this post was submitted on 11 Jan 2025
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How do I setup a financial account for a unincorporated org? (hexbear.net)
submitted 2 months ago by ZWQbpkzl@hexbear.net to c/askchapo@hexbear.net
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I've know some local orgs that could absolutely make use of a shared bank account for accepting and dispersing donations for mutual aid. The problem is these orgs are far too small to incorporate into a legal entity, have a stable mailing address, or even an official phone number. Only thing that's stable is an email address.

Most common solution I've seen is one person just has all the money. They setup a PayPal account and are responsible for receiving and dispersing all funds. This obviously isn't very secure. First there is the obvious risk of embezzlement. But assuming you've picked a trustworthy comrade, they're now more exposed and there's severe consequences if something happens to them. Like if this person is running a bail fund they might get hit with bs RICO charges and you lose all your donations.

I've tried to setup a PayPal using a google voice number but PayPal seems to recognize and block that. Crypto is supposed to address this issue but we still need dollars in and dollars out so that might be more complicated than worthwhile.

Any ideas or experience with this issue?

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[–] BobDole@hexbear.net 12 points 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago)

I’ve had some minor experience with an org that’s just barely big enough to have a bank account. Getting all the paperwork together to set it up is such a pain in the ass, and then when you elect a new treasurer it’s almost like starting the whole process over again. We used the Bank of Labor for a bit, thinking they would be sympathetic and not a total pain in the ass, but it was a worse experience than just using a local credit union.

A big part is that the American legal system is set up to only support bourgeois institutions, and makes it difficult to have a democratic organization.

EDIT: to actually answer, if you’re looking to set up a bank account, you should start by going to a local credit union and asking them what information they need to set one up, so that you can then structure an organization to meet the legal requirements