Today is our final day in our Grant Your StartUp Wish Wednesday series. It’s been very rewarding to get to know several new members and to do a bit of research and work with other Fairy Godmothers to grant these wishes. We’ve presented ideas and possibilities on how to find new clients, increase web traffic, improve search engine optimization, PR, and how to increase sales for a new book. If you missed our previous wishes, please visit our “grant your start up wish” category on our blog.
Now we’re going to turn to you, our readers with non-profit experience to help grant StartUp Princess Jennifer Kent Schroeder’s wish…a very deserving one! I’ll be connecting Jennifer with Fairy Godmother Deborah Gardner, Executive Director of One Heart Bulgaria and Fairy Godmother Julie Lenzer Kirk who has a lot of connections in the pet food industry as well, however, we’d love to hear your ideas and suggestions!
My greatest wish is to start a non-profit business that 1)provides and delivers food to shut-ins for their pets. Often these people will feed their pets what little food they have before feeding themselves. 2) Find home for the pets of terminally ill people once they have passed on. Pets are a huge part of all of our lives and to give people the comfort of knowing their pets will be taken care of after they are gone would bring tremendous peace of mind to people who are already dealing with so much.
My dilemma – I know nothing about navigating the world of non-profit businesses and how to even get one started, finding resources to help and how to obtain donations from large pet food companies such as Purina. I really want to start this endeavor up but I am really at a loss where to start.
This is an issue I’ve considered about with my Grandma’s little dogs…what will become of them when she passes on, likely my mom will take them…but what if my Grandma didn’t have any other relatives willing to do that? It would be comforting to her to know that someone would step in and keep them healthy and happy. My neighbor recently rescued a little poodle that was released into local fields…it makes me wonder, did his “mom” pass on?
I would start by talking to local veterinarians. The pet companies cater to them, so they might have good contacts for you.
My other nugget of advice is that running a non-profit requires business skills. I once worked for an educational charity that hired a bunch of teachers for non-curriculum roles. They didn’t really know what they were doing.
Hi Nathania! I appreciate your ideas here, smart approach to begin with local community, also she might have luck with networking with her local PetSmart and pet shops.
What a great idea! I have worked in the pet food industry for almost 17 years on the manufacturing side and I have seen large pet food companies donate pet food in the case of natural disasters, etc. I am sure they have a budget for this. I would start with their marketing departments and tell them what you’re doing and ask who you should talk to. I would be happy to make some intros for you – let’s do that via e-mail.
As for the non-profits, I have been on the Board of many different non-profits. You want to incorporate as a 501(c)3 so that you can take cash donations and the company donating can write it off. There is a company that will do that for you for $250 http://www.501c3.org. That is the first step.
I agree with Nathania that running a non-profit is very much like running a business in that you have to match your expenses and income (grants, donations, etc). The only difference is that you don’t get to take out any ‘extra’ money you might have and keep it for yourself, though you absolutely can pay yourself a reasonable salary.
You go, girl!
Oh, I’m so excited. I got my charity tax exemption last October. It has been almost a year.
I remember thinking about this idea for a few years and asked many people what to do. Most just responded that it is a lot of work and just have an attorney take care of it. Finding out the exorbitant prices, I knew that I had to do it myself.
After a couple of months of hard work and many hours, I sent off my application. About two months later, I received my tax exemption number and framed it.
I would love to help you and maybe lead you on a path that will help you get your tax exempt status.
It is so wonderful that you have decided to make a positive change in the world.
Thank you all for your wonderful comments and advice. I can think of no greater reward for myself than to be able to give back to people and animals that are experiencing difficult times.
Thank you all for your advice and offers for assistance. I am sure it will be a much easier to accomplish my goals with all of your help.
I have been a bit apprehensive to get started because of my lack of knowledge in the world of non-profit. However, now with all of your words of encouragement I am ready to get started.
Thank you to everyone!
This is excellent information! I never even thought of offering a service like this. As an avid animal lover, I would love to see you succeed! Good luck!!
Wendy-congrats on your startup! I’ll be contacting you, I want to hear more about it.
Jennifer-glad that you’re excited to get the ball rolling and exercise your magic wand too! You can do it–you have a support network and a couple of Fairy Godmothers now to help out, the SBDC is awesome, and SCORE.org is also very helpful..you’re on your way!
Jamie-yes! It is an amazing idea! Thanks for encouraging Jennifer!