How To Start a Nonprofit - Intro


You and others in your community see a problem that needs to be solved or an opportunity to make things better. Maybe you’ve been helping your community and see a chance to do even more. But it will require funding to take your work to the next level. You know it will be a lot of work, but you courageously step forward to make a difference. 

You are in good company. There are 1.5 million nonprofit organizations in the U.S. Approximately 28,000 nonprofits are registered in Arizona. With all these nonprofits already in existence — and so many struggling to stay in existence — it is important to reflect on whether creating a new organization is the best route to having the impact you want. 

How to Start a Nonprofit invites you and the people working with you to think about the difference you seek to make and the structure best suited to move forward. It leads you through key decision-making steps to determine whether a nonprofit is the best way to accomplish your goals. If you decide to move forward with a nonprofit, How to Start a Nonprofit guides you through the compliance and good-practice steps to become operational.  

You may be feeling impatient to get started. At this point, however, it is critical to pause, reflect, imagine, and meet with interested people in your community. You need to plan around important questions that will ultimately strengthen your organization’s ability to succeed.  

How to Start a Nonprofit represents a collection of knowledge, experience, and research from nonprofit leaders and organizations that serve the nonprofit sector. We bring you from idea to organization, helping you take the first step in a journey that will require many other resources.

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