Читать книгу Nonprofit Kit For Dummies - Stan Hutton, Beverly A. Browning - Страница 30

Your chances of success increase if you begin with support from others, and the more help you have, the better. Sure, you can probably find an example of a single-minded visionary who battles alone through all sorts of adversity to establish a thriving nonprofit, but starting and running a nonprofit organization is essentially a group stakeholder activity.

When starting a nonprofit, find people, known as stakeholders, who will serve on the board of directors and support your efforts with donations of money and volunteer time. The first people you usually identify as supporters are family and friends. How can they turn you down? In the long run, however, you need to expand your group of supporters to others who believe in the organization’s mission (and not because you personally created it) and can give substantial financial contributions to a new nonprofit.

Identify and select the right people to join you in your mission. Some people hesitate to share their idea with others, because they believe that someone may steal it. We think this fear is largely unfounded. No matter what your idea is, you’re better off inviting others to join you in making it a reality.

To find people to help you and support your organization, take every opportunity to speak about your idea before civic groups, religious groups, and service clubs. You can pass out fliers or set up a booth at a volunteer fair. Set up Facebook and LinkedIn profile pages and invite your contacts to spread the word. Talk to your friends and coworkers. Put on your salesperson’s cap and convince the community that it needs your program and that you need their volunteer and financial support.

If you’re having a difficult time drumming up support, it may be a sign that you need to refine your idea or that others view it as impractical. You may need to go back to the drawing board. Ask yourself, “Is this something that I would pull out my wallet for and donate to support its mission?”