Starting a non-profit in the USA

In My Humble Opinion
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Okay, I wasn’t sure if this was more appropriate here or in GQ, thought it would go in either. Since you are some of the smartest people on the planet, where else would I go to get good advice for my idea. If you think my idea sucks, please don’t say so as I don’t want to go into this with a stamp of failure on my forehead. I am not good with that kind of thing when it comes to ideas I might have…I might as well crawl into a deep hole and curl in a ball. < giggle >

Well, here’s my idea.

I would like to start a Culinary Arts program locally for kids that hate school but need some skills to get them a decent job if and when they graduate. Not a mentoring program but a fun program that meets once a week and teaches everything from basic cooking skills to very highly mastered culinary techniques.

These kids would be from poor families and those that have been incarcerated for various crimes. It wouldn’t be a huge program but one that would give kids some sense of accomplishment from day one.

Also, thinking big and grand (of course) I would like to offer a pre-teen program that gives kids some of the very basics of how to cook etc…

The cool think about this type of program is that kids get to see immediate results of what they do. Be it how to marinate and cook a steak properly or learn how to create a salad that looks tastier than it is but they could learn how to take risks with food – good risks. It’s not about creating a masterpiece but being positive that success can happen.

I am planning on meeting with a restaurant owner and his master chef this week thanks to my brother and also to work with my uncle who is the director of Youth For Christ in our city. There are so many programs that focus on construction and other vocations but this could be a very creative and rewarding program if done right…

So, anyone have any thoughts on how to start a non-profit, any thoughts on how to raise funding and how to get the word out that you exist?

I was thinking of some fun things to get kids motivated like talk to the organization that puts together the “Taste of Colorado” that features restaurants and chefs in our area and see, if this gets off the ground, if the kids could be a part of it. Also, I had an idea of once the kids were more comfortable with their cooking skills, to go to local, state run elderly homes and cook for them. This would cement their skills but also create a sense of volunteerism.

My ideas are big, the wallet is not as big but any help from anyone that has started a NP would be appreciated.

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I forgot, I also would like some ideas for a name. Something with Culinary Arts in the title…but remember this is geared towards kids so it needs to be fun.

Your help is so appreciated.

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The town of my upbringing has a school called the Golden Strip Career Center that has culinary arts program that was very popular. The school, in general, was also in very good graces with the school board, especially on bugeting issues. I know that a school is not the same thing as a non-profit organization, but here is some information on it to help you get a start.

http://www.greenville.k12.sc.us/gstripcc/index.htm

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Techchick,
I wish you luck. I was one of a team that started a non-profit 2 years ago. It went from being an incredibly rewarding experience, to hell on earth, and back - sometimes within a period of than 24 hours.

Anyway, for more specific questions, send me email - I do have some tips that may help or may not, depending on what you wish to do.

-amarinth

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For a name, Culinary Kids? Or, to be cute, Kulinary Kids. :slight_smile:

I’m not definite about how you would get funding and what not, but I’d imagine if you went to several big restaurants in your town (or even several little ones…), they’d be willing to help as long as they were recognized. Stuff like that is good for business.

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Hi Techick68,

I founded a non-profit several years ago and am still serving as chairman. I love it, it’s the best work I’ve ever done, and I hope some day to be able to quit my day job and work the charity full time.

Forming the non-profit is the easy part. The simplest way is to invest in a “How to start your own Non-Profit” book. I forgoet which one I have, but if you want to know I can e-mail the info to you. The book will tell you what forms you need from the IRS, how to determine what type of non-profit you want to be and all that jazz.

Funding is the hard part. Even if you get tax exempt satatus, it will be on a temporary basis for 5 years, after which time the IRS will take a look at what you’ve done and decide if they want to give you perm status. The problem with this is that most grant-giving organizations will only give to non-profits with permanent tax exempt status. On the plus side, applying for grants is serious business and you’ll probably need several years to figure out what your doing with your non-p, research available grants and figure out how to write the proposal, so you’ll need the time. In the meantime, you will probably have to rely on small donations from wherever you can get them and money raised through holding fund raisers.

Speaking from experience, money is ALWAYS the problem. Everyone I know who runs non-profits reports the same, though several books I’ve bought tell cute stories about how easy it is and give examples of some little twit who raised $5,000 on a weekend to feed all the stray dogs in Central Park. For us, the money has come slowly and through a lot of hard work–and we’re still struggling. Next year we’ll be eligable for grants, and I’m surely going to try to get us some, but from what I read it can be about as hard as getting published. Unless you have a rich benefactor, my advise would be to start thinking now about how to do it real cheap. You can always (and hopefully will) grow later.

Getting the word out about your organization can also be difficult. Advertising is expensive and printers and publishers get hit up everyday to do things for free/reduced rates so it’s hard to find someone who’ll give you a break. Postage is also really expensive. We’ve just started sending our newsletters out via e-mial instead of the post becasue it’s just too darn expensive to print and mail. On the other hand, e-mailing is practically free, so that’s a big plus.

When we have a fundraiser, we slap posters wherever we can get away with putting them up, send special mailings to our supporters, and sometimes we can get a church or YMCA or restaurant or something (depending on the event) to let us advertise through them. It’s still really hard to reach the amount of people you need to get a good showing. I believe typical response rate for people who are not personally invited to an event is less than 1%, so to get 100 people to turn out, you’d have to get enough posters and announcements out to insure that 10,000 people saw (and read) your ads. It’s tough. Not impossible, but it does require a lot of work and committment.

I think you’ve got a great idea and I hope it works out for you. One last piece of advise—before you start, make sure you REALLY want to do this for the next 20 years or so. It will take you many years to build the organization up and before that, it’s really hard to get people involved. You can get volunteers for a one-time thing, but you probably won’t find anyone with enough committment level to take the project over if you change your mind. Also, before you have made a name for yourself and have an established track record, people are sometimes leary. They’ll give money to an organization with fancy brochures (who may be a complete fraud), but many people are afraid to give to a ‘no-name’. Like everyting else, once it’s big and successful everyone wants to be a part of it but before that you can’t get squat. Nothing sucks more than to start something, get kids hopes up and then abandon it, so do be sure you really want this.

If you’re interested in knwoing more about how we got started feel free to e-mail me. Good Luck!

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The very first thing you’ll need is an Employer Identification Number, which is a Social Security Number for non-human legal entities. You can download form SS-4 with instructions from
http://www.irs.gov/plain/forms_pubs/forms.html

There’s a phone number on the form which you can call to set up the EIN pretty much instantly. You will also want to call the IRS at 1 800 829 1040 and request package 1023 and 1024. These will include the qualifications for tax exemption (which is what you’re really trying for, tax exemption, as opposed to simply being not-for-profit) under a number of different sections of the tax code, including 501©(3), which is the most widely known section.

I went through some of this just a couple of months ago, and contrary to public opinion the IRS could not have been nicer about helping me out. Especially “Miss Dixon,” who was an absolute gem, and the gentleman ho spoke with me for an hour one night going over the fine points of the tax code (whose name I didn’t get to my regret). A book that the IRS highly recommends is Hopkins’ “Law of Tax-Exempt Organizations.”

IANAL and you shouldn’t rely on me for legal advice, but you’ll also want to check state law. In my state, there’s a way for an organization to become what’s caled an unincorporated nonprofit association, and with that comes an assumption of tax-exempt status on the state level.

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Thanks all, keep em coming – the more ideas the better!!!

< good group of people on this board I say >