Nonprofit Founders Club Alesha Mathis

Building a successful nonprofit is hard especially if you don’t have a roadmap. I know first hand from my days on a new nonprofit’s Board. I had nonprofit experience in larger organizations so I knew what one looked like from the inside but I saw so many things that needed to be done. I Googled “start a nonprofit” and got plenty of articles on the paperwork but after the 501(c)3, there wasn’t much help. So, I began researching the reasons nonprofits fail in the first year. I figured that was a problem to tackle so we weren’t just another statistic. And what came out of my research and talking to other Founders was my book, I Have My 501(c)3! Now What?!? As I talked more to Founders and mentored them, I found it wasn’t enough. That’s why I created the Build a Successful Nonprofit framework to help Founders put together the pieces that create a successful nonprofit- one that covers costs and builds infrastructure. This Framework governs everything I do in my business. There are three pillars to the framework.
Topics discussed in this episode: 
- Pillar 1: Infrastructure Pillar [00:01:25] 
- Board [00:03:00] 
- Strategic Plan [00:03:21] 
- Tactical Plan and Budget [00:04:30]
- Program Development [00:05:21]
- Policies and Procedures [00:06:30]
- Fundraising Foundations [00:07:08]
- Pillar 2: Time Management Pillar [00:12:09] 
- Pillar 3:Fundraising Basics Pillar [00:13:37]
- Know Your Donors [00:14:30]
- Know Your Strategy [00:15:19]
- Know Your Plan [00:15:45] 
- How the Framework Solves the Problems of Lack of Infrastructure and Lack of Funding [00:16:00]  
Resources mentioned in this episode: 
- Grant Ready Program Development Template [00:06:03]
- Payment Processor- Givebox [00:08:03]
- Email Service Provider- MailChimp (free up to 2,000 email addresses) [00:09:30]
- Email Service Provider- MailerLite (free up to 1,000 email addresses) [00:09:30]
- Email Service Provider- Constant Contact (free trial) [00:09:30]
- Free Accounting Software- Wave App [00:10:05] 
- Donor Database- Little Green Light (Deep Discount through TechSoup) [00:12:00]
- A Founder's Guide to Building a Nonprofit Without Being the Sole Funder [00:17:38]
Episode transcript:
S2Ep1 Transcript
You Might Like: 
- Join The Nonprofit Founder’s Club™ 
- Download the free A Founder's Guide to Building a Nonprofit Without Being the Sole Funder
- Join the email list that gives you more tips and information monthly
-  Check out the Nonprofit Founder’s University where you can get courses to help you build your nonprofit.

The first time I saw financial statements, it was a different language. Fortunately, I was in an Accounting class and I learned how to read and put them together. When I sat on my first nonprofit Board, I was glad to have someone experienced in those documents in charge of getting them to the members. I never had to wonder which documents I needed.
If you’ve never sat in a Board meeting, you have no idea of the financial documents you need to fulfill your legal duties to the nonprofit. Today, we talk to Sandra Ray, CPA about those financial statements. Sandra specializes in nonprofit tax law and accounting so she understands what Boards need to stay legal.
In this episode, we go into who is responsible for creating and presenting these documents, the exact documents your Board needs, and why these statements are necessary.
 
Resources mentioned in this episode: 
Sandra’s Contact Information
Website- www.sandraeraycpa.com
LinkedIn- Sandra E. Ray, CPA
Facebook- Sandra E. Ray, CPA
Facebook Group: No Nonsense Nonprofits
Email for samples of the documents discussed: sandraray@sandraeraycpa.com
 
Episode transcript: Transcript 
 
Explore Further: 
- Join The Nonprofit Founder’s Club™ free Facebook Group
- Download the free A Founder's Guide to Building a Nonprofit Without Being the Sole Funder
- Join the email list that gives you more tips and information monthly
-  Check out the Nonprofit Founder’s University where you can get courses to help you build your nonprofit.
- Have you checked out the book I Have My 501(c)3! Now What?!? It’s available on Amazon.
-  Do you want to get support to implement all the things? Join the Nonprofit Founder’s Society today.

This episode is a continuation of our Build a Successful Nonprofit Framework topic. We are going in-depth with the first pillar, Infrastructure. This pillar focuses on three areas with nine steps total- Management, Policies and Procedures, and Fundraising Foundations. 
The 9 Steps were born after I tried Googling “Start a Nonprofit” and found tons of information on the actual steps to create a nonprofit but nothing about what happens once you have your 501(c)3. I hear that over and over from Founders too. There is a sentiment of, “Now what”. It was out of my frustration that I sat down and researched why new nonprofits fail in the first year. My research showed over and over that lack of infrastructure and lack of funding were the two main reasons nonprofits fail. So, I began asking what infrastructure builds funding? What needs to be in place to create a nonprofit that can easily find funding? The 9 steps were formulated. They are the foundations of the Infrastructure Pillar of the Build a Nonprofit Framework. 
 
Topics discussed in this episode: 
- Management [00:02:30]
- Boards [00:02:43]
- Strategic Plan [00:17:29]
- Tactical Plan and Budget [00:19:50]
- Program Development [00:21:20]
- Policies and Procedures [00:23:00]
- Management Policies and Procedures [00:23:00]
- Policies and Procedures Necessary for the IRS Form 990 [00:23:35]
- Fundraising Policies and Procedures [00:25:10]
- Fundraising Foundations [00:26:30]
- Website and Social Media [00:26:33]
- Ideal Donor [00:28:00]
- Fundraising Essentials [00:28:55]
 
Resources mentioned in this episode: 
- Nonprofit Founder’s Club™  [00:17:53]
- Nonprofit Founder’s Society [00:18:22]
- Nonprofit Founder’s U Board Training [00:12:19]
- Develop a Grant Ready Program [00:21:20]
 
Episode transcript: S2Ep2 Transcript
 
You Might Like: 
- Join The Nonprofit Founder’s Club™ 
- Download the free A Founder's Guide to Building a Nonprofit Without Being the Sole Funder
- Join the email list that gives you more tips and information monthly
-  Check out the Nonprofit Founder’s University where you can get courses to help you build your nonprofit.

