Tell me about your Non-Profit Organization!

[GuavaGirl]

I've been thinking about starting a non profit org, and I'd love to hear about people's stories and experiences! (how it started, what your mission is, etc.)


Here's my idea:

Start a non-profit thift store just for baby, child, and maternity items. Coupons/vouchers for local women's shelter, crisis center, & teen parent groups. (Possibly do consignment for larger items or just provide a large bulletin board for people to post their sale flyers for things like cribs and strollers Then, I would like to donate a certain amount of the profits to local, national, and international organizations benefiting women and children.

Anyway, that's sort of my idea, for now.


I'd love to hear any thoughts! (comments, suggestions, questions, words of caution, ideas, experiences, etc.)

[FLLmom]

Hi Guava Girl!

I started a non profit organization last year called American Preemie Foundation. You can check us out at www.preemiefoundation.org

Our mission is to provide financial support to families caring for preemies in the hospital. We cover expenses not covered by insurance, like gas, food, utility bills, etc. You know, the bills that creep up when your attention is on your baby.

It was pretty simple to get all the proper paperwork completed and submitted to the state and IRS, but the IRS took about six months to process our paperwork and grant us 501c3 status. I believe you can start collecting donations in the meantime, but I don't know if they will be tax deductible for the donors unless you are a 501c3. But I digress.

Anyway, like I said, the paperwork was fairly easy, but fundraising is another story. The saying, "It takes money to make money" is so true. Be prepared to spend money out of your own pocket to get the ball rolling. I've had lots of positive feedback from people about our cause and the word is spreading, but that positive feedback isn't turning into lots of donations. I really hate sounding like a greedy corporation trying to get money, but let's face it, non profits need money to operate just like any other business. That's the hardest part right now. And with the poor economy, I've found other businesses are not willing to donate services, like catering, web design, etc. which would help out in our fundraising activities. It's really a catch 22 when families of preemies need money now more than ever, but others won't donate because they need to hold on to their money.

If you have any specific questions, feel free to ask.

FLLmom

[lorelei]

U of Indiana has a non-profit degree, and fundraising school. You can find a lot of useful info for free if you go check their site out. You can also do an advanced search on google of their website to find all their online pdf files, which is full of good info.

Good luck!
S

[True Blue]

My father just started an organization for political change, The Simple American. It's a non-partisan, politically neutral governmental watchdog organization with a lobbying effort to return government to the people. It has a great mission, but it's really hard getting it off the ground. Funding is his big issue right now....it's hard to get, to find the right people, to get the word out.