Banking
Banks have strict regulations about who they can work with and how they must prove that they know who their clients are. Therefore, your non-profit will have to provide them with the proper documentation to enable them to provide you with banking services.
My non-profit is working with three different banks. One was definitely more demanding than the other two. Not difficult, just extra steps. To the right, I have included all of the documents required by the more scrupulous bank.
- A letter from GLDN on GLDN letterhead stating who could open the account
- Certification of the DBA Name (fictitious name) from the Pennsylvania Department of State
- Minutes from a GLDN board meeting approving the charter of the Troop or Pack
While this list is very helpful to get you started, (it worked for me in Pennsylvania) it does to replace the need for competent legal advice in your jurisdiction.
Banking
DBA Names (Units)
GLDN is the name of the organization that actually owns all of the assets and holds the charter. Troop 19, Troop 52, Pack 152, etc are the DBA names (doing business as) for each unit so that people can write checks to Troop 52 instead of to GLDN. In Pennsylvania, a DBA is referred to as a fictitious name.
Banking Designees
One of the banks we are working with required a letter on official letterhead stating who was allowed to open a bank account and be a signatory on behalf of any of GLDN's charter units (fictitious name).
Minutes
That same bank also required to see the meeting minutes that approved chartering the Scout Unit. Overkill? Who am I to say. I'm only 14.
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