Start a Washington FFA Alumni Chapter

Former FFA members and interested adults are a natural, supportive resource for FFA advisors and their students. A Washington FFA Alumni Chapter helps to rally the local community around agricultural education and FFA activities. FFA alumni chapters also provide a helping hand to FFA advisors in coordinating activities for the local FFA chapter.

Getting Started

1. Charter or re-activate a local FFA alumni chapter

To charter or reactivate as a National FFA Alumni affiliate, your alumni chapter must meet and maintain these qualifications: 

• Have at least 10 active members of the local alumni chapter and pay the annual state and national alumni affiliation fee.

• Have current constitution/bylaws in harmony with the National FFA Alumni Bylaws. Download sample bylaws for Washington alumni chapters.

• Have a council of elected officers.

• Complete the Application for Chartering/Reactivating. NOTE: Your alumni chapter's address may NOT be the same as your school address, to prevent funds from being claimed by the school. Remember, the alumni chapter will be an independent nonprofit organization.

• Submit the completed Application for Chartering/Reactivating to the Washington FFA Alumni Association via email to Tamara Whitcomb at tamara@washingtonffa.org
  We will forward this form to the National FFA Alumni Association. Upon receipt of the application, the National FFA Alumni Association will officially charter or reactivate the affiliate. You will have 30 days to submit your initial roster using Manage My FFA on FFA.org and 30 days following submission of your membership to pay your membership dues invoice. After this has been completed you will then be issued a charter certificate and a scroll and allowed to apply to be a part of National FFA's 501(c)3 status.
  Upon receipt of all items, the national alumni association will officially charter the new affiliate by issuing an affiliate number, a charter certificate and a scroll. Once that step has been completed, your state or the national association can grant you administrative rights to manage your membership and affiliate online.

2. Request an EIN from the IRS

Note that requesting an EIN from the IRS to operate under National FFA’s tax exempt status will set your fiscal year to September 1- August 31. Click here to apply for an EIN from the IRS.

3. Submit your EIN to National FFA

You MUST must submit your EIN to National FFA Alumni so that your alumni chapter receives tax-exempt status as part of the National FFA Organization's group exemption. 

4. Register as a Nonprofit Corporation in Washington

This requires someone to serve as the Registered Agent of the nonprofit corporation, who will be the point of contact for all communications from the Secretary of State, and is responsible for filing the nonprofit’s annual report with the state. Learn about requirements for nonprofits in Washington.

5. Open a bank account

Most banks require the Employer Identification Number you received from the IRS; a charter, articles of organization, or similar legal document that shows when your organization was formed; a charter or other document such as constitution & bylaws that shows the officers of the organization; and government-issued ID and social security numbers of anyone who is authorized to sign checks or make transactions on behalf of the organization. We recommend Columbia Bank for nonprofit bank accounts.

Maintaining your alumni chapter

Pay your Washington FFA Alumni affiliation fee, and National FFA Alumni affiliation fee

Washington is a 100% affiliation state, which means that any individual can be an alumni member for FREE, provided that the local FFA alumni chapter has paid its annual state and national affiliation fees. If no local alumni chapter exists, the individual can be a state "at-large" alumni member for free.

File an annual report with the Washington Secretary of State.

This is a simple form that ensures your alumni chapter is in good standing. It is due by the last day of the filing anniversary month. The Secretary of State will send the Registered Agent a reminder postcard 30 days before the annual report is due.

Tax Reporting

Federal tax-exempt reporting

You must file a Form 990 to report your alumni chapter’s finances to the IRS. Most alumni chapters can either file the 990-EZ or, a very simple “ePostcard” Form 990-N if your gross receipts are less than $50,000. IRS reporting is due by January 15 because your fiscal year ends August 31 (as it has been aligned with National FFA’s tax-exempt status).

State tax-exempt reporting

You may not be required to register or file with the Washington Department of Revenue if you do not conduct taxable business. If your alumni chapter only exists for the purpose of fundraising to support the mission of the organization, you most likely will not be required to file.