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Beverly A. Browning
Stan Hutton
Frances N. Phillips
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Published:
October 26, 2021

Nonprofit Kit For Dummies

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Overview

Helping you successfully start a nonprofit organization the right way or strengthening the governing, financial, and capacity-building framework of your existing nonprofit organization!

Ready to do some good? Ready to give back to the community? You better be! Because in Nonprofit Kit For Dummies you’ll find the tools and strategies you need to organize and shift your nonprofit into high gear. Buckle up and hit the gas as you master the latest techniques in nonprofit startup, recruiting the right board members, identifying collaborative stakeholders, grant writing, online fundraising, and marketing. You’ll learn to improve your management practices, raise more money, give more effectively, and plan more creatively.

This book’s supplementary online resources include expertly written organization plans, financial procedure outlines and guides, and event planning tools you can implement immediately to help your nonprofit help more people. It also walks you through how to:

  • Find up-to-date info on the latest web-based campaign tools, like Kickstarter, Kiva, and others
  • Use templates, checklists, and plans to organize your nonprofit’s finances, employee relations, and legal structure
  • Survive and thrive during challenging times, like those caused by pandemics and natural disasters

Starting and running a nonprofit organization takes heart, courage, and know-how. You’ve got the first two taken care of. Let Nonprofit Kit For Dummies help you with the knowledge as you lift your nonprofit to new heights.

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About The Author

Dr. Beverly A. Browning is the author of 43 grant-related publications and six editions of Grant Writing For Dummies. She has raised over $750 million in awards for her clients.

Stan Hutton is Program Consultant for the Clarence E. Heller Charitable Foundation.

Frances N. Phillips teaches grant writing at San Francisco State University.