We are going in-depth with the Fundraising Basics leg of the Build a Successful Nonprofit Framework. It helps solve the problem of why nonprofits fail the first year- lack of infrastructure and lack of funding. The fundraising basics leg of the Build A Successful Nonprofit Framework gives you the fundamentals of fundraising. You're going to go from funding woes to bringing in consistent funding.
 
Topics discussed in this episode: 
- The Fundraising Basics leg of the Build a Successful Nonprofit framework gives you the fundamentals of fundraising [00:01:30]
- Fundraising Basics Pillar Has 3 smaller areas [00:02:02]
- Know Your Donors [00:02:02]
- Ideal Donor [00:02:15] 
- Fundraising 101 [00:02:45] 
- Know Your Strategy [00:05:30]
- Know Your Numbers [00:05:46]
- Find Your Strategy Mix [00:06:15]
- Measure Your Strategy  [00:08:30]
- Know Your Plan [00:09:00]
- The Fundraising Pillar of the Build a Nonprofit Framework is designed to help you learn the basics of fundraising and help you think like a professional fundraiser leading to more funding dollars for your nonprofit. [00:10:30]
 
Resources mentioned in this episode: 
- Fundraising Plan  [00:09:09]
- Expand Your Donors By Defining Your Ideal Donor 5-Day Challenge in the Nonprofit Founder’s Club Facebook group [00:05:00]




A Founder's Guide to Building a Nonprofit Without Being the Sole Funder [00:10:45]
 
Episode transcript: Transcript
 
Explore Further: 
- Join The Nonprofit Founder’s Club™ free Facebook Group
- Download the free A Founder's Guide to Building a Nonprofit Without Being the Sole Funder
- Join the email list that gives you more tips and information monthly
-  Check out the Nonprofit Founder’s University where you can get courses to help you build your nonprofit.
- Want to get support to implement all the things? Join the Nonprofit Founder’s Society today.

I've been talking to nonprofit Founders for a few years now. They are eager to start their program and make a difference. And with good reason too. They know what the people they serve are going through and want to alleviate their suffering. Instead of taking the time to understand funding, they plow ahead and make some serious mistakes.
We are talking about common fundraising mistakes when you are new and what to do instead. 
 
Topics discussed in this episode: 
- Misconception #1: Fundraising is a single activity. [00:01:45]
- Mistake: In reality, treating your fundraising as a single activity leads to the mistake of trying to fundraise beyond your ability. [00:05:00]
- Do This Instead [00:07:30]
- Misconception #2: Building a donor list is too hard and time-consuming. [00:07:45]
- Mistake: In reality, they don’t do the things that build a list. This creates a bigger problem down the road. [00:08:00]
- Do This Instead [00:09:46]
- Misconception #3: Hope Will Sustain Us [00:15:26]
- Mistake: All of these characteristics lead to a common mistake: They don’t build the skills to think like a fundraiser. [00:18:15]
- Do This Instead [00:19:16]
 
Episode transcript: Transcript
 
Explore Further: 
- Join The Nonprofit Founder’s Club™ free Facebook Group
- Download the free A Founder's Guide to Building a Nonprofit Without Being the Sole Funder
- Join the email list that gives you more tips and information monthly
-  Check out the Nonprofit Founder’s University where you can get courses to help you build your nonprofit.
-  Want to get support to implement all the things? Join the Nonprofit Founder’s Society today.

I’ve spent over a decade in nonprofits and fundraising. There never seemed to be a rhyme or reason to fundraising. When do you do one strategy over another? Why do some organizations seem to execute some strategies with ease and some struggle?
It wasn’t until I realized two things:
The industry has the wrong terminology. Everything is labeled a strategy but Mirriam-Webster dictionary defines strategy as a careful plan or method for achieving a particular goal usually over a long period of time. It’s a high-level plan or method.  An activity is work that is done for a particular purpose. Individual fundraising activities are the work that is done for the purpose of raising money for a larger purpose of raising the money as part of a larger plan. The industry calls each individual fundraiser a strategy. That just isn’t true. There is a structure to fundraising. When you build your fundraising in a sustainable way, you build it in a particular way. It was at this point that the hierarchy began to take shape.

Topics discussed in this episode: 
- What is the Fundraising Strategy Hierarchy [00:02:00]
- Why do we need to follow the Fundraising Strategy Hierarchy? [00:02:33]
- What are the levels and steps to the Fundraising Strategy Hierarchy? 
- Step 1: Individual Donors [00:04:15]
-Step 2: Companies, Churches, and Denominations [00:08:30]
-Step 3: Grants and Federated Funds [00:09:04]
-Step 4: Fees for Services, Sales of Products, Earned Income [00:13:15]
-Step 5: Supporting Organization [00:14:30]
 
Episode transcript: S2Ep5 Transcript
 
Explore Further: 
- Join The Nonprofit Founder’s Club™ free Facebook Group
- Download the free A Founder's Guide to Building a Nonprofit Without Being the Sole Funder
- Join the email list that gives you more tips and information monthly
-  Check out the Nonprofit Founder’s University where you can get courses to help you build your nonprofit.
-  Want to get support to implement all the things? Join the Nonprofit Founder’s Society today.