Florida: Inc. became a subsidiary

[mvandemar]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Florida

A local non-profit I am on the board of became a subsidiary of our regional chapter back in 2014 for the purposes of coming under the umbrella of their 501(c)3 determination. We incorporated in 2011, and were told at the time we made the move that we needed to change our name from Localorg, Inc. to Regionalorg, Inc. d.b.a. Localorg, Inc.. Looking over what information I can find I don't see where this was actually true. We still have our own FEI number, and if we were supposed to update our articles of incorporation and register a d.b.a. it doesn't look like we ever actually did. I am having some issues figuring out what I would need to search on to find the relevant rules governing this kind of move though. Does anyone have any insight into this, or know what I should be searching on to find these answers?

Thank you.

-Michael

 

[FlyingRon]

Umm... who gave you this advice? I suspect you need a lawyer versed in IRS and non-profit issues.

The name change seems entirely spurious. In fact, if you were in the same state as the regionalorg it's supposed to be impossible (the d/b/a has nothing to do with the entity name).

The 501(c)(3) status doesn't automatically trickle down to the subsidiary company. If that was the motivation, there was nothing to be gained doing that. The parent company can apply for such a determination on the subsidiary's behalf, but it still has to be done. It's handy if the parent organization has the legal resources and the child does not. There are other requirements as well. You have to be in the same 501(c) paragraph and the subdiary has to be under the direct control of the parent company, rather than just being "affiliated" with it.