Section 5140.

Subject to any limitations contained in the articles or bylaws and to compliance with other provisions of this division and any other applicable laws, a corporation, in carrying out its activities, shall have all of the powers of a natural person, including, without limitation, the power to:

(a) Adopt, use, and at will alter a corporate seal, but failure to affix a seal does not affect the validity of any instrument.

(b) Adopt, amend, and repeal bylaws.

(c) Qualify to conduct its activities in any other state, territory, dependency or foreign country.

(d) Issue, purchase, redeem, receive, take or otherwise acquire, own, sell, lend, exchange, transfer or otherwise dispose of, pledge, use and otherwise deal in and with its own bonds, debentures, notes and debt securities.

(e) Issue memberships.

(f) Pay pensions, and establish and carry out pension, deferred compensation, saving, thrift and other retirement, incentive and benefit plans, trusts and provisions for any or all of its directors, officers, employees, and persons providing services to it or any of its subsidiary or related or associated corporations, and to indemnify and purchase and maintain insurance on behalf of any fiduciary of such plans, trusts, or provisions.

(g) Levy dues, assessments, and admission fees.

(h) Make donations for the public welfare or for community funds, hospital, charitable, educational, scientific, civic, religious or similar purposes.

(i) Assume obligations, enter into contracts, including contracts of guarantee or suretyship, incur liabilities, borrow or lend money or otherwise use its credit, and secure any of its obligations, contracts or liabilities by mortgage, pledge or other encumbrance of all or any part of its property and income.

(j) Participate with others in any partnership, joint venture or other association, transaction or arrangement of any kind whether or not such participation involves sharing or delegation of control with or to others.

(k) Act as trustee under any trust incidental to the principal objects of the corporation, and receive, hold, administer, exchange, and expend funds and property subject to such trust.

(l) Carry on a business at a profit and apply any profit that results from the business activity to any activity in which it may lawfully engage.

(m) Pay the reasonable value of services rendered in this state to the corporation before January 1, 1975, and not previously paid, by any person who performed such services on a full-time basis under the direction of a religious organization in connection with the religious tenets of the organization. Such person shall have relied solely on the religious organization for his or her financial support for a minimum of five years. A payment shall not be made if such person or religious organization waives the payment or receipt of compensation for such services in writing. Payment may be made to such religious organization to reimburse it for maintenance of any person who rendered such services and to assist it in providing future support and maintenance; however, payment shall not be made from any funds or assets acquired with funds donated by or traceable to gifts made to the corporation by any person, organization or governmental agency other than the members, immediate families of members and affiliated religious organizations of the religious organization under whose direction the services were performed.

(Amended by Stats. 1979, Ch. 724.)