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DOING
GOOD JULY 2010 || SO, YOU WANT TO HAVE A BABY...
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So you think you want to be a (non-profit) parent…
- ONE SIMPLE ACT
-
T-minus 10 days!
So you think you want to be a (non-profit)
parent…
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by
Jenn Raley Miller [jennraleymiller@dogoodconsulting.org],
Management
& Communications Specialist, do good Consulting
In 2002,
a colleague and I had a series of conversations that led
to the
decision to start a non-profit organization. It was a lot
like having
a baby. Were we ready to be parents? What were the
"child's"
prospects in this crazy world? Were we really ready to
make the
life-changing, full-time commitment to nurture its
progress, growth,
and entry into society? Our "baby" was born in
2003, with the
official "birth certificate" (of tax-exempt
status) issued from the
IRS.
This year, in 2010, we finalized the paperwork to close the
organization.
It never received the grants and donations we had
envisioned, it
turned out to be more difficult than anticipated
to connect with
clients and offer them the kind of support they
needed, and the
board's commitment to doing work outside of board
meetings waned
early on.
If you're thinking of starting a non-profit
organization, please
take this lesson learned from my experience:
Think
twice. Then think again.
I want to tell you, "Don't do it", but I
don't really mean it.
Non-profit organizations are vital to a
functioning society. So
many problems in the community are begging
for solutions that are
not found in either the government or the
for-profit sector. The
non-profit sector is unique in its ability to
meet needs and
leverage resources that aren't available to other
entities.
BUT – the all-important "but" – starting a brand new
organization
is not always the solution. There are over a million
non-profit
organizations in the U.S., and over 1,000 in Champaign
County
alone.
Keep in mind that, much like parenting, you
won't have as much
control over your baby organization as you might
think. You may
have specific ideas about how to meet the community
need you're
concerned about. But remember: a non-profit is not a sole
proprietorship
business. You'll have a board of directors (a
group of people that
makes decisions about the direction of the
organization), volunteers,
and staff that all have a say in how
the work gets accomplished.
Starting a non-profit organization is
not going to be a fast track to
implementing your unique ideas
about how to change the world.
Here
are some considerations for alternatives, before you make a
commitment
to parenting a full-fledged baby 501(c)(3) non-profit
organization.
1.
Get involved with an existing organization
If you're an individual
with an idea to meet a need that is
already – more or less – being
addressed by another organization,
your best move is to become a
volunteer, board member, or try to
get hired there. Being on the
inside allows you to add your good
ideas and influence the way
current programs are being done, and
gain support to create new
programs within that organization.
2. Become a program of another
organization
Similarly, if you already have an informal program, you
might be
able to incorporate that program into a larger
organization.
Approach an organization that has a related, but
relatively broad
mission, and explore the mutual benefits of fitting
your program
into their work. A good example of a potential match is
an
organization that has a mission of "providing educational
opportunities
for children", while you're doing an informal
afterschool program.
The organization will be most receptive if
you are willing to do the
work that would have been required to
start a new organization –
specifically, raising the funds for
the program, including your own
compensation.
3. Seek fiscal sponsorship
The basic premise of a
fiscal sponsorship is that an umbrella
group has 501(c)(3) status,
and your group can operate under that
umbrella without having to
spend the time, money, and hassle to
become a stand-alone tax-exempt
organization. The specifics of
the relationship can vary. Typically
the umbrella organization
charges some kind of fee for this
arrangement. For smaller and/or
ad-hoc projects, it can actually save
money to go this route.
There are organizations in east central
Illinois that offer this
type of arrangement.
4. Become a
chapter or affiliate of a national organization
It may be that what
you're thinking of doing is already being
done by similar
organizations all over the country. If so, there
may be a national
organization or association that can offer
resources to help you
start one in your community. This approach
can give you instant
access to name recognition, funds,
infrastructure, and many other
benefits. In some cases it may
require that your organization
incorporate as a local 501(c)(3)
organization; in others, you may be
able to operate under the
structure of the parent organization.
5.
Work within a government program
Sometimes a local or state
government agency is the appropriate
entity to meet a certain
community need. If it is not happening,
the problem may be funding.
Meet with agency staffers to find out
what kind of public support
they need to do the work. As a
private citizen, you may be able to
help by lobbying lawmakers,
or by applying for grants, to help the
agency get the resources
to get the program going.
6. Meet the
need as a for-profit company
This is a viable option for some
programs, believe it or not.
