3 Steps to Take When Starting a Non-profit Organization

Doing good feels good. It has a way of making all of us stand taller and give purpose to our lives. These good acts can range from expressing kindness to a loved one to giving considerable amount of money or time to a complete stranger in hopes of making their lives better.  Many of us even go further and contemplate starting a non-profit organization.

What a great thought! But before you turn that thought into action, here are 3 points to consider.

 

1. Educate yourself about your cause

It is easy to get swept up in the dreams of helping people or animals in need. Who can pass a homeless person and not ever wonder if they can start a shelter? But the first thing you should do is educate yourself throughly in your cause. First, what is your specific goal? How can that goal be achieved? Who else is providing similar services? How are they providing it?

How do you even start a non-profit? There are so many questions to consider! There are also so many organizations out there to help you with your questions, like Nonprofithub.org. These resources will educate you with the overall creation of the organization, but you have to do the research yourself beforehand to know exactly what you want to do and how you can achieve that goal. If another non-profit already exists in your area serving the cause you want to serve, maybe you can partner up with them. Or, you can see what areas they are lacking and serve that specific niche.

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2. Have a business plan for your non-profit

This might sound like an oxymoron, but your non-profit should have some type of a business plan. Running a non-profit organization is much like running a business. You have expenses you need to have paid for by an income. What will be your expenses for a given time and how will you cover that? The most common way of covering expenses for non-profits is donations. But how will you gather those donations? And how about fund raising? Brainstorm on all the possible ways you can generate income and what your expenses will be.

3. Build a board from the start

Don’t go it alone! After  you have your initial ground work laid out, make sure to divide up the labor among the best people you can find who will join you on your cause. Finding the right people to help you manifest your dreams for an organization is no easy task. But what will be even more difficult for you is trying to do everything yourself. When you divide up responsibilities among other dedicated people, your organization will be much more effective. Build your board from the start so you can have all hands on deck to promote your non-profit, organize events, streamline donations, and everything else you will need to do.

These are just 3 of the many things you will need to consider when you start a non-profit organization.  Now, go out there and make the world a better place!