✦Business · 19 recordsStart a nonprofit

Most new nonprofits struggle not with paperwork but with a mission too broad to fund and a board made of friends. This tests whether the need is already being met, writes a mission specific enough to raise money for, recruits a board with the skills to govern, and then does the incorporation and tax registrations in the order they depend on each other.

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✦ Everything it creates

The whole plan, before you install it

Goal

A registered nonprofit with a board and a first funder Month 6

Mission first, board second, paperwork in the order it depends on.

Test the idea Week 4

Whether this needs a new organisation at all, before any paperwork.

  • List organisations already working on this needDo firstDay 7
  • Talk to three of them about the gapDo firstWeek 3
  • Write the mission in one or two sentencesDo firstWeek 4

Build the board Month 3

Skills, not just goodwill.

  • List the skills the board needs: finance, legal, fundraisingDo firstWeek 5
  • Recruit at least three board membersDo firstMonth 2
  • Hold the first board meeting and adopt bylawsDo firstMonth 3

Register it Month 5

Incorporation, a tax number, then tax-exempt status.

  • Check the registration rules where the nonprofit will be basedDo firstWeek 6
  • Incorporate the organisationDo firstMonth 3
  • Get a tax identification number and open a bank accountDo firstMonth 3
  • Apply for tax-exempt or charity statusDo firstMonth 4

First funding Month 6

One budget and one funder, not a fundraising strategy.

  • Write a one-year budgetDo firstMonth 4
  • Apply to, or ask, the first funderMonth 6

Routines

  • Nonprofit admin hourweekly
✦ It comes with a note

The order of registration

The usual order: confirm the need, write the mission, recruit a board, incorporate, adopt bylaws, get a tax identification number, open a bank account, apply for tax-exempt status, then register for fundraising where that is required.

In the US, tax-exempt status is Form 1023, or the shorter 1023-EZ, with the IRS. Other countries have their own charity regulators. Check the rules where you are before paying anyone to file.

✦ Questions

Start a nonprofit, answered.

Confirm the need, write the mission, recruit a board, incorporate as a nonprofit, adopt bylaws, get a tax identification number, and apply for tax-exempt status. In the US that last step is Form 1023, or the shorter 1023-EZ, with the IRS; other countries have their own charity regulators, and many places also require regional registration.
Look first. If an established organisation already does most of what you want, volunteering or partnering with it usually helps more people sooner, which is why checking this is the first task rather than an afterthought.
The board is legally responsible for the organisation, and funders look at it before they look at the idea. A board of friends who agree with you is easier to form and far weaker than a small one with finance, legal and fundraising experience.
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