How to … Set the Stage for Nonprofit Activities
Late last night a poster to the community blog Ask MetaFilter asked for some tips on establishing a nonprofit to provide "basic necessities," such as toothbrushes, to small, impoverished, rural South American communities, where he works as a researcher. The best advice came from those who counseled that small steps focused on action, not the legal niceties of setting up shop as a 501(c) — engaging in pre-nonprofit activities, if you will — could be more effective:
- Reach out to existing nonprofits and ask them directly for the things the communities need, then follow up with public acknowledgements.
- Just jump right in and start working. If things go well and you feel you’d be helped by incorporating as a nonprofit, great, but that can wait.
- Consider raising the funds and buying the needed materials locally.
- Develop a plan for sustainability and advocacy that you can present cogently to those who may help you.
Given the pressing needs of the original poster’s communities, the points above strike me as quite sound. As someone who can get lost in the details — paralysis by analysis — I appreciate the nudge toward action and accomplishment. | 501(c)
