TOMS Shoes – Social Entrepreneuralism at Work

This recent article on MSNBC, “Building a Shoe Business Step by Step,” tells the story of the startup of the for-profit business, TOMS Shoes, and their decidedly “nonprofit” mission — putting shoes on the feet of every needy child. I think it is a great example of making a conscious decision to pick the business model that made the most sense to address the problem efficiently.

His business is based on a simple principle: For each pair of shoes that is sold, a pair is donated to a needy child. To date they have given away over 400,000 pairs of shoes, and their goal for 2010 is doubling sales, which would include giving away another 400,000 pairs.

At LaunchX we understand that sometimes the best idea is to start a nonprofit and sometimes the best path is a for-profit business. Whichever you choose, we have a complete startup kit to help you turn your idea into a successful organization.

Starting a Nonprofit? Start Here. Go Far. LaunchX.com

Grant Funds for School Libraries

From the recent GrantStation Insider Newsletter:

The Snapdragon Book Foundation seeks to foster children’s literacy by providing grants to school libraries throughout the United States serving disadvantaged youth. In a time when many schools are reallocating their funds to technology and audiovisual equipment, the Foundation hopes to make sure that school libraries are still offering children good books to read. Last year grants ranged from $500 to $2,000; however, this year the Foundation anticipates having greater funds to disburse and encourages all K-12 private, public, charter, and experimental schools to apply. The application deadline is April 30, 2010. Application guidelines and forms are available on the Foundation’s website.

Starting a Nonprofit? Start Here. Go Far. LaunchX.com

Fiscal Sponsorship in the Nonprofit Sector

Fiscal sponsorship is a special relationship between an existing nonprofit organization and a special project, fundraising drive, or new nonprofit organization that can be beneficial to both the existing nonprofit and the new organization. We’ve just posted three new articles about fiscal sponsorship on our website to provide information on the basics of these arrangements.

Fiscal Sponsorship — An Alternative to Launching a New Nonprofit

Models of Fiscal Sponsorship for Nonprofit Organizations

The Problems with Fiscal Sponsorship of Nonprofit Organizations

Starting a Nonprofit?  Start Here. Go Far. LaunchX.com

Cut Your Color Printing Costs Through Xerox Program

Xerox provides growing organizations with a professional quality color Phaser printer or multifunction printer for free through their FreeColorPrinters program — with no capital expense or lease payments. In return, members purchase their Phaser supplies from the Xerox online store at competitive prices for a 3 year period. It’s that simple!

Organizations that benefit the most from FreeColorPrinters print at least 2,000 color pages per month (4 reams) and spend at least $125/month on their business printing. Visit the Xerox website to find out more about the FreeColorPrinter program.

Starting a Nonprofit? Start Here. Go Far. LaunchX.com

Grant Support for Alzheimer’s Group Programs

From this weeks GrantStation.com Newsletter…

The Brookdale Foundation works to advance the fields of geriatrics and gerontology and to improve the lives of senior citizens. The Brookdale National Group Respite Program assists community-based efforts throughout the country in the development of social model Group Respite and Early Memory Loss (EML) programs for elders with Alzheimer’s disease or related dementia, and their families.

This initiative awards seed grants to service providers to develop and implement new, dementia-specific Group Respite or specialized EML programs. Up to 40 agencies will receive grants for $7,500 in the first year. Grants are renewable at $3,000 in the second year, based upon evaluation of the first year’s activities and potential for future continuity of the program. The application deadline is July 1, 2010. Visit the Brookdale Foundation’s website to download the 2010 RFP application form and guidelines.

Starting a Nonprofit? Start Here. Go Far. LaunchX.com

Soliciting Donations When Times are Tough

I recently discovered this blog posting from a year ago at The NonProfit Times with several hints on how to ask for donations when the economy is down. It’s as relevant to nonprofit organizations today as it was a year ago. In fact, the advice is sound no matter what the economy is doing! In a nutshell…

• Be Friendly — Yes, the economy is filled with bad news. You don’t have to be! Everyone can use some upbeat, positive energy. If you exude confidence and optimism, you will help your potential donor have some too.
• Get Face Time — It is easy to ignore an email or letter, much harder to ignore a live person talking directly to you. So spend some time in order to ask for those donations.
• It’s Tax Deductible — This can be a big selling point for some donors, so if donations to your organization qualify, be sure to mention it AND be ready with a proper receipt.
• Sell the Benefits — Don’t forget to tell them the WIIFM (What’s in it for me?). If they get a mention in your newsletter, advertisting at the field, or on your website, be sure to explain in business terms. “A weekly newsletter with a circulation of 750 local residents.”
• Incentives — Closely related to benefits, if you can provide a special incentive — such as a joint press release or other publicity that will provide business to the donor, be sure to offer it.
• Build Relationships — Asking for donations is far easier if you have established a relationship with the donor. Don’t ask for money every visit. On the first meeting, spend the time informing and learning. Build the relationship over time, and soon it will be possible to add them to your list of ongoing donors.

