{"id":15843,"date":"2015-08-12T20:30:31","date_gmt":"2015-08-13T00:30:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.wework.com\/creator\/?p=15843"},"modified":"2020-04-03T18:06:53","modified_gmt":"2020-04-03T22:06:53","slug":"starting-a-non-profit-great-advice-from-the-pros","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.wework.com\/ideas\/professional-development\/starting-a-non-profit-great-advice-from-the-pros","title":{"rendered":"Starting a non-profit? Great advice from the pros"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u00a0<\/strong>When Aunna Wilson visited India, she was shocked to find that some young girls in rural areas are forced to stay home from school because of social taboos surrounding their periods. They are never given a proper education about changes occurring in their bodies.<\/p>\n

Wilson decided to do something about it. She traveled back to Princeton University, where she was attending college, and co-founded Pasand<\/a> with classmate Rebecca Scharfstein in 2012. The non-profit, based out of WeWork South Station<\/a> in Boston, educates Indian women about their bodies.<\/p>\n

\u201cI do this because I have seen that transformation in the classroom of a child becoming an adult and the confidence she builds,\u201d says Scharfstein. \u201cYou face challenges every day, and you wear multiple hats. But at the end of the day, you have a positive impact on someone\u2019s life. That is very exciting.\u201d<\/p>\n

Do you want to transform lives by launching your own non-profit? Scharfstein and others have plenty of advice for startups designed to change the world.<\/p>\n

Learn before you launch<\/strong><\/p>\n

Before starting Pasand, Scharfstein, Wilson, and the rest of their team attended conferences and reached out to individuals who had founded their own non-profits.<\/p>\n

By taking the time to educate themselves about all the various non-profits in their field, they learned how they could make their unique impact.<\/p>\n

\u201cOriginally, we wanted to develop affordable sanitary products,\u201d says Scharfstein. \u201cBut we realized the real need was health education.\u201d<\/p>\n

If you have an idea, it might have already been done. However, like Scharfstein, you could always find a different angle to take.<\/p>\n

Remember your tax status<\/strong><\/p>\n

You\u2019re passionate about helping make the world a better place. If you want to start a non-profit to accomplish that goal, it takes more than passion. It also takes a lot of paperwork.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019re not considered a full non-profit until you complete your tax exempt paperwork, and that can take 12 to 18 months,\u201d says Mark Thomas, executive director of VaxTrac<\/a>, which provides the technology needed for healthcare workers in different environments. \u201cIt\u2019s also one of the biggest things we overlooked in our early days. We didn\u2019t know how demanding and challenging that process is.\u201d<\/p>\n

Don\u2019t fret though: Lawyers specializing in non-profit organizations can help you complete your paperwork and make sure everything is kosher.<\/p>\n

\u201cA lot of law firms will offer pro bono support to non profit organizations and help you incorporate,\u201d says Scharfstein. \u201cThat\u2019s a resource that more people should leverage.\u201d<\/p>\n

Figure out the fundraising<\/strong><\/p>\n

If you\u2019re starting a non-profit, you have many options for fundraising: You can reach out to individuals, foundations, and companies that want to help out, feel great about it, and receive a tax write-off. You can also apply for grants.<\/p>\n

Stephen Ishmael, a Seattle-based WeWork South Lake Union<\/a> member, received financial assistance from businesses and individuals when he first launched. They gave money to his non-profit, Two Feet Project<\/a>, a mentorship program that gives the youth in Kenya the knowledge, tools, and confidence they need to succeed in life.<\/p>\n

\u201cTo raise money from individual donors, we connected with people, went to a lot of non-profit events, and really used social media to get the word out,\u201d says Ishmael. \u201cYou have to tell a really good story, and hope it tugs at someone, and they feel compelled to get involved.\u201d<\/p>\n

Amanda Eller is the director of impact and partnerships at SunFarmer<\/a>, a non-profit that installs solar energy panels on buildings in developing countries. She says that her job is to figure out how to raise funds. One option the organization offers for donations is called \u201cImpact Investor.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is for people who want to get financial return on their investments, but also want to make a positive social or environmental impact,\u201d she says. \u201cSome people want market return, and some people are okay with getting a little smaller return, but knowing their money is going to a good cause.\u201d<\/p>\n

When looking for funds, you should also give people the option to invest or just donate. Remember that businesses and corporations are always looking for non-profits they can help out.<\/p>\n

Get started<\/strong><\/p>\n

Though you could just volunteer or look for jobs in the non-profit world, it can be much more exciting to know that you directly made a positive influence. While you may struggle, just like any entrepreneur would, know that the payoff is huge.<\/p>\n

\u201cStarting a non-profit is a lot of hard work,\u201d says Eller. \u201cBut I think the beauty of it is that with any startup ideally, it\u2019s something you\u2019re passionate about. That\u2019s what makes it not feel like work.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u00a0When Aunna Wilson visited India, she was shocked to find that some young girls in rural areas are forced to stay home from school because of social taboos surrounding their periods. They are never given a proper education about changes occurring in their bodies. Wilson decided to do something about it. She traveled back to […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1498,"featured_media":15846,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[43902],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-15843","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-professional-development"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nStarting a non-profit? 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