Archive for the ‘Start a nonprofit’ Category

New sites are added to the World Wide Web every day to answer the call we have for anything we can imagine. So, to help you find online resources for starting your nonprofit here is a five step process.

Step 1: pick your favorite search engine. Google and Yahoo are the top general search engines. Pick your favorite one or try both.

Step 2: formulate your query. This can be the toughest thing because if you don’t formulate your query just right you can end up all over the place. Here are a few suggestions, and always use the quotation marks to narrow your search parameter (but leave out the commas): “starting a nonprofit” and “steps to starting a nonprofit” As you can see make your query simple and to the point.

Step 3: research the various sites. Pick a few of the top sites to peruse.

Step 4: search Technorati as well. There are great blogs that have awesome “how to start” information on them. This blog that you are reading now is one of them. When you go to Technorati, make sure to click on Blogs tab, as the search will automatically put up the Posts tab first.

Step 5: take your time with the information you’ve gathered. You may find yourself inundated with options. Take your time and go through the information thoroughly. You may find that one site helps to answer some questions, while another site gives you practical information. Either way, you can always come back here and ask specific questions.

Have fun.

The local library should be the first place a new Executive Director makes a second home. There you have access to knowledgeable individuals and a plethora of resources at your finger tips. All for the low cost of FREE.

Visit your local library and start researching grants for your organizations type. If you are not sure start, ask the librarian. Librarians are trained to help draw you out in order to get you to the best resources for your needs.

Happy researching!

While you may think, you’re starting a nonprofit business for the community and that’s your target audience. The community has a make up that you should get to know well.

What does your target audience do for a living? Where do they live? What are they asking for that the community isn’t providing? How can you provide? What will make them want it from you? How will this improve their lives? I could keep going on, but you get the idea.

In order to gather this information, you really need to do some field reconnaissance. Create a brief questionnaire, and then poll people. Attend town hall sessions, homeowner association board meetings, or any other venue that will give you access to the people in your targeted community. If there isn’t one, then organize it. Listen to what the people are saying, and if appropriate ask a question that may lend itself to research for your project. (Be appropriate, otherwise you’ll just turn off your targeted community.)

When conducting research about your new business for your business plan, don’t just stick to the usual suspects: the library, the internet, and/or a similar organization. Go everywhere!

When researching about my new business, I found myself in other states talking to Executives Directors of nonprofit organizations. I interviewed people who started nonprofit businesses to see what they thought they did right and what they would do to improve on the process. I visited group meetings of nonprofit professionals and gathered information, as well as new supports.

My most rewarding experience, yes hind-sight is 20/20, was the November 9 networking event with the Maryland Association of Nonprofit Organizations and other nonprofit organizations. While I was almost sick to my stomach just thinking about going, it was a great experience, and I was able to gather new resources from that event. I must admit, I’m looking forward to my next one.

I teach a class for Assist University, and every student is required to walk away from this program with a completed business plan. Some embrace this project as if they’ve been given the greatest challenge of their lives and others procrastinate as if you have just asked them the question, “So who are you?” This project is not meant to be a test of endurance, rather the assurance that everyone walks away with a solid foundation to his practice.

One of the first questions I’m asked is, “How do I find out this stuff for the business plan?” The answer is simpler than you may believe. All the answers are inside of you.

First you have an idea about the business you want to start. You also know the important things that you want to be true about this business; as well as the things that should never be true about your business. These things get included in your business plan.

You should research and learn as much as you can about your new business idea. Then that information gets added to your business plan as well. It should include information about your competition, your assets, your differences, and your strategy to be chosen above the others.

In my opinion, your business plan should include as much detail as you can squeeze into it. It is an active document participating with you throughout the process of creating your new business. So, as you discover something relevant, include it in your plan. Review and revise your plan often, and you will grow the business you desire.

If you aren’t familiar with SCORE (Service Corps of Retired Executives), then you need to make yourself familiar with them. This group of volunteers is a resource partner with SBA (Small Business Administration). They have offices located throughout the United States.

SCORE’s Mission
SCORE provides resources and expertise to maximize the success of existing and emerging small businesses.

SCORE “Counselors to America’s Small Business”
Small business success across America is SCORE’s mission. Since 1964, SCORE volunteers have donated their expertise in more than 600 skill areas to aid entrepreneurs. 7.8 million entrepreneurs have been counseled by SCORE or attended SCORE workshops. With 389 offices for face-to-face mentoring and Ask SCORE for online advice, SCORE serves the needs of today’s entrepreneurs.

History
SCORE mentors entrepreneurs through one-to-one business advising sessions on a full range of business topics. In the 1970s, when SCORE chapters were formed, SCORE expanded its services to offer workshops and seminars on a variety of business issues. In 1996, SCORE ventured online and began providing small business advice via email to meet the entrepreneur’s need to have service on an around-the-clock basis.

Find a SCORE Chapter
Find a chapter near you and take advantage of their various programs.

This past weekend I flew to Las Vegas to attend a client’s retreat session. This is a very new client, and I’m very excited about them. They are a women business owner group. I’m looking forward to seeing them grow and reach more women business owners.