Though you may think it's easier to
obtain "free money" through
grants and donations, it may actually be
easier to do your
charitable work by basing it in an organization
that focuses on
"earned income" – that is, relevant work that can
actually
generate a profit. It just takes some out-of-the-box,
entrepreneurial
thinking.
Check out the blog article, "Are There Too Many
Nonprofits]
If you're ready to start your new program – whether
you'd like
to explore one of these alternative options or dive right
in and
start a new non-profit organization – do good is here to help.
We
have worked with numerous non-profits to get their baby
organizations
off to a great start in life, and we would be happy
to be your
birthing and parenting coaches as well.
ONE SIMPLE ACT
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In
each month's Doing Good, you'll find one great tip to
implement over
the next month. By taking this one small,
achievable action each
month, you can make big changes in your
organization's and your own
performance, increase donations and
volunteerism, and expand your
group's visibility. Give it a try!
This month's ONE SIMPLE ACT
focuses on expanding your
organization's reach.
To build
organizational sustainability, you must maintain a
constant and
continued focus on expanding your organization's
roles and reach.
Constantly adding new contacts to your database
and email lists keeps
the community in touch with your goings-on
and helps your group
maintain contact with supporters. All too
often, groups fall prey to
the thinking that database and list
management is someone else's job.
In fact, in any business or
non-profit organization, it is
everyone's job. While there may be
a database and list manager, that
person's role is to update and
maintain files, not populate them.
That job falls to the rest of
the organization's staff, the board,
volunteers, and even
supporters.
July's
ONE SIMPLE ACT is:
Think of five people you know that
would be
interested in learning more about your organization. Contact
each
with a short note about the group and ask permission to have
their
names added to the group's mailing/email list. In doing so,
you help
increase the group's visibility. Your contacts will
begin to learn
more about the goings-on of the organization.
Perhaps some day they
will choose to volunteer, donate, or even
serve on the board. And
perhaps in the future, too, they will ask
five of their friends to
also become involved in the
organization.
T-minus
10 days!
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Plans
for this year's project: non-profit makeover are well
underway.
Already over 20 graphic design and communications
volunteers have
signed up to give the Champaign County Farm
Bureau Foundation a new
logo and a makeover of their website,
letterhead, and business cards.
We
are particularly pleased to have a special supporter for this
day-long
design-a-thon: L.A. Gourmet Catering
[http://www.lagourmetcatering.com/],
which will be providing
breakfast and lunch to the legions of
hard-working volunteers.
Run by two dynamic and entrepreneurial
Foundation scholarship
recipients, Lauren and Annie Murray
[http://www.lagourmetcatering.com/aboutus.html],
L.A. Gourmet
Catering offers fresh, gourmet, customized catering
options from
large banquets to boxed lunches. do good and the
Champaign-Urbana
Design Organization (CUDO) are delighted to have
some of the
Foundation's own program participants donate food for
the day to make
the event and its impact even more real. And
Lauren and Annie were
pleased to give back to the Foundation's
efforts, for the crucial
component that allowed them to make
their dream a reality was the
solid education the Foundation
helped to provide through their
scholarships. Since 1985, the
Champaign County Farm Bureau Foundation
has awarded nearly
$500,000 in scholarships to students like Lauren
and Annie who
are pursuing careers related to agriculture.
On
Saturday, July 10, this year's project: non-profit makeover
will work
its magic as representatives from the Foundation, do
good, and CUDO
gather at Surface 51 [http://surface51.com/] for a
one-day
"design-a-thon" to create a new Foundation logo, website,
and
business paperwork.
Watch for the exciting conclusion of project:
non-profit makeover
in the August 1 issue of Doing Good.
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2009
Giving Dropped 4.9%
Americans donated $217.3 billion in 2009, a
decrease of 4.9%
compared to 2008, according to estimates from
researchers at the
Center on Wealth and Philanthropy at Boston
College
[http://www.bc.edu/research/cwp.html]. Researchers are more
optimistic
about giving in 2010 and are expecting an increase of
3-4.5%. More
here
[http://philanthropy.com/blogPost/Giving-Dropped-49-in-2009/24346/?sid=&utm_source=&utm_medium=en].
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goodWORKSconnect.org
Launched
in Summer 2009, goodWORKSconnect.org
[http://www.goodworksconnect.org]is
a growing virtual resource
center and online community that offers
tools to connect with new
and old colleagues, share information, and
build the strength of
non-profits in East Central Illinois.
