Starting a Nonprofit

Q. How do I go about starting a nonprofit organization?

A. This is a huge question, and one that Philanthropy Careers has attempted to answer in the past. For advice and resources, see this article and its accompanying sidebar from 2002.

Daniela Mendelsohn two years ago founded ArtWorks: The Naomi Cohain Foundation in Englewood, N.J., which supports exhibitions featuring the artwork of children who suffer from life-threatening and chronic conditions. She says the first step is to develop a mission statement. Surprisingly, some founders skip this simple step -- and regret it. Without a mission statement, you can find yourself losing your focus fast, says Ms. Mendelsohn. She suggests answering these important questions in as much detail as possible: Who are you trying to help? What kind of services do you want to provide? What are your short- and long-term goals? Find out whether similar charities exist and determine what your organization can add.

Among her other suggestions:

Build a network. When you’re just starting out, talk about your organization with everyone you meet; you never know what opportunities and contacts may develop from a single conversation. And you can learn a lot, Ms. Mendelsohn notes. “I have made it a point to continuously meet with people in all different fields: nonprofit, medical, arts, fund raising, event planning, public relations, you name it,” she says. “These people have years of experience, so I really listen to their advice and use them as a learning tool. Even if you walk away from an hour meeting with just one new idea or perspective, that is a lot.”

Stay organized. When you are running a nonprofit organization, you will inevitably be dealing with a lot of data, especially contact information -- from donors to board members to volunteers. You need to keep all your data very organized and in one central location so you can get what you need anytime, says Ms. Mendelsohn. “I was very dependent on Excel as my database program when I first started, but it can only take you so far,” she says. “So, I just recently bought a database program specifically geared to helping maintain all my lists.”

Don’t get discouraged. When she started, Ms. Mendelsohn says, she thought that anyone she approached about her cause would be compassionate and would want to help. But, as she encountered the occasional naysayer, she realized that it wasn’t so easy. “You can’t let those people discourage you from going forward,” she says. “You need to always remember why you started the organization and see all the good coming out of it.”

Got a question about job hunting, recruiting, or managing in the nonprofit world? Send it to us at hotline@philanthropy.com.