Guidlines for group purchase of land/buildings retreat center

[Spotless]

Hello everyone, 

 

Please contribute to the following:

 

I am looking at fundamental guidelines regarding purchasing and creating a retreat center / or / building for holding meetings and having an office space / and or / a place for a group of separate individuals or married to live ...

 

More specifically the legal formulas - and specifically address the following:

 

I was once in a group that had amassed about 15 homes or buildings or ranches or large land spaces. It grew quickly and amassed those things in only around 15 years. But to the surprise of many - once the founder died several of the homes that had been purchased completely and had no mortgage were all sold off in a few years and the whole thing collapsed basically within two years to nearly zero.

 

The areas where the homes were free and clear and purchased by donation drives from those in the area - they were completely taken aback and could not believe "it" was suddenly just sold and gone. - zip

 

The founder was a wonderful person - what happened after his death I am not completely certain - but that is not the issue. Rather the issue that I am interested in is solid thoughts and or words regarding the formation of a purchase agreement as a group that would include wording to the effect that it holds the purchase "apart" from sole ownership by the Master or Teacher (obviously many teachers would not be interested in subjecting their donations to such guidelines )

 

This could be a Best Practices guideline for Teacher and Masters to utilize so that they can assure their group that what is being built is for them in perpetuity or at least apart from simply the Teachers whim - such as a certain number of members required to vote on large sums or properties. 

 

This also gets to one more huge point - how to word it and organize it so that if the Teacher does something along the lines of the thousands of Catholic Priests and Nuns wherein whole parishes have been lost to lawsuits  or teacher that sell cool aid - basically wording that puts the behavior of those in charge at some hands length from ownership. 

Obviously as in the case with the thousands of Catholic cases - many heads of local parishes were involved in coverups and so they involved the whole general group in the lawsuits because of the collusion among the general heads of those affiliated properties.

 

This may seem to be very simple but I assure you it is as easy as getting to an agreement on what is good and what is evil - try that one over a week with 20 denominations at an Interfaith council and you will be both exhausted and blown away.

 

Anyway - if you have any actual documents you can share - please leave a link or put it up here - sometimes only the pithy quotes are needed.

 

 

And by the way - if this should be in a more appropriate area - please let me know or change it to the best location - (half the time I have no real idea where I "should" be posting)

 

Edited December 19, 2019 by Spotless

[thelerner]

No real information, though Step A is getting your group Tax free status.. maybe that goes without saying.

 

My relatively poor Aikido group had a member who was great at writing and getting grants.  We somehow incorporated with a charter  laying out who's in charge and probably had a section of our purpose and philosophy, and how votes were taken. 

 

I believe there are people who work with charities and do this kind of thing pro-bono.  If you can find one, who has experience, you've found a great short cut. 

 

< which is pretty much what you're doing here. > 

Edited December 20, 2019 by thelerner