And a couple of my own:

• Donations in Kind — While it may be difficult for some donors to part with cash right now, be open to asking for donations of services or products. If your organization can use the product or service directly, great! If not, you can use the donated items as incentives or premiums to get cash donations from other donors? (Free Car Wash with $50 donation.)
• Volunteers — If you get a “we can’t donate this time,” be prepared with a volunteer opportunity — “Can you volunteer on Saturday next week to help us get the monthly newsletter addressed and mailed?” If they can’t donate money, perhaps they will donate time.

Starting a Nonprofit? Start Here. Go Far. LaunchX.com

Talking Up Your Nonprofit

When you are starting a nonprofit, you are going to need a number of people to be a part of your new organization. You will need donors, volunteers, and board members. Where are you going to find them? Anywhere you find people!

One of the tenets of a successful business is to always talk about your business with the people you meet. This is doubly true for nonprofit organizations, because they run on the donations and efforts of so many individual people. You don’t have to be obnoxious or pushy, but when asked “What’s new?” or “what do you do?”, be prepared with a few sentences about your nonprofit organization, including some type of call to action. Also, have your nonprofit’s business cards with you to hand out…even if the person you talk to isn’t interested, they may well know someone who is and pass your information along.

For example, the founder of an animal shelter might say, when asked “What’s new?”, “I’m in the planning stages for a new animal shelter that will provide short-term shelter for dogs and cats displaced when their owner’s move to assisted living and nursing facilities until they can be placed with other rescue groups or adopted into homes. Right now we are putting together a mailing list of people who are interested in serving as foster homes for dogs and cats. You can find out more and sign up on our website…” Then hand them a business card that includes the website address.

Use these informal opportunities to spread the word about your nonprofit organization, identify people who have an interest in what you are doing, and possibly round up some donors, volunteers, or board members.

Starting a Nonprofit? Start Here. Go Far. LaunchX.com

Use Volunteers to Cut Expenses

When you are starting a nonprofit, your first budget may seem unbalanced — with expenses outpacing income and donations. One way to balance that budget is to use volunteers to cut expenses. Any service that you are currently paying for — from office cleaning to website maintenance to accounting — is a candidate for replacement by a volunteer.

You may be able to get a single volunteer to pick up a specific service or it may take a group of volunteers to replace your existing service provider, but it is a good way to cut the expenses of your nonprofit while getting more volunteers involved in your cause. You may also be able to get your service providers to “volunteer” and provide the service for free or at a reduced cost. They get a tax break and you get a budget break.

So, while you are trying to balance your budget, keep your eyes open for opportunities to cut expenses by using volunteers.

Starting a Nonprofit? Start Here. Go Far. LaunchX.com

Blackbaud Offers Nonprofits Free Fundraising Seminars

In this  press release, Blackbaud, a global provider of software and services designed specifically for nonprofit organziations, announces a free web-based seminar series on rapid response fundraising. The free series, entitled Lessons Learned from Haiti, includes five seminars that will kick-off on March 11 and will continue through May.

“The ‘Lessons Learned from Haiti’ series is designed to help nonprofit professionals learn from both their peers and industry experts on how to successfully perform relief fundraising using emerging tools and technology that allow them to quickly reach their constituents,” said Steve MacLaughlin, presenter and Blackbaud’s director of Internet solutions. “The series will also focus on providing nonprofits strategies for stewarding and retaining disaster donors.”

Nonprofit professionals can sign up for these free web seminars at www.blackbaud.com/LessonsLearned.

Starting a Business? Start Here. Go Far. LaunchX.com

Online Collaboration Software FREE to Nonprofits

In a recent press release, Riverock Technologies announced the availability of their OnePlace online software free of charge to non-profit organizations, charities and schools. OnePlace provides an online suite of tools such as project management and team collaboration to improve small business organization and online communication. Non-profit and charity organizations can sign up for OnePlace Silver Plan free of charge at http://www.oneplacehome.com.

Why are they doing this? According to Steve Kickert, CEO and co-founder of OnePlace, “At OnePlace, we believe in helping those who are helping others, and paying it forward is a strong component of our culture. A good business model always gives back to the community it serves. ”

Starting a Nonprofit? Start Here. Go Far. LaunchX.com