9 Ways To Start A Charity In 2021

Charities and non-profit organizations, like the business sectors, are badly hit by the pandemic. With less money going around, charity organizations can no longer rely on their main donors to fund major activities. This key challenge is compounded by restrictions on non-essential travels and activities, including fund-raising programs and charity balls. 

However, members of the underprivileged sectors remain worst-hit by the pandemic. While most of us are holding on to every penny, like any another year, there’s always room for starting a non-profit organization. 

If you’re driven to restore faith in humanity and want to help marginalized people amid these difficult times, create your own charity organization. It can be a daunting task, but not at all impossible. Get ready to roll up your sleeves and do the following steps:

1. Choose Your Advocacy

A non-profit organization’s raison d’etre hinges on a specific cause, and formulating your objectives and your purpose are the cornerstones for creating a charity. While you’re free to choose any mission that’s closest to your heart—low-income families, the homeless, orphans, the elderly, or victims of various injustices—a more specific cause may be able to help your charity stand out from the rest. Being different from hundreds or thousands of other non-profits may encourage interested philanthropists to donate to your cause. 

If you want to help victims of a rare disease, there could be other means to assist them other than funding a patient care center. Consider raising funds for research or subsidizing the costs for treatment.       

Your mission should include specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, and time-based (SMART) goals and a set of rules to guide you in achieving these objectives.           

2. Pick a Name for Your Non-Profit

Aside from choosing a unique name, think of a charity name that’s recognizable and easy to remember. It can also be a short definition of what your organization does or the name of the group that your charity wants to help.  

Some foundations choose the name of an inspiring person who may have contributed to a specific advocacy, to give it a more distinct label. This, however, needs more preparation, such as the securing the consent of the family or the person’s heirs.

3. Create a Plan of Action

It’s one thing to formulate your mission and vision, and it’s another thing to create your plan of action to achieve your set goals. Make, at least, a two-year plan, including your set-up, operational methods and, of course, fundraising strategies.    

How many persons are you planning to hire and run your campaign? Which core departments do you need to have? Who does what? Are you focusing on in-person donations or will you prioritize online charity donations like becoming a recipient of a non-profit paypal giving fund?    

Having answers to these essential operational considerations can help you run your non-profit more effectively. 

4. Register with Authorities

Before your organization can make use of its tax-free status, you need to have your organization registered under relevant government agencies such as the Internal Revenue Services (IRS) or its counterpart departments in the country where you want to operate in. States and countries have various documentary requirements, so you have to coordinate with the a few agencies to make sure you won’t have problems later on. 

If you skip this step, you may be facing heavy fines and legal problems with your fund-raising and overall operations down the road. 

5. Hire a Consultant 

Consider hiring an attorney or an accountant who is familiar with government rules on charities to help you out with your application and initial operations. 

Moreover, you can hire an experienced consultant or set up a board to ask for some advice on how to effectively run your fledgling non-profit organization. More than helping you out with your initial operations, these consultants may have useful fundraising contacts who may be willing to become your long-term partners.      

6. Launch a website

Because of the pandemic restrictions still in place in most countries, establishing your online presence can help create awareness about your cause. Publishing your mission, vision, and plans through your website helps convey transparency among potential donors. 

Make sure your pages have comprehensive information about your organization, as this can help donors know more about your charity work and eventually push them to donate. 

Don’t forget to place “Donate Now” buttons to make donating seamless. 

7. Raise Funds

It takes months, sometimes years, to find regular and large-scale donors. That’s why, before starting with your operations, make sure to have, at least, a year’s worth of funds to keep everything running. Unlike a business venture, it’s not recommended to set up your charity by securing a loan. Being a non-profit, it’s highly probable that you’ll not make money out of your organization. 

The most ideal way of raising funds is to ask for bigger and more established non-government organizations to support your charity. Prepare a great presentation to “sell” your advocacy to groups that are willing to provide grants in line with your cause.     

8. Focus on Your Online Operations (For Now)

There are various ways in which a charity organization can raise funds: door-to-door collection, street fairs, fun runs, mail-in donations or online charity donations, or art exhibits; the list is virtually endless. However, with the pandemic, non-profit organizations are focusing their operations online. Be creative in organizing online fundraisers. For instance, launch online auctions and other forms of selling for a cause.   

Aside from placing “Donate Now” buttons in conspicuous places on your website, consider joining the non-profit paypal giving fund for that extra boost. Your charity will appear more legitimate this way, being included in the list of non-profit organizations recommended by the said online payment platform giant.      

9. Seek Assistance from Family and Friends

While it’s important to keep your operations systematic and professional, don’t discourage your friends and family to assist you. As a matter of fact, they may likely be your major support group in the first few weeks of creating your charity organization.  Encourage your network of friends and family members to share and like your posts to create awareness and maybe to donate. 

Donation-based crowdfunding is increasingly becoming popular, and you may tap sites that offer crowdfunding to raise money for your specific charity or cause.

The Bottom Line

Creating your own non-profit or charity organization involves a great passion for helping others and a sheer determination to make things happen. With the backing of a great support group, including your family and friends, you can succeed in convincing others to join your cause, even when penny-pinching is the new norm.