Dr. Beverly A. Browning is the author of 43 grant-related publications and six editions of Grant Writing For Dummies. She has raised over [...] million in awards for her clients.

Stan Hutton is Program Consultant for the Clarence E. Heller Charitable Foundation.

Frances N. Phillips teaches grant writing at San Francisco State University.

Introduction 1

About This Book 1

Foolish Assumptions 2

Icons Used in This Book 3

Beyond the Book 3

Where to Go from Here 4

Part 1: Getting Familiar with the Nonprofit Framework 5

Chapter 1: Journeying into the World of Nonprofit Organizations 7

What is a Nonprofit Organization? 8

Comparing for-profits to nonprofits 9

Introducing the coveted 501(c)(3) status for nonprofits 9

Knowing Your Mission Before Entering the Nonprofit World 11

Setting up a nonprofit 11

Making plans and being flexible 12

Embracing and Sharing Your Inspiration 13

Finding the Resources to Do the Job 14

Who is giving to nonprofit organizations? 15

Supporting your mission with fundraising 15

Chapter 2: Understanding What It Takes to Start a Nonprofit 17

Weighing the Pros and Cons of Starting a Nonprofit 18

Doing Your Homework First 19

Analyzing the competition 20

Identifying the right people to help you 20

Figuring out how you'll survive financially 21

Acknowledging the reality of what's ahead 22

Planning, plotting, and projecting 23

Understanding Nonprofit Ownership 24

Benefiting the public for the greater good 24

Being accountable and transparent 25

Looking at the Many Varieties of Nonprofits 26

Identifying nonprofits by their numbers 27

Adding rules and regulations to add to your file 28

Comparing Nonprofits and For-Profits 31

How they're alike 31

How they differ 32

Using a Fiscal Sponsor: An Alternative Approach 34

Examining common details of a fiscal sponsorship relationship 35

Finding a fiscal sponsor 36

Chapter 3: Prioritizing Building Your Board of Directors 37

Appreciating the Duties of a Nonprofit Board of Directors 38

Primary role: Preserving public trust 39

Secondary role: Dealing with planning, hiring, and other board tasks 41

Sharing responsibilities among the board, staff, and volunteers 42

Recruiting the Right People for Your Board 43

Incorporating diversity, equity, and inclusion in the board's composition 44

Keeping it fresh: Terms of service 46

Big boards or little boards 47

Choosing officers and committees 48

Introducing new and prospective members to the board and the organization 50

Putting Staff Members on Your Board 51

Using Your Board to Full Capacity 52

Encouraging commitment from board members 52

Holding effective board meetings 53

Chapter 4: Creating Your Mission Statement and Vision Statement 57

Honing Your Mission Statement 58

Keeping your mission statement short and sweet 60

Stating your mission - the goal for services 60

Specifying who will be served by the nonprofit 61

Explaining how you'll accomplish your mission 61

Incorporating diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) into your mission statement 62

Imagining Your Future with a Vision Statement 63

Capturing your vision statement 63

Asking "Where are we going?" and "Why?" 65

Inviting Stakeholders to the Planning Table 66

Encouraging and embracing stakeholder input 67

Working together to finalize your statements 68

Living by Your Mission and Staying Fixed on the Vision 69

Chapter 5: Incorporating and Applying for Tax- Exemption Status 71

Creating a New Entity: The Nonprofit Corporation 72

Following your state's or territory's laws 73

Understanding the required governing documents 73

Deciding whether to have members in your corporation 74

Finding the best name 75

Writing the Articles of Incorporation 76

Crafting a heading 76

Article I 76

Article II 77

Article III 77

Article IV 78

Article V 78

Article VI 78

Article VII 78

Article VIII 79

Signed, sealed, and delivered 79

Securing Your Employer Identification Number (EIN) 80

Writing Your Organization's Bylaws 81

Holding Your First Board Meeting 82

Applying for Tax Exemption 82

Tackling Form 1023 online 83

Discerning between public charities and private foundations 85

Establishing public charity status 85

Describing your activities 86

Reporting salaries and conflicts of interest 88

Dealing with financial information 88

Collecting the other materials 89

Paying the fee 90

Navigating possible contribution barriers until tax-exemption status is approved 90