We had a packed agenda. We talked about the Board structure, created new positions, reviewed the mission statement, analyzed the budget, and finally created a planning calendar. This was the most significant thing we accomplished this weekend, the planning calendar. Does your organization have a planning calendar? We planned a year out, and realized in some places we had more events than volunteers. In other areas, we had duplicate events. So, we took time to fix this and having input from the various Committee Chairs was invaluable.

Make sure that you take time to complete your planning calendar. Get a head start on your year.

Too often I hear people referring to ALL nonprofit organizations as a 501(c)3, and they are not. So, I thought it would be beneficial to list the various types of nonprofits. Here is a list from Internal Revenue Services of the types of nonprofit organizations:

501(c)(1) — Corporations organized under acts of Congress such as Federal Credit Unions
501(c)(2) — Title holding corporations for exempt organizations
501(c)(3) — Various charitable, non-profit, religious, and educational organizations (see below)
501(c)(4) — Various political education organizations (see below)
501(c)(5) — Labor Unions and Agriculture
501(c)(6) — Business league and chamber of commerce organizations (see below)
501(c)(7) — Recreational club organizations
501(c)(8) — Fraternal beneficiary societies
501(c)(9) — Voluntary Employee Beneficiary Associations
501(c)(10) — Fraternal lodge societies
501(c)(11) — Teachers’ retirement fund associations
501(c)(12) — Local Benevolent Life Insurance Associations, Mutual Irrigation and Telephone Companies and like organizations
501(c)(13) — Cemetery companies
501(c)(14) — Credit Unions
501(c)(15) — Mutual insurance companies
501(c)(16) — Corporations organized to finance crop operations
501(c)(17) — Employees’ associations
501(c)(18) — Employee-funded pension trusts created before June 25, 1959
501(c)(19) — Veterans’ organizations
501(c)(20) — Group legal services plan organizations
501(c)(21) — Black lung benefit trusts
501(c)(22) — Withdrawal liability payment fund
501(c)(23) — Veterans’ organizations created before 1880
501(c)(25) — Title-holding corporations for qualified exempt organizations
501(c)(26) — State-sponsored high-risk health coverage organizations
501(c)(27) — State-sponsored workers’ compensation reinsurance organizations
501(c)(28) — National railroad retirement investment trust
501(d) — Religious and Apostolic associations
501(e) — Cooperative hospital service organizations
501(f) — Cooperative service organizations of operating educational organizations
501(k) — Child care organizations
501(n) — Charitable risk pools
521(a) — Farmers’ cooperative associations
527 — Political organizations

To get more detailed information go to IRS Publication 557 pages 60 and 61 to review an Organizational Reference Chart. It is a very handy tool when deciding what type of nonprofit you are starting, and what paperwork is necessary.

Every good idea starts with a plan. I think that is how the saying goes.

Starting a new business shouldn’t be on a whim. You want to be successful; so, do your homework and plan. Gather some key advisers. Take a day of their time, and ask them to assist you in planning out the details of your new business.

In September 2006, Stacy Brice, owner of AssistU, took six women on a business planning retreat. We sequestered ourselves in Reston, VA for five days to just work on one thing – our new business ideas. Everyday was divided out into alone time and group time, and all of the time was spent sole on the one thing. We met and talked about each person’s new business idea. We gave each other constructive feedback. We brainstormed each new business concept, and that’s how Nonprofit Connectors was conceived.

Although each of us had a different business scenario, and we were all at different stages in our business process, we were still able to assist one another through the planning process. However, just think how much stronger and faster your process will go if you come together and are all focused on the same business solution.

Here are some of the basics areas you should cover in your planning session:*
• Mission statement – Make sure to have your mission statement on hand and use it as a guide. All conversations during your planning process should lead back to your mission statement.
• Goals and objectives – Consider identifying activities that will help you uncover your objectives that will lead to your goals.
• Current resources – Take stock of the current resources you have within the group and the community. This is where you’ll want to take advantage of the participants and really brainstorm ideas.
• Strategic analysis – Now you have a plan! Remember to put realistic dates next to each item. Then don’t forget to add in a review period and an annual planning session to revisit your strategic plan.

*List of items adapted from: Starting & Building a Nonprofit: A Practical Guide by Peri H. Pakroo, J.D.

A discussion has started on one of forums within Nonprofit Connectors members-only area about starting a nonprofit vs. a for-profit. The member wants to really understand why someone would go through all the paperwork, the board development, and volunteer recruitment, just to have their great business idea become a public invested entity.

I answered the question from the point of view of the business being a response to a community need. My initial thought was the person would start a nonprofit to give back to the community. So, they are vested in the outcome for the community. However, their main interest is not monetary, but philanthropic.

She received this answer, and then asked, “I understand all of this. But what make a nonprofit so appealing to an individual? Is it the funding they are able to get from the government? What? A corporation can be a for-profit business and still give to the community.”

This is where I was stumped. Do you have an answer for this member? She is genuinely seeking, and I would like to help her make an informed decision. Thanks in advance for your comments.