In this article we will focus on the 10 important things that your nonprofit organization needs once it’s established. Many nonprofit organizations don’t know which way to go after they become incorporated with the state and have their 501c3 status approved. FGF Team came up with 10 Things your nonprofit needs after its tax-exemption recognition. Our suggestions are as follows:

• State Registrations – or this is the Solicitation Registration. Most states in US require your nonprofit corporation to register once it has its 501c3 status approved in order to solicit funds from the general public. In some states like California, you also need to register with the Attorney General within 30 days after the nonprofit initially receives any money or property for charitable purposes; in Florida you need to fill in the application with Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services Division. Some other states are exempt from solicitation registrations.

 

• Business Plan – as your nonprofit organization has just begun with its activities, the Board of Directors might need some direction on how to achieve the organization’s goals. The biz plan is the instrument that will help your organization stand ahead of the other corporations providing similar services.

 

• Accounting System – once you have established your nonprofit organization, the Board of Directors will need to decide and set up an accounting system. When speaking of accounting system, we don’t only mean a system like QuickBooks or PeachTree, etc.; here we’d like you to establish a well-operating system for tracking all financial transactions, beginning with opening a bank account.

 

• Social Network Plan – nowadays more and more 501c3 organizations seek funding and promote their activities through social media. You need to consider creating a Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram… account. The social media networks will help you find sponsors and supporters to your charitable cause, and at the same time it’s an easy way to invite people to your nonprofit’s events.

 

• Marketing Plan – the marketing plan brings information on how you are going to promote the organization among the community; some nonprofit itemize the advertising goals and keep track of all mailings and distributions lists, brochures, pamphlets, etc.

 

• Board Minutes – each nonprofit organization should keep good records of the Board minutes. Board minutes are essential for evaluating the organization’s way of work and for tracking all the organization’s meetings and decisions made.

 

• Policies/Procedures – they vary depending on the services your nonprofit provides and the way you manage your nonprofit’s activities. Some examples of policies include: Document Retention Policy; Whistleblower Policy; Expense Reimbursement Policy; Board Decision-Making Policy, etc.

 

• Volunteers – each nonprofit organization should maintain a list of its volunteers. These are the supporters to your organization that devote their time and efforts for free and you should keep track of them, as you might need their help on the next charitable event you plan on organizing.

 

• Donors – likewise volunteers, each nonprofit organization should keep a list of the donors’ names, addresses and contact information. These are the individuals that donated to your organization and they might donate again. Showing your appreciation and reminding them on the success of the organization will bring their attention and willingness to support the organization again.

 

• Action Plan for grants – the action plan consists of all the available grants, the requirements for applying, the deadlines for filing the grant proposals and it also tracks the preparation of the grant proposals. It doesn’t really matter how you’re going to name it: action plan for grants, strategic plan or Grant projects – the plan needs to bring information on the available grants and your organization’s eligibility to apply for them.

 

Causes.com is the world’s largest platform for online campaigning. The platform enables people and organizations to connect for a common cause and prompts them to act together. With Causes’ help, its members have raised over $48M for charities, collected 34M petition signatures, and launched thousands of grassroots and awareness campaigns. It currently has 186 million registered users in 156 countries.

The company’s goal is to aid cause supporters of the nonprofit sector, religions, and politics with a tool to create and run campaigns to fundraise, raise awareness, and advocate. Their online platform applies innovative technology to philanthropy and social action.

Any individual, political organization, or nonprofit organization can create a profile and organize campaigns for free. Although $0 is paid to Causes for organizing campaigns, their processing company charges 4% for each donation.

To start fundraising on Causes, your nonprofit must submit a request for an organization profile, as well as its EIN, mission statement, address, phone number and the website. All information requested is used to verify the official status. Only 501c3 and 501c4 organizations are allowed to fundraise.

Causes is an open platform that provides tools for the organization to run their own campaigns. Campaign leaders are fully responsible for their page’s content, from each photo they post to the number of updates they schedule. You may customize your campaign’s look to fit your needs and preferences.

You will be given an administrator’s right to delete unwanted comments, post pictures and updates, share on social media, send invitations to support your campaign, and many more useful functions.

Helpful tips and guides on how to start your own campaign can be found on their website at http://blog.causes.com/tips-guides/starting-your-campaign/.

Causes is an effective crowdfunding tool which is worth exploring.