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CHEAT SHEET

Creating and running a nonprofit organization can be a gratifying and worthwhile endeavor. Success depends on developing a good idea that meets a real need, testing that idea, planning (and planning some more), and inspiring others. Though the work is demanding, it’s also deeply rewarding.How to secure nonprofit statusBefore you can begin operating as the kind of nonprofit organization that receives tax-deductible gifts from donors, you need to secure 501(c)(3) nonprofit status in the eyes of the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and your state.
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Although online donations still represent a modest percentage (13 percent as of 2020) of total giving to nonprofit organizations, that percentage is growing, and your nonprofit's website is an important fundraising tool.People give online because it's fast and convenient. Websites are particularly strong at reaching donors who know your organization well, trust it, and like the convenience of giving online.
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Even in a small nonprofit organization, you want to establish careful practices about how you handle money and financial documents. If you have a one-person office, creating all the following controls may be impossible, but you should try to implement as many of them as possible: Store checkbooks, savings passbooks, blank checks, financial records, and cash in a locked, secure place.
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When corresponding with people who contact you through email or your website, consider them prospective donors for your nonprofit. If you’re emailing a new correspondent, ask whether he wants to be added to your mailing list. Make this invitation a habit and respect those who decline. Others will accept, and slowly and steadily you’ll build your list.
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Running a nonprofit organization requires paying special attention to IRS rules. The IRS definition of unrelated business income is based on three questions: Does the income come from a trade or business? Is it regularly carried on? Is it not substantially related to the organization’s exempt purpose?To better understand what these questions mean, consider an extreme example.
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Paying excessive compensation and engaging in campaign politics can get a charitable nonprofit organization in trouble. It doesn’t happen often, but you need to be aware of the rules. Determining reasonable pay and benefits In past years, if the IRS discovered wrongdoing in a nonprofit, it had little recourse but to take away the organization’s tax-exempt status.
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You may find a needed source of donations for your nonprofit from crowdfunding. Crowd funding (also called crowdsourcing) is a form of online fundraising that can benefit from the social networks you’ve developed. Kickstarter and Indiegogo are two of the best-known crowd-funding sites. Kickstarter is all about projects and isn’t specifically designed for nonprofits.
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Most startup nonprofit organizations depend on volunteers because money to pay staff is unavailable. But lack of resources isn’t the only thing that drives a nonprofit to operate with an all-volunteer staff. Some nonprofits make a deliberate decision to operate solely with volunteers to contain their costs and to achieve results with a collective effort among people who care deeply enough to contribute their time and energy.
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Armed with information about the people who already know about your nonprofit, you’re now ready to extend your reach by defining target groups you want to serve and discovering how best to reach them. In general, it’s better to begin with your current constituents and work to expand within their demographic group or to others who are similar to them.
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If you have good technology support and a website that includes a system for securely collecting money, you can insert your own “donate now” button. However, many nonprofits find it easier to contract with a “donate now” service. The number of options available can be daunting. When choosing one, think about the giving experience both from the point of view of your nonprofit and from the perspective of your donor.
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When it’s time to host a special event for your nonprofit, make your invitation something your potential guests will open and remember. If it’s a physical invitation, addressing the envelope by hand and using stamps rather than metered postage makes it look more personal, and an intriguing phrase or logo on the outside may lead to its being opened.
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After you have survey results, you will need to utilize the responses to help you better market your nonprofit. You can compile the responses by hand or use a spreadsheet program such as Microsoft Excel or Google Spreadsheet to tally responses. Of course, if you’ve used an online surveying service, it will compile the answers for you.
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Every nonprofit organization needs to raise money. Whether applying for grants, searching for individual donors, or throwing fundraising events, you're always going to be looking for new ways to bring in funds. These tips can help your nonprofit successfully raise money: Set clear, reasonable, yet ambitious fundraising goals based on a clear assessment of your organization's likeliest supporters.
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Before you can begin operating as the kind of nonprofit organization that receives tax-deductible gifts from donors, you need to secure 501(c)(3) nonprofit status in the eyes of the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and your state. Take the following steps to gain that nonprofit status for your organization: Choose a name for your nonprofit.
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People form nonprofit organizations in order to work toward changing some condition in the world, either for a specific group of people or for society in general. The overall goal or purpose of a nonprofit is known as its mission. Taking the time needed to clearly outline a nonprofit’s mission is time well spent because the mission guides the activities of the organization, helps the nonprofit’s directors decide how to allocate resources wisely, and serves as a measure for evaluating the accomplishments of the group.
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You’ve brainstormed, drafted, and refined a short statement that clearly identifies your nonprofit organization’s mission. Congratulations! Now that you’ve put considerable thought and time into this exercise, what are you going to do with it? You’ll use your mission statement in practical ways, of course. For instance, you’ll likely Incorporate its description of the organization’s purpose in your articles of incorporation.
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Before you begin tackling client surveys and media releases for your nonprofit, you need to spend a little time making sure you have a few basic communication tools in place. These tools help you tell your clients, audiences, donors, and the general public who you are and what you do. Here are a few websites that can help you understand and use technology for nonprofit communications and management.
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Creating and running a nonprofit organization can be a gratifying and worthwhile endeavor. Success depends on developing a good idea that meets a real need, testing that idea, planning (and planning some more), and inspiring others. Though the work is demanding, it’s also deeply rewarding.How to secure nonprofit statusBefore you can begin operating as the kind of nonprofit organization that receives tax-deductible gifts from donors, you need to secure 501(c)(3) nonprofit status in the eyes of the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and your state.
Read More
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If your nonprofit organization is grappling with a move to a new (or its first) office building, you’re facing important decisions. And guess what? You need to write a plan!This effort is likely to have three phases: Planning for your needs Identifying possible locations Analyzing the feasibility of the locations you find How much space and of what kind?
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Generally, a grant writer develops a proposal by talking with staff members, volunteers, or the board about a project idea. Before setting fingers to keyboard, the writer should investigate the following: What is the demonstrated need in the community for the work you intend to do? Who are the constituents who will benefit from your efforts?
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Before your nonprofit takes on a capital campaign, you should be aware of the benefits and risks of your undertaking. Although you may describe your request for capital support as a one-time need to potential supporters, many campaign donors continue to give after you finish the campaign project. They’ve been introduced to the agency, they’ve left their names in its lobby or attached to a scholarship fund, and they want to be sure that it succeeds over time.
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Every nonprofit organization is overseen by a group of people called the board of directors. These generous board members agree to accept responsibility for making sure the nonprofit organization remains true to its mission and purpose.A board's primary governance responsibility is fiduciary, or to uphold the
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An important part of being a nonprofit is making sure you file the correct forms with the IRS. However, your responsibilities don’t stop there. Different states and local governments also have certain requirements that you’ll need to follow if you want to run your nonprofit according to the rules.You’ll almost certainly have reporting requirements for your state and possibly your local government, especially if you provide services under contract.
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You may never discover who reads about your nonprofit organization in the newspaper or sees your sign every day on the bus, but some people — those with whom you directly communicate — can be identified. Start by defining your core group — your most important constituents — and work out from there.Suppose that your organization is a small historical society that organizes exhibits and panel discussions at three libraries in your town, publishes a quarterly newsletter, and maintains a website featuring news and information about its collection.
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Your nonprofit organization’s first board meeting is more or less a formality, but documenting it is important because it officially kicks off your new nonprofit corporation. If you’ve named directors in your articles of incorporation, each one should be present at the meeting. You should adopt the bylaws and then elect officers.
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Just like managing your nonprofit’s paid employees, working with volunteers requires attention to management tasks. Volunteers need training and orientation as well as clear, written lists of responsibilities and expectations. Basic expectations for volunteers are easily outlined in a volunteer agreement form.
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What if no existing building suits your nonprofit organization’s needs? You may be in for a major effort to substantially renovate a space or construct a new building. If you’re one of these brave and hardy types, here is some information you might need before you jump into the project.Even a small organization with the right board and campaign leadership can manage a successful capital campaign if its expectations are reasonable.
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As a general rule, your nonprofit’s paid staff shouldn’t be board members. The situation can get too complicated. For example, conflict of interest is always a potential problem, especially when board and staff have different priorities, such as when employees want raises but the board says no.Some exceptions to the rule do exist, though.
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Write thank-you notes soon after the event to all your nonprofit’s committee members and volunteers and make them as specific and personal as possible. They don’t have to be long. Many people find handwritten notes of two or three lines to be much more sincere and memorable than boilerplate letters.The thank-you letters you send to the attendees should clearly define how much money was donated and the cost of goods and services for the event.
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Unlike for-profit businesses, nonprofits can’t evaluate their performance solely by showing a profit at the end of the year or increasing the value of their stock. Indeed, they may generate a budget surplus to invest in their future work, but that isn’t their primary purpose. Some people say that nonprofits have to achieve a “double bottom line,” one in which their finances are healthy and their activities are meeting their goals — what a friend of ours calls “an appropriate balance of mission and resources.
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No organization has unlimited funds. Even the largest, wealthiest nonprofit needs to decide how to allocate its resources effectively. Planning helps you make decisions about how to align your organization’s mission with its resources by answering questions such as “Is now the best time to invest in a new program?
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