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DECISION-MAKING
Decision-making
can be a grueling process. When you feel unsure
about what to do,
taking the process step-by-step can create an
informed perspective
from which you can make a choice with
confidence. Though there are
many methods through which to
approach decision-making, these key
decision-making steps are
common:* Determine how important it is:
What will happen if this
decision is not made? Is this the best use
of your time?
* Identify the elements: What and who is involved in
the
situation?
* Identify the context: What will be affected by
this decision?
* Identify your values: What are the vital factors?
*
Identify the stakeholders and their priorities: What do those
involved
value?
* Brainstorm: Be boldly creative. Weird ideas open doors to
good
solutions.
* Weigh possible outcomes and consequences: What
does the future
look like, given each option?
* Ask for an outside
opinion: Get input from someone who's not
involved.
* Leave it
alone: Take a walk, sleep on it, or do something else
to allow new
ideas to surface.
* Stick to it: Once you make a decision, follow
through.
* Evaluate outcomes: Why was this a good choice – or not? Do
new
choices need to be made?
by Elizabeth Simpson
[elizabethsimpson@dogoodconsulting.org],
Group Dynamics Specialist,
do good Consulting
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LUMPKIN
MICRO-GRANTS: Micro-grants for professional development
are being
offered by the Lumpkin Family Foundation
[http://www.lumpkinfoundation.org/].
Application deadline: August
16. For details on applying, click here
[http://www.goodworksconnect.org/grants-new?grantPage=about].
WOMEN'S
FUND GRANTS: The Sangamon County Community Foundation
[http://sccf.us/]
is accepting proposals for grant funds from the
Women for Women
[http://sccf.us/women_4_women.html] giving circle
that supports
programs that benefit women and girls. Up to
$20,000 is available in
2010. Grant focus areas and details are
on the SCCF website
[http://sccf.us/grant_info.html]. Non-profit
organizations operating
in Sangamon County that provide services
or programs to women and
girls are encouraged to submit a
proposal before July 7.
NATIONAL
PHILANTHROPY DAY: Save the date! Join the East Central
Illinois
Association of Fundraising Professionals
[http://www.eastcentralillinoisafp.org]
(ECIAFP) as they
recognize outstanding philanthropists in the area
at their
National Philanthropy Day luncheon November 12 at the
Champaign
Country Club
[http://www.champaigncountryclub.com/Club/Scripts/Home/home.asp].
Help
identify and nominate individuals and organizations for
these awards
on the nomination form due out in early August
[http://www.eastcentralillinoisafp.org].
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With
decades of real-life experience and proven results in
non-profit,
small business, and community-based work, do good
[http://www.dogoodconsulting.org]Consulting
[http://www.dogoodconsulting.org]
brings a wealth of knowledge
in developing the effectiveness of
organizations across Illinois.
Whether you need assistance with
fundraising
[http://www.dogoodconsulting.org/services/fundraising.html],
strategic
planning
[http://www.dogoodconsulting.org/services/strategic_program_planning.html],
a
hiring search
[http://www.dogoodconsulting.org/services/hiring.html],
communications
and marketing
[http://www.dogoodconsulting.org/services/marketing_media_comm.html],
grantwriting
[http://www.dogoodconsulting.org/services/fundraising.html],
database
work
[http://www.dogoodconsulting.org/services/constituent_relations.html],
teambuilding
[http://www.dogoodconsulting.org/services/interpersonal_dynamics.html],
or
board development
[http://www.dogoodconsulting.org/services/board_dev_train.html],
do
good can help.
Through dynamic and customized workshops and
trainings,
one-on-one sessions, strategic advice, and plan
development, do
good Consulting helps small- to mid-sized
organizations and
businesses raise more money
[http://www.dogoodconsulting.org/services/fundraising.html],
involve
more people, and do the good work they do even better. do
good's
trainers and consultants
[http://www.dogoodconsulting.org/consultants/]
work with clients
[http://www.dogoodconsulting.org/clients/] to
develop a better
sense of organizational possibilities and potential
while
creating realistic and practical step-by-step plans and ideas
for
implementation and lasting impact. Learn more about do good
Consulting's
trainings, services
[http://www.dogoodconsulting.org/services/],
and resources
[http://www.dogoodconsulting.org/resources/].
For
more information on do good Consulting or our consultants
[http://www.dogoodconsulting.org/consultants/],
consulting and
training services
[http://www.dogoodconsulting.org/services/],
free resources
[http://www.dogoodconsulting.org/resources/],
clients
[http://www.dogoodconsulting.org/clients/], and more, go
to
www.dogoodconsulting.org [http://www.dogoodconsulting.org].
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Laura
Huth, do good Consulting