisions and actions that address the community’s needs without undue influence from external agendas. There are four specific requirements related to the organization’s board which must be evidenced in the organization’s by-laws, charter, or articles of incorporation. These are: At least 1/3 of the organization’s board must be representatives of the low-income community served by the CHDO. No more than 1/3 of the organization’s board may be representatives of the public sector. If a CHDO is sponsored by a for-profit entity, the for-profit may not appoint ore than 1/3 of the board. The board members appointed by the for-profit may not appoint the remaining 2/3 of the board members. States or local governments who charter CHDOs may not appoint more than 1/3 of the board, and the board members appointed by the state or local government may not appoint the remaining 2/3 of the board members After downloading the file edit it to fit your needs. The document is a sample board resolution amending the bylaws to add language required to be a CHDO.  You must first examine your present bylaws to determine the specific section(s) that needs to be amended.  After doing this, edit the sample bylaw amendment document that you downloaded from this website to make it refers to the specific section of your present bylaws that need to be amended. Note: Examine the language of your existing Bylaws and Articles of Incorporation to see if there are any specific procedures that must be followed in order to adopt amendments (if none, then the bylaws can be adopted by a simple board resolution).