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| *Ostroff, Fair and Company>>>Government & Non-Profit |
Nonprofit Organization? |
I want to start a nonprofit organization, the problem is... I have no idea where to begin. I want to make it for underprivledged kids who live here in the United States (yes, they do exist). What do I do though? Ideas, suggestions... anything!? Thank you. Since you've never been in business before, I would strongly recommend that you talk to a business counselor before you do anything especially spend money. You have to get a counselor who is familiar with the formation of not-for-profits in you state. I'd call the local office of SCORE (go to http://www.score.org and input your zip code to find the chapter nearest you), the advice is FREE. The counselor at SCORE will most likely advise you to write a business plan which is very good advice because it will force you to dig out all of the start up details and the costs of starting a non-profit for kids and force you to also understand all of the aspects of this business including the customers you'll concentrate on (your market ) and how you'll go after them. You'll need to register the business with your state controller's office and make sure that you have any city and county licenses if any are needed where you live. All of this will come out in a business plan. Try this link : http://www.ychange.com/small-business-co... and read some of the articles especially the ones about a business plan and starting a business. Good Luck There's a lot of great information and resources on the internet, such as at the following sites: http://www.managementhelp.org/strt_org/s... http://www.ctnonprofits.org/pages/nonpro... http://nonprofit.about.com/od/?once=true... http://www.lib.msu.edu/harris23/grants/z... http://www.snpo.org/resources/startup.ph... http://www.wikihow.com/start-a-501c3-non... If you want to do fundraising and issue tax receipts, then you'd also have to register as a 501(c)(3), which gives you charitable status. In recruiting board members, think of the ideal people that would have the knowledge and experience you need. Perhaps speak to other organizations working in the area of underpriveledged kids to learn more about what they're doing, what works and doesn't work, etc. before starting up your own. All the best in your wonderful endeavour! The absolute best compendium of information on how to start and efficiently run and fund a nonprofit organization is located at the Foundation Center website. You can start with the Foundation Center's Establishing a Nonprofit Organization online tutorial. This tutorial describes 12 tasks that need to be accomplished during the process of establishing a nonprofit organization. Issues include board development, creating bylaws, filing for federal tax exemption, recruiting staff, and developing an overall fundraising plan. http://foundationcenter.org/getstarted/t... I also recommend browsing their FAQs (frequently asked questions) for even more information http://foundationcenter.org/getstarted/f... Best of luck to you! |
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