Hi Mary - For non-profits and not-for-profit organizations the main focus is the preservation of your tax status and your organizing documents that establish the organization's purpose and document actions consistent with that purpose. The IRS would be one regulatory agency. If the corporation was formed in New York then the governing body for NY corporations would be another. As far as fire codes are concerned, that changes from place to place. The adopted codes in Fulton, MO will be different than in Albany, NY. It is very common for regulatory bodies to adopt code that is promulgated by various standards organizations - the National Fire Protection Association, for example. Referencing NFPA 232 is probably the best choice, since it is the only fire code specifically related to records. That standard is available from NFPA.org. If you already preserve on microfilm it would be wise to duplicate your permanent records and store a copy at a remote location (Hugh Smith can probably recommend a nice Firelock Vault somewhere near you). For certain, those records would include all formation and tax documents (corporate charter, IRS tax determination letter and supporting forms submitted for determination (form 1024, etc.). Minutes of meetings would be permanent. Other hazards should be noted in the disaster recovery plan for the organization, which would identify where duplicate copies of records are kept and strategies to remediate records should they become damaged by flood. NARA has a nice template for a disaster recovery plan in appendix D on this page: http://www.archives.gov/records-mgmt/vital-records/

I found a sample retention schedule - can't testify to the quality but it was the first one that popped up on a Google search for non-profit retention schedules in New York so hopefully you will be able to glean a bit of info from there:

http://www.nypap.org/sites/default/files/rockefeller._records_retention_guidelines.pdf

Hope this helps,

Jim

Jim Booth
Records & Information Management Practice Leader

Brightstone Insurance Services, LLC
Direct – 919.323.3266
Direct Fax – 914.636.0802
Main - 877.862.4755 x 3266
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-----Original Message-----
From: Records Management Program [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Binkholder, Mary I
Sent: Friday, May 22, 2015 9:23 AM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Storage requirements for records for not-for-profit organization

Everyone,

I am hoping you can help me.  I am on the Board of Directors for a not-for-profit records organization (NIRMA - Nuclear Information and Records Management Association).  While I am pretty comfortable with storage requirements for our nuclear records (I work at a nuclear power plant), I am looking for guidance for storage of our association's records.  We primarily have hard copy right now, but are working on scanning or filming our long-term records.

Our current policy reads:  "Records shall be stored in predetermined locations that meet the requirements of applicable codes, standards and regulatory agencies required by not-for-profit organizations."  And "Records storage shall be subject to regulations in regard to damage by fire, floods, and other hazards as required for a not-for-profit organization.'

Does anyone have any information that could help me?  A list of codes, standards and regulatory agencies?  We are chartered out of New York, NY.

Thanks much!

Mary Binkholder, CRM/NS  : :  Supervisor, Administration  : :  T 314.225.1557  : :
Ameren Missouri  : :  P.O. Box 620  : :  Fulton, MO 65251

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