Nonprofit Kit For Dummies^®, 5th Edition

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      Library of Congress Control Number: 2016958912

      ISBN 978-1-119-28006-4 (pbk); ISBN 978-1-119-28008-8 (ebk); ISBN 978-1-119-28009-5 (ebk)

      Introduction

      It may sound corny, but we feel a certain sense of mission when it comes to nonprofits. We’ve started them, directed them, raised funds for them, consulted for them, volunteered for them, given money to them, and written about them. We’ve worked with nonprofits in one way or another for more years than we care to remember.

      Why have we continued to work for nonprofit organizations? Yes, we care about others and want to see the world become a better place – our values are important to us. But, to be honest, that’s not the only reason we’ve worked for nonprofit organizations for so many years. We believe the reason is that we can’t think of anything more interesting or more challenging to do.

      Starting a new program is exciting. Getting your first grant is thrilling. Working with the multifaceted personalities that come together on a board of directors is fascinating. Learning a new skill because no one else is there to do it is fun. Seeing the faces of satisfied clients, walking along a restored lakeshore, hearing the applause of audiences – all are gratifying.

      That’s why we do it.

      About This Book

      When we refer to nonprofit organizations, unless we say otherwise, we’re talking about organizations that have been recognized as 501(c)(3) nonprofits and are considered public charities by the IRS.

      We try to cover the gamut in this book – everything you need to know to start and manage a charitable organization, from applying for your tax exemption to raising money to pay for your programs. We include supplemental information at Dummies.com, including forms to help you create a budget, examples of grant proposals, and links to websites where you can find more help.

      We also attempt to give you a bird’s-eye view of the economy’s nonprofit sector. When you look at financial resources, for example, nonprofits are much like the rest of the world: Most of the wealth is held by relatively few nonprofit organizations, a certain number of them are in the middle, and many, many more struggle to make ends meet.

      We try to be honest about the difficulties you’ll sometimes face. You probably won’t be able to achieve everything you set out to accomplish, and you’ll always wish you had more resources to do more things. Still, we can’t imagine doing anything else. Maybe you’ll feel the same way after you jump into the nonprofit world.

      As you’re reading, you may note that some web addresses break across two lines of text. If you’re reading this book in print and want to visit one of these web pages, simply key in the web address exactly as it’s noted in the text, pretending the line break doesn’t exist. If you’re reading this as an e-book, you’ve got it easy – just click the web address to be taken directly to the web page.

      Foolish Assumptions

      When writing this book, we made some assumptions about who may be interested in reading it. Here are some of the readers we imagined:

      If you’re one of these people, we’re confident that this book will answer your questions and give you the information you’re seeking.

      Icons Used in This Book

      We use the following icons throughout the book to flag particularly important or helpful information.

      

The Remember icon emphasizes important information that you should be ready to put into practice.

      

You may not need this technical stuff today (and can skip over it), but – who knows? It may be invaluable tomorrow.

      

This icon is posted next to little hints and suggestions gleaned from our experience over the years.

      

Warnings are just what you think they may be. We alert you to information that can help you avoid problematic situations.

      Beyond the Book

      In addition to the material in the print or e-book you’re reading right now, this product also comes with some access-anywhere goodies on the web. Check out the free Cheat Sheet for a list of steps that are necessary for securing nonprofit status from the IRS, a rundown of the roles and responsibilities of people who sit on the board of directors for