(1) Any church, congregation, or society for religious, educational, or benevolent purposes may also become incorporated under this article by electing, appointing, or selecting, at a meeting held for the purpose, two or more of its members as directors, trustees, wardens, vestrymen, or other officers whose powers and duties are similar to those of trustees or directors of a corporation organized for profit, referred to in this article as the "governing board". Said organization may adopt a domestic entity name that complies with part 6 of article 90 of this title and a seal, and, upon the filing of an affidavit with the secretary of state substantially as provided in section 7-50-102, shall become a body politic and corporate by the domestic entity name adopted.
(2) The provisions of this article shall not apply to any religious, educational, or benevolent society formed after December 31, 1967, nor to any religious, educational, or benevolent society or corporation formed prior to January 1, 1968, which has elected to accept the provisions of articles 121 to 137 of this title.
Source: G.L. § 229. G.S. § 372. R.S. 08: § 1018. C.L. § 2384. CSA: C. 41, § 177. CRS 53: § 31-21-1. L. 55: p. 240, § 1. C.R.S. 1963: § 31-20-1. L. 67: p. 658, § 11. L. 68: p. 2, § 3. L. 97: (2) amended, p. 758, § 15, effective July 1, 1998. L. 2000: (1) amended, p. 948, § 1, effective July 1. L. 2003: (1) amended, p. 2211, § 39, effective July 1, 2004.
ANNOTATION
Law reviews. For article, "Summary of Denver Bar-Sponsored Bills Passed by General Assembly", see 28 Dicta 173 (1951). For article, "Nonprofit and Charitable Corporations in Colorado", see 36 U. Colo. L. Rev. 9 (1963).
Societies availing themselves of this section become civil corporations, as distinguished from ecclesiastical corporations in the sense of the English Law and, as such, are subject to the principles of the common law and the practice and procedure applicable to corporations under the general incorporation laws, so far as the same are pertinent. Horst v. Traudt, 43 Colo. 445, 96 P. 259 (1908).
And a society originally organized under this section must be held to be a charitable organization. In re Estate of Forrester, 86 Colo. 221, 279 P. 721 (1929).
But the question of a charity's capacity as an existing corporation is a matter for the state. Tomay v. Crist, 75 Colo. 437, 226 P. 156 (1924).
Trustees, wardens, vestrymen, or other officers are the managing officers and trustees of a religious corporation in the same sense that the directors and officers of a bank or a railroad company are officers and trustees of such corporation, and thus they are invested, in regard to the temporal affairs of the church or society, with the powers conferred by the statute and with the ordinary discretionary powers of similar corporate officers. Horst v. Traudt, 43 Colo. 445, 96 P. 259 (1908).
And the members are similar to stockholders. In incorporated religious societies the members thereof occupy the same relation to the incorporated body, insofar as its temporal affairs are concerned, as the shareholders or stockholders of a corporation organized for profit under the general incorporation laws occupy to it. Horst v. Traudt, 43 Colo. 445, 96 P. 259 (1908).
Thus, to entitle a member of an incorporated religious society to relief in the courts, it must appear that he has exhausted all the means within the corporation itself and to obtain redress a showing must be made in the complaint that such efforts were unavailing. Horst v. Traudt, 43 Colo. 445, 96 P. 259 (1908).