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When Fran emailed me asking me to be part of Still Standing I immediately just about fell out of my chair because I felt so honored. After I managed to shut my jaw, I next thought about what I wanted to write about. Immediately, I knew I just had to write about doing good in your baby’s name. So much good comes from our little ones’ short lives.
I started a nonprofit in my daughter’s name, Cora’s Story, and have been involved with many nonprofits since. Starting a nonprofit isn’t easy, and in fact for me, I found that most of what I wanted to accomplish I do outside of the nonprofit. I often get approached by other loss moms that want to do something similar, so thought I’d start with where you’d start with planning a nonprofit, should you start a nonprofit in your baby’s honor?
Should You Start a Nonprofit?
When I started a nonprofit, I got some push back. There are too many organizations focused on congenital heart disease, some people told me privately. Even some of my own friends insinuated since I hadn’t gone to school for nonprofit management, I shouldn’t do it. So I want you to know, if you start a nonprofit, I support you. I want you to know that you might encounter similar push back. Here’s the thing, every nonprofit doesn’t have to be a huge global organization that fundraises billions of dollars. Cora’s Story actually doesn’t actively fundraise for what we do.
That being said, as you’ve probably been told, it does take a huge time investment. You also need a solid board of directors behind you. People that know what they’re doing, that you trust completely and that will give you the needed time commitment.
Starting a nonprofit also takes money. Yep, that’s right. If you do everything yourself and don’t hire an attorney, it might be cheaper but requires research and of course you risk not doing everything absolutely right. The IRS charges you for the tax exempt status, so that’s another fee. You could always fundraise to get the money to start up, but then you’re drawing money away from your mission.
Other Options
In future articles, I’ll get into the nuts and bolts of starting a nonprofit and try to guide you through the process. However, I’m not a lawyer, but want to present some other alternatives to starting a new nonprofit organization.
To save yourself from dealing with the paperwork and accounting that goes along with a nonprofit organization, you could team up with an existing nonprofit that has a similar mission to what you want to do. This organization would serve as your umbrella organization. You would answer to them, but they should take care of paperwork, accepting donations and paying vendors and other bills (probably out of funds you raise). If this sounds appealing to you, do some research about nonprofits in your cause area and reach out to have phone conversations with them.
Another option is to start a memorial fund. You fundraise and then give grants to other organizations. You can use a company like Fidelity or your local community foundation to hold the fund. There are restrictions and guidelines about to whom you can give grants, but you could start a fund in your child’s name to do something like raise money for research or to give a scholarship to a local