Table of Contents

The Top 10 Things Every Organizer of a Nonprofit Must Remember 10

Introduction 11

01 Organizer to Organizer- Let's Talk! 13

Living in Interesting Times 14

We're Not All MBAs 15

The Political Atmosphere 17

The Citizens United Ruling- How It Affects Nonprofits 19

Evaluating Your Capacity Honestly 23

Time Commitment 24

Looking Over the Horizon 25

02 Networking Within Your Community 29

Evaluating Your Broader Community 30

Urgent Needs Facing Communities 32

Local Networking 34

Social Media Networking 36

Similar Groups 40

03 Understanding Organizations and Corporations 43

The For-Profit Corporation 44

Types of For-Profit Corporations 45

The Nonprofit Organization 47

State Versus Federal Nonprofits 49

Types of Nonprofit Organizations 50

Consulting a Tax Lawyer 54

04 The First Organizing Meeting 57

Meeting Basics 58

Defining What You Want to Do 59

Do You Really Want to Be a Nonprofit? 61

Reality Check 62

Limitations and Ongoing Reporting Requirements 62

The 20 Percent Rule for Political Activities 64

Acting and Thinking as a Nonprofit Organization 66

05 The Initial Board of Directors 69

The Initial/Founding Members of the Board 70

Qualities of the Initial Board 70

Choosing the Initial Officers 72

Responsibilities of the Officers 73

To Pay or Not to Pay the Board 77

Acceptance of Corporate Documents 78

The Fiduciary Responsibility of the Board 79

06 Articles of Incorporation 81

Required Language 82

A General Overview of Suggested Language 85

Defining Your Purpose to Meet IRS Standards 86

Planning For the End-While Meeting IRS Standards! 87

Amendments 89

The Registered Agent 90

07 By-Laws 93

Organizational Details 94

Responsibilities of the Board 96

Membership Options 97

Standing Committees 99

Proposed Committees 100

Nondiscrimination and a Statement of Ethics 102

Language for a Specific Audience 104

08 Filing Incorporation Documents 105

Local Government Offices 106

Federal Tax ID Number 108

State Business License 109

Local Business License 111

The Twenty-Seven-Month Clock Begins 112

Miscellaneous Documents 113

09 Record-Keeping Systems 115

The Core of Any Nonprofit 116

Agendas and Minutes 117

Financial Reporting to the Organization 119

Financial Reporting to the State 122

Financial Reporting to the Federal Government 122

Increased Scrutiny of Allowable Activities 125

Recording All Publicity 128

10 Developing a Budget 131

Be Realistic 132

Budget Projections 133

Identifying Income Sources 134

Projected Capital Expenses 136

Projected Staffing Expenses 139

Organizational or Administrative Expenses 140

11 Bank Accounts 143

Be Prepared 144

Authorized Check-Signers 144

Types of Banks 146

Types of Accounts 149

Establishing Financial Credibility 151

Get to Know Your Banker 153

12 Fundraising 155

Commitment from the Entire Organization 156

Ever-Expanding Circles 157

The Board and Their Families 158

Direct Appeals to Existing Contacts 159

Establish a History 160

Competition for Grants 161

Public and Private Funding 162

Development of a Comprehensive Fundraising Campaign 164

Overlooked Methods 167

Using the Internet 169

In-Kind Contributions 171

13 Board Development 173

Basic Procedure 174

Expanding Your Reach 175

Assessing Immediate Needs 176

Assessing Future Needs 178

Connecting with Other Nonprofits 180

Continuing Education 182

Reflecting Your Community 183

It Will Always Involve Money 185

14 A Business Plan 187

A General Overview 188

Contents 189

Supporting Financial Documents 191

General Supporting Documents 192

Nonprofit Business Plan Overview 194

15 A Mission Statement 197

The Soul of the Organization 198

Vision 199

Introduce Yourself to the World 200

Introduce Yourself to the Funding Community 201

Guiding Principles 202

Exercises to Use 203

16 Publicity and Outreach 207

Websites 208

Newsletters 210

Press Coverage 212

Fairs and Community Festivals 213

Mailing Lists 214

Public Access Television 215

17 Staff 217

Office of the Executive Director 218

The Development Director 220

Volunteers and the Volunteer Coordinator 222

The Accountant 225

Program/Project Coordinators 226

Compensation 227

18 Finally! the 1023 229

The Anatomy of Form 1023 230

The First Challenge: Part IV, the Narrative 231

Financial Data 233

User Fee Information 234

The Advance Ruling Process 235

Assembling Supplementary Materials 235

Outside Review 236

The Application Packet 237

The Determination Letter 239

19 Board Liability Insurance 243

Overview 244

"Good Faith" 244

Insurance for Employment Issues 246

Insurance for General Liability with Real Property 248

Insurance for Specific Situations 249

20 Operations Staff and the Board of Directors 253

An Age-Old Conflict 254

Defining Board Oversight 256

Financial Responsibility 257

Programming 258

A Board Liaison 259

An Open-Door Policy 260

21 Personnel Issues 261

A Unique Sense of Ownership 262

The Personnel Committee 263

A Code of Conduct 266

Contractor or Employee 266

Collective Bargaining 268

22 Changing from a For-Profit Organization to a Nonprofit 271

Where You Are Right Now 272

The Twenty-Seven-Month Rule 275

Rethinking Business Plans and Terminology 276

Forming a Nonprofit Within Your Current Operation 277

Starting From Scratch 278

Appendix A A Successful Fundraising Campaign: A Case Study, Yew Dell Gardens, Crestwood, Kentucky 281

Appendix B Sample Documents 287

Appendix C Tribal Nonprofit Organizations 312

Appendix D Web Resources 320

Appendix E General Resources for Nonprofits 321

CD Contents 322

Index 327