Quote Originally Posted by li10up View Post
Pardon me if I do not use the correct legal language...I'm not an attorney nor do I play one on tv. But isn't it a good idea to incorporate a club to limit liability to the club and not the members/volunteers individually? Our club website says that we are a non-profit but one of the officers recently said that we are not. I lead a group ride and I would not want to be held personally liable if something were to happen on the ride. How difficult/expensive is it to incorporate?
As Irulan noted up above, there's a difference between being a non-profit organization, which is a specific tax-exempt status, and simply being an "unprofitable" organization ;-)

If liability is an issue, you might want to affiliate your club as a member of the League of American Bicyclists (http://www.bikeleague.org) and taking advantage of their insurance program offered to member clubs, advocacy groups, and their certified instructors... Details at http://www.bikeleague.org/members/club/insurance.php.

This policy would cover general liability for club officers and ride leaders, as well as provide secondary medical coverage for club members on club rides, as well as for guests on their first ride with the club. Special policies can be purchased for ride events on a per rider basis. It's worked well for our local groups here.

Tom