Corporate Matters Office

The Corporate Matters Office of the Diocese of Tucson supports the Parish Corporations, Parish Corporate Boards, and the Pastoral Center by maintaining legal records, minutes, reports, and official documents through accurate record keeping, providing guidance and training for Directors, coordinating meeting schedules, and providing secretarial and clerical aid as appropriate.
 

Incorporation
The Diocese of Tucson Plan of Reorganization, confirmed in July of 2005 by the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in the Diocese's Chapter 11 case, included the individual incorporation of the 75 parishes in the Diocese. After the emergence of the Diocese from Chapter 11 in September of 2005, each Parish filed in November of 2005 individual Articles of Incorporation with the Arizona Corporation Commission for incorporation as 501(c)(3) non-profit Arizona corporations. The parishes adopted Bylaws and appointed their new Board of Directors. Each Board of Directors is made up of five members: President, Vice President, Treasurer, Secretary, and the presiding Bishop of the Diocese of Tucson.
 
For more information on the incorporation process, you can view the incorporation overview (that was presented to the parishes prior to incorporation) and visit the Q&A  page for detailed answers to the questions parishioners asked about incorporation during the process.

Corporate Board of Directors 
While Parish Pastoral Councils, Finance Councils, and Staff are advisory in nature to the pastor, the Board of Directors is the decision making body of the Parish Corporation for fiscal and civil matters. Business matters include: approval of budgets, annual reports, sale or acquisition of property, investments or acquiring debt, and compliance with Arizona Corporation Commission reporting requirements.
 
The role of the Parish corporate Directors and how they interrelate with the Parish organizational structure and decision process is explained in the Diocese of Tucson Parish Corporate Board of Directors Manual & Guidelines.
 
Parish Board of Directors: Two lay parishioners of each Parish are elected to serve as members of the Parish corporation Board of Directors. These Directors serve their parishes as advisors, overseers, and councilors and are entrusted with assisting their pastors in caring for the temporal well-being of the Parish.
 
Parish Board Meetings: Parish Board meetings are essential for several reasons. The major reason is to manifest the reality of the Parish as a corporate entity separate from the Diocese and from other parishes. Another equally important reason is to afford the pastor meaningful advice and help in the operation of his Parish.
 
The types of meetings that can be called are Regular Meetings, which include the Annual Meeting and the Budget Meeting, and Special Meetings. Parish Boards may establish Regular Meetings at time intervals they deem most appropriate for their individual needs. Special Meetings may be called as needed for occasions when the Board is called on to review and decided on extraordinary Parish activities and actions.