Is a board of directors with officers such as president, treasurer,
secretary, etc., a requirement for an organization to qualify as a
nonprofit, tax exempt 501(c)(3)?  I have seen do-it-yourself books
that describe such a board, but do the rules allow the IRS to grant
tax exemption if only one person is in charge?

Dear  whychild,

IRS will grant the 501(c)(3) exemption if
there is  only one person filling all the offices. 

It all depends on 
a) the scope of the organization
b) and whether it can be managed by one person
c) and how good a business plan you include with the application

Generally, I try to tell my clients to also create an 
'advisory board' filled with people who can really be of
help. As an 'advisory board' they only get to guide you,
not vote you out of office. But it will help IRS understand
that you have a real, valid entity in place.

Your TaxMama-ga

Thanks

For the Internal Revenue Service (the IRS) to recognize an
organization's tax exemption, the organization must be organized as a
trust, a corporation, or an association .

http://www.irs.gov/charities/article/0,,id=96210,00.html


In general, a corporation or association is formed under state law by
the filing of Articles of Incorporation or Articles of Association
with the state. The state must generally approve and date-stamp the
Articles before they are effective. You may wish to consult the law of
the state in which the organization intends to be organized.

In general, a trust is a fiduciary relationship in which one person is
the holder of title to property, subject to an obligation to keep or
use the property for the benefit of another.

IRS publication 557 describes language that should be contained in the
legal documents to qualify as a non-profit or charitable organization.

You have not said which state you will form your organization.

For example, the following is part of the California Corporations
Code.  Most states will have similar wording.

http://www.leginfo.ca.gov/cgi-bin/displaycode?section=corp&group=00001-01000&file=300-318

312.  (a) A corporation shall have a chairman of the board or a
president or both, a secretary, a chief financial officer and such
other officers with such titles and duties as shall be stated in the
bylaws or determined by the board and as may be necessary to enable
it to sign instruments and share certificates.  The president, or if
there is no president the chairman of the board, is the general
manager and chief executive officer of the corporation, unless
otherwise provided in the articles or bylaws.  Any number of offices
may be held by the same person unless the articles or bylaws provide
otherwise.

I believe that California has a requirement for a minimum of 1 member
on the Board of Directors of a corporation.  (I am not a lawyer.)  The
instructions to IRS form 1023 (Application) requires that the Articles
of Association have 2 signers.  (See page 4 of the instructions to the
form.)

http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/k1023.pdf

Also, take a look at Part II line 4 of the Application form.  The IRS
requests the names, salaries, etc. of the officers (President,
Secretary, etc.), directors and trustees of the organization.  Based
on my experience, the IRS does not look favorably on organizations
that are formed and operated by one person, particularly if that
person receives a salary.  In that instance, the organization has the
appearance of being operated for the benefit of the founder, which, in
the eyes of the IRS, would defeat the purpose of a charitable
organization.