How to start a nonprofit
Updated 2024-05-05
A reader wrote and asked me how to evaluate whether starting a nonprofit would be a good career choice for her, but she didn’t know where to start. She also asked whether formal education in nonprofit management is required for success.
Nonprofit vs For Profit
The first decision to evaluate is whether the type of work you want to do would be best done in a nonprofit or for-profit setting. In 2023, the Harvard Business Review (HBR) reported that the line is now blurred between nonprofits and socially minded entrepreneurs, so founders interested in social impact should evaluate variables such as the nature of the market, the customer base, the availability of capital, and the labor pool. The HBR article lists these reasons why you might decide to start a nonprofit instead of a socially responsible for-profit business:
(1) The market is small, young, and fragmented;
(2) Your business idea is not profitable to reach and serve at scale and will require subsidies;
(3) You have a better chance to secure philanthropic capital than venture capital;
(4) You have access to a labor pool willing to receive below-market pay in exchange for the reward of mission alignment.
Volunteer
If you don’t already have experience in the nonprofit setting, I highly recommend doing some reality testing by volunteering for organizations similar to the one you may launch on your own. By volunteering, you can get an insider view of the nonprofit world, and you will meet nonprofit professionals who can guide and mentor you. Here are some websites to help you find volunteer opportunities:
Education and Training
There are many ways to acquire education and training about running a nonprofit. I recommend starting with free ones.
NonprofitReady.org - 600+ free learning resources.
NonProfitHub.com - Free classes such as “Start a Nonprofit,” “Grant Writing Basics,” and “Essentials of Nonprofit Accounting.”
Nonprofit Leadership Center - Free on-demand webinars in a good variety of topics. An example is “Position Your Nonprofit to Thrive in a Post-Pandemic World."
You could also consider formal education in nonprofit management, but don’t start with any large investment until you’ve explored some of the free resources above. In some cases, you may already have an advanced degree in your specific field of knowledge, like social work or public health, and in those cases, you probably don’t want to invest in a second master’s degree.
If you have questions about nonprofit careers or career advice to share, please send the info to me, and I may include it in a future article.
