Are you gearing up to start your social impact work by starting a non-profit
sometime in the next year? I want to help you out. In this video I'm going to share
20 tips for 2020 that I've picked up that have helped me be successful in
starting and growing a new nonprofit organization - just a couple of things that I've picked
up from some failures and successes of my own. Welcome back! If you are new to
this channel, my name is Amber Melanie Smith and I make these YouTube videos to
help aspiring changemakers with tips and strategies to help you change the world
while living a life of impact and purpose. So, I started my nonprofit
organization many years ago, and with a lot of hard work and some incredible
team members, supporters, and volunteers, have been able to grow it from nothing
to making a good impact in my community. Now I work full time for this
organization, so I can continue to oversee its growth and success. So here
are 20 tips that I hope will help you out based on what I've learned through
this process. Tip number one: Stay up-to-date and informed on the issue
that your nonprofit organization is going to tackle, whether that's hunger or
helping animals or the environment - whatever it may be. Make sure you are
reading the current research and news at least once a week so that you can stay
up to date and be an expert on this topic. Tip number two - keep your
organization's name simple but energizing. If you are still thinking
about what to call your new organization, don't make it too complicated. Focus on
simple, high energy words that invoke emotion and you want to really make sure
that it's something that's easy to say, easy to spell, easy to remember, and
avoids complex acronyms. Tip number three - study the landscape of who else is doing
similar work. Are there other organizations in your
area who are tackling the same mission that you are? You want to make sure you
know who they are and be able to articulate how you're different or
filling a gap that they are not able to fill. Funders and supporters really want
to know what makes you different and why they should support your organization
and it is competitive out there. Tip number four -
identify what success looks like for your organization. You want to be able to
clearly articulate on paper your specific concrete goals over the next
year and three years, and do this with numbers. How many people or animals will
you help, and how specifically will you be helping them? Will you be giving them
homes? Will you be providing them with a meal? Set a concrete goal for this year
and then plan backwards to achieve that goal. Tip number five - figure out how you
will measure that success. How exactly you know if you are accomplishing all
that you set out to and helping the people or animals or the environment the
way that you intend to? So figure out how you're going to measure and evaluate
your progress towards your annual goals, whether that's by collecting
testimonials, or collecting data or doing surveys or some other way. Funders and
supporters need to see and need to know that you're making progress towards your
goals. Tip number six - make sure you're working towards outcomes not just
outputs. An output is the number of something that you produce as an
organization - so number of meals served or pounds of clothing supplied to kids
in need. An outcome on the other hand is how you changed things from the
beginning to the end for the better, for example how you helped a child increase
their likelihood of getting into college, or help someone escape the cycle of
poverty. Tip number seven - recruit board members based on your goals for the
organization for the next three years if you need to triple the amount of people
you're serving or raise quadruple the amount of money that you need to operate
as an organization you want to make sure that you are finding and recruiting
board members with the skillsets to do those specific things tip number eight
flesh out your business plan you need to have a section on why the world needs
your nonprofit so your needs statement you need to be able to explain why your
organization needs support and how it's different from other organizations doing
similar things your business plan needs to include how
plan to measure success towards your goals and how you will be able to
consistently fundraise to stay sustainable tip number nine find and
hone your story this is the personal story of why you felt the need to get
involved in this work in the first place hone this message until it's relatable
and compelling and test it on friends to get their feedback tip number 10
practice speaking publicly being able to present your cause and tell your story
in public is a huge and highly impactful way to get support for your cause this
is a critical skill so if you're nervous try joining a Toastmasters or other
speaking group to practice in a welcoming environment tip number 11 is
to meet others in person whenever possible meet with supporters community
leaders volunteers in-person this space time can go a long way in building deep
relationships with the friends and supporters of your cause tip number 12
is to attend other community and cause centered events in your area doing this
will really help you understand the landscape of other organizations and
resources who are lifting up the community in your area plus meeting and
networking with other people who share your concern for the community can help
you build potential supporters for the future tip number 13 is make
volunteering for your organization easy you really want to find a low barrier
way that people in your community can get involved in your cause volunteering
is a great way for people to get to know what you're all about and get to know
you and Plus volunteers often become donors in the future
tip number 14 is to experiment with different fundraising strategies
fundraising is not a one-size-fits-all game some organizations are really good
at attracting grants and it's harder for others some are better at cultivating
individual donors and that might be harder for other organizations so find
the strategy and the method that works best for you in your model and make it
work tip number 15 is to make your life
easier by creating a template for those fundraising asks
for grants if your organization is one that asks for or relies on sponsorships
or grants it could save you some time by writing out the answers to the most
common questions you see on those applications so you can refer to them
quickly later just don't forget to tweak it each time you submit an application
to make sure it is customized for that particular funding source tip number 16
is to identify your unit cost this is the true cost that it takes your
organization to achieve an outcome knowing this information and sharing it
with donors can really inspire them to give more because it helps them
understand how the amount that they're donating will help your cause so a great
example would be with a hundred dollars we can ensure that twenty kids have a
meal at lunch time tip number 17 is to think people write those thank-you notes
quickly and often and regularly make sure you are inviting your donors your
volunteers your supporters to events where you can show them your
appreciation make sure people in your network know that you are grateful for
them regularly tip number 18 is to share success stories I would recommend that
you share a success even a small one at least once a week on social media share
the story of someone you helped or some great feedback you got from a supporter
just make sure that you have their permission to share what they said or
their picture on social media before you post tip number 19 is to take a break
make sure that you have enough time for your friends your family for personal
time for relaxing burnout is real especially in high pressure startup
situations and my final tip tip number 20 is do not lose yourself in the
process starting a non-profit can be really exciting but all consuming work
so don't forget your friends your families your hobbies and your other
interests during the time when you're working on your dreams to start a
non-profit you want to make sure you're maintaining a sense of identity outside
of your cause your mental and emotional well-being in the future will thank you
for it that's it so I'd really love to hear if you are in the process of
starting a nonprofit organization where are you
in this process what are your current challenges and how can the community
here help I really hope you found this video helpful good luck to you in your
change making journey my name is Amber Melanie Smith and I am a nonprofit
founder executive director and speaker on social impact nonprofits leadership
service and more don't forget to give me a like if you liked this video and
subscribe to my channel because I make weekly videos here on YouTube sometimes
more often than that depends what's going on on these topics how to start a
non-profit how to have your nonprofit grow and flourish how to make an impact
outside of the nonprofit world how to do well as a volunteer and everything so
please subscribe and share with your friends and I hope to see you here next
time one final comment if you are on Facebook don't forget to look up my
group change the world or bust I'm having other conversations with
changemakers there and you don't want to miss that so come on out check out my
group and I hope to see you there too thank you happy new year
have a great 2020 and see you soon