Chapter 6: Adhering to Nonprofit Status Requirements 91

Disclosing What You Need to Disclose 92

What you do need to show 92

What you don't need to show 93

Using the web to satisfy disclosure requirements 94

Avoiding Excessive Payments and Politicking 95

Determining reasonable pay and benefits 95

Using caution when getting involved in politics 96

Why all the fuss? Understanding the increased scrutiny by the IRS 97

Reporting to the IRS 98

Filing Form 990-N 99Taking it easy with the Form 990-EZ return 100

Tackling the long Form 990 104

Getting your Form 990 to the IRS 106

Reporting to Your State, Territory, and Local Governments 107

Part 2: Bringing Your A-Game to Nonprofit Management 109

Chapter 7: From the Top: Examining the Nonprofit Management Structure 111

Managing a Nonprofit: A Bird's-Eye View 112

Appreciating the Governing Board's Role and Responsibilities 113

Understanding the board's management oversight duties 113

Protecting your board from liability 115

Redefining the Nonprofit Founder's Role 116

Adding an Advisory Board 117

Expanding to Take On an Executive Director 118

Chapter 8: Strategic Planning: Embracing the Ongoing Process 121

Understanding the Importance of Planning 122

Making Your Organization's Strategic Plan 122

Getting ready 123

Working with your nonprofit's mission and vision statements 124

Hearing from all your stakeholders 124

Surveying the external situation 126

Looking at the internal situation 127

Calling in the SWOT team 128

Putting the plan in writing 132

Adjusting your strategic plan when necessary 134

Putting Plans into Action 134

Defining and setting goals, objectives, strategies, and outcomes 134

Creating a work plan 136

Planning for Programs 137

Working as a team 137

Assessing needs 138

Brainstorming the resources needed to implement new programs 140

Facility Planning: Finding a Place to Do Your Work 142

How much space and of what kind? 142

Location, location, location 142

Owning, leasing, or taking a free ride 143

Making a move 145

Deciding to take on a capital project 145

Chapter 9: Evaluating Your Work: Are You Meeting Your Goals? 147

Knowing the Importance of Evaluation 148

Working Through the Evaluation Process 149

Selecting the right kind of evaluation 149

Planning for evaluation 152

Crafting valuable questions 153

Choosing evaluators: Inside or outside? 154

Conducting Your Evaluation 155

Analyzing Results and Putting Them to Work 156

Interpreting results 156

Using your evaluation to strengthen your work 158

Telling the truth 158

Sharing the evaluation results with your stakeholders 159

Chapter 10: You Can Count on Me! Working with Volunteers 161

Knowing Why People Volunteer 162

Designing a Volunteer Program 163

Considering a volunteer coordinator 165

Determining your need for volunteers 165

Writing volunteer job descriptions 166

Organizing volunteers 167

Hunting for Volunteers 169

Getting the word out 169

Looking for volunteers at other organizations 171

Finding volunteers with special skills 172

Hiring interns 172

Interviewing and Screening Volunteers 173

Managing Your Volunteers 175

Providing adequate training 175

Keeping good records 176

Insuring your volunteers 176

Saying farewell to bad volunteers 177

Showing Appreciation for Your Volunteers 177

Chapter 11: Working with Paid Staff and Contractors 179

Determining Your Staffing Needs 180

Getting Your Nonprofit Ready for Paid Employees 181

Developing your personnel policies 181

Exploring payroll setup options 184

Providing benefits and perquisites 184

Preparing to Hire 185

Composing a job description 185

Considering necessary qualifications 186

Establishing nonprofit salary levels 187

Announcing the position 188

Making the Hire 189

Looking at résumés 189

Interviewing candidates 190

Digging deeper with references 192

Making your decision 193

Onboarding a New Hire 193

Confirming employment terms in writing 193

Getting your new hire started on the job 194

Evaluating your new hire's progress 195

Looking to the future: Creating a professional development plan 195

Managing Employees 196

Recognizing what a manager or supervisor does 197

Clarifying the lines of communication 197

Following the reprimand-and-dismissal process 199

Working with Independent Contractors 200

Differentiating an independent contractor from an employee 201

Establishing the roles for independent contractors 202

Finding a consultant:...