Three focuses of my blog are Creating Ecosystems of Success, Money/Financial Literacy and Legal Affairs. Many people seek to create charities. There important considerations for doing so. The following contributed post is entitled, 3 Tips For Beginners Starting A Charity.
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Image Credit: Ladybug1093 from Pixabay.
Starting a charity is a noble act to do, but it’s not exactly the easiest process. You’ll have quite a few things to take care of, especially if you want to have any kind of impact. If it’s your first time, you mightn’t have a clue where to start, despite how much you want to do it.
By using the right tips and tricks, however, you can start off the right way. With some time and effort, you’ll end up having more of an impact than you’d think. You shouldn’t have a problem creating a better world, so it’s worth highlighting three tips that’ll help you start your charity.
Starting A Charity For Beginners: 3 Top Tips
1. Decide On A Type Of Charity
Charities come in different types and focus on a wealth of areas. When you’re starting out, you’ll need to define what type of charity you want to run. Decide exactly what you want to focus on and how you want to make the world better.
From homelessness to mental health and everything in-between, there are countless areas to focus on. Pick something you’re passionate about, and you’ll keep motivated as you run your charity, no matter how difficult it can be. You can also use current charities as inspiration, such as Cancer Research UK or The Dwoskin Family Foundation.
The more defined you are with this, the more people you can get on board to donate funds and help your charity.
2. Register With The IRS
While charities are usually tax-exempt, it doesn’t mean they don’t need to register with the IRS and other organizations. A 990 tax filing and similar documents will need to be filed throughout the year, with these being mandatory if you want to run a legal charity.
Register for all of this as soon as you start your charity. Since this can be relatively complicated, it could be worth getting professional help when you’re starting out. You wouldn’t want to make any mistakes and get into trouble, after all.
While you wouldn’t have to pay taxes like a business, you still need to make sure you’re legal. Put effort into it.
3. Plan Fundraising
Speaking of finances, you wouldn’t be able to operate your charity without some kind of funding. Raising money from the start is essential to making sure your charity can actually function. Plan this out as early as possible.
Not only should you plan out the initial fundraising to get you going, but multiple other events throughout the year. It’ll make sure there’s a consistent amount of revenue coming in so you can keep operating. The more planned out these are, the better.
Use various third party sites and platforms to help you raise funds as Sean Casterline is doing here for this family fund. You can also get companies to sponsor you in exchange for advertising their brand. You may even be able to cross-promote with other charities.
Starting A Charity For Beginners: Wrapping Up
As noble as it is, starting a charity can always seem like a tricky process. There’ll be multiple legalities to take care of, and that’s before you even think of starting things off. It doesn’t mean you can’t do it and make an impact, however. All it takes is starting off the right way and maintaining your momentum.
Registering with the IRS, deciding on the type of charity you’ll start, and planning out your fundraising will all be parts of this. Though there’s still some work involved, you’ll start your charity off on the right foot.
