How to start a non-profit, Part II
Hello all,
I’m not usually that nice of a guy, but the idea of starting something that helps pilots and their loved ones has kind of gotten to me. Maybe its Christmas, I don’t know. So I have been doing a little research and want to share what I have learned, in hopes that someone will read this and recognize a way to help.
I am pretty lazy by nature, so I am trying to find existing information and copy it, hence the links to other web sites. My innate laziness is driving me to seek the quickest way to our goal of assisting the families of pilots who are killed or injured on the job.
Starting a non-profit organization is a long, multi step process. It requires a fair amount of time and effort up front, as well as a good deal of ongoing effort. Depending on our goals and abilities, we may be able to skip or consolidate some of these steps. From my limited knowledge, here are some of the steps that need to be taken, and a possible work-around.
Starting a non-profit
Step 1) Incorporation- A non-profit first must be incorporated as a non-profit. I found a place that will file the papers for about $150.00. I don’t know the first thing about them other than they exist, but they have an online form that looks pretty complete:
https://www.inc-it-now.com/nonprofit.htm
Steps 2 through ????- Once incorporated, a non-profit needs a lot of things; at a minimum, it would need a bank account, someone to keep the books, a business plan, a set of standards for who is eligible for assistance and how much, and a way to raise funds. Of these, I think the fund raising will be the easiest step as I think there are a lot of people on this board willing to provide a little financial help.
As far as the real work of starting and maintaining a new non-profit, I found another web site called
www.nonprofits.org. It has a ton of very useful information, probably everything a new organization would need to know. There is a section devoted to starting non-profit charitable organizations:
http://www.nonprofits.org/npofaq/02/01.html
The thrust of this FAQ I think is to warn the novice not to put the cart before the horse. In other words, don’t spend all of your time and effort getting federal 501 (c)(3) status and filing incorporation papers and reporting papers in multiple states when there may be a better way, at least to start.
How to start a non-profit without actually starting a non-profit
From reading what these experts have to say, I think partnership is the way to go. I think we need to target an existing aviation related non-profit to help us sponsor a fund for this worthy cause. Here is a list of already existing aviation-related non profit organizations:
http://www.legalvectors.com/Aviation Organizations.htm
I am sure this is nowhere near a comprehensive list. I bet many of us on this board are members of some of these organizations. Some of us may be members of other aviation or charitable contributions. Some of us may have connections within said organizations. Timebuilder, if you have any way of bringing this idea up with Phil Boyer, that would be great.
So here is the plan:
I think we should see if AOPA, or NAFI, or some other existing non-profit would be willing to help us create this fund. This way we avoid incorporation, most of the paperwork, most of the hassles, most of the things we know nothing about and they have already created.
We will write the business plan, start the fund, provide administrative help, make contributions, etc. We can also offer our talents, time, or financial support for their organization. They will get good press and happier, more dedicated members. We may get to start and contribute to a worthy cause with a minimum of paperwork and red tape.
What do you all think? Good idea? Am I high? Can anyone help? Orange Whips?
