Year one of a new nonprofit without a missed filing

The problem, in your words

You got the determination letter. Nobody told you what happens next, so here it is. A Form 990 of some kind every year, starting sooner than you think. In most states, a registration before you ask anyone for money. A corporate filing you will forget exists. Miss the 990 three years running and the IRS revokes the exemption you just earned.

You are not behind. You are at the start of a calendar nobody handed you. The fix is to have it handed to you, with dates, on the day you finish founding.

The org in this example

Starter band (under $50K a year, $0)

BudgetUnder $50K a year, so $0

Fiscal yearEnds December 31

StateTexas

First 990 dueMay 15 of next year

An invented example, sized like the orgs Ember is built for. Not a customer.

The walkthrough

1. The 501(c)(3) step starts the calendar

   The day you mark the 501(c)(3) step done in Ember Spark, Ember Compliance fills in its first few lines by itself. A Form 990. Your state's annual report, dated from your state's own rule. Texas sends notice when its report is due, so that line waits for the date on the notice, and sends no reminders until you enter it. You have not opened that app yet, and it is already waiting for you.

   

2. Set the fiscal year, and the 990 gets its date

   The last step asks which month your financial year ends. Pick December and the 990 line changes to read May 15, which is four and a half months after year end. Which version of the 990 you file depends on how much money came in; if gross receipts are normally $50,000 or less, it is usually the 990-N, a postcard you fill in online. In your first year, that means $75,000 or less received or pledged. The deadline is the same whichever one you file.

   

3. Register before you fundraise

   Step seven looks up whichever office regulates charities in your state. In Texas, there is no general registration to do, and the step tells you so, along with the handful of causes that are the exception. In New York you would get the Charities Bureau and a link to it instead; once you register, add the yearly renewal in Ember Compliance with Add a filing. The rules state by state fit on one page.

   

4. Reminders on every dated line

   In year one you are the only person here, so nothing needs assigning yet. Turn on Compliance in Settings, Apps, and the reminders start. A filing nobody has been given reminds whoever owns or administers the account, which is you. You hear about it 30 days out, 7 days out, on the day, and every week after that until you record it as filed. When a treasurer joins in the spring, hand them the state filing in one change. Anything assigned to a person also rises to the top of their list in Ember Work.

5. Record the money from day one

   In Ember Budget, set a small plan for the mentoring program and record every gift and every cost against it. The first 990-N barely asks you anything. But the first grant application will ask what the program costs to run, and by then you will have the answer. Money in and money out, in one place, from the first week.

   

6. May 15: file it, record it, done for a year

   The 990-N is a short form on the IRS site, linked from the line itself. File it, then record it in Compliance with the date and the confirmation number. The row moves on: next year's due date is already sitting there, waiting. While you are there, add the two deadlines only you know about, the insurance renewal and the county permit, each with its own date and its own person.

   

Who does what

If you are the founder

The calendar exists before you know what should be on it. You add the two things only you know about and answer emails when they come.

If you are the treasurer who joins later

The state filing becomes yours with one change. Its history and its notes come with it.

If you are the founder's first admin

You can see the whole calendar and hand yourself the filings that are yours. A missed date is visible before it is missed.

Built for orgs like this

• A newly exempt org with no one who has filed a 990 before.
• A founder who is the whole staff and will be for a while.
• A state where fundraising registration is a real question.
• A wish to have year one's money recorded by program, so year two's grant has a number.

What it costs at this size

An org with a budget under $50K a year sits in the Starter band: $0, every app, unlimited users. The calendar, the reminders and the budget are all in it. State fees and any IRS fees are paid to them. See every band.

Free template

New-nonprofit survival guide

The deadlines, the free tools and the key dates for year one, on one page.

This is general information, not legal or tax advice. Which Form 990 you file, which state registrations apply, and when they are due depend on your own facts and change over time. Confirm every deadline with the IRS, your state, or a professional.

The Ember tool for this step

Ember Spark

Ember Spark walks you through the 12 steps of founding a nonprofit, with starting drafts of your bylaws and conflict-of-interest policy, your Form 1023 narrative and a bank resolution. Finished steps fill in the rest of your workspace. Unlimited users on every tier.

The Ember tool for this step

Ember Compliance

Ember Compliance builds your filing calendar from a few questions and emails a reminder 30 days before each dated filing is due. Record each filing and the next date is set for you. Unlimited users on every tier.

The Ember tool for this step

Ember Budget

Ember Budget tracks money in and out by program and keeps restricted funds apart from flexible funds. Unlimited users on every tier.

Sources: IRS: Form 990-N (e-Postcard) and automatic revocation of exemption, read 3 September 2026. The org and people on this page are an invented example; Ember has no customer data to report yet. Product behavior is described as built on 3 September 2026 and re-checked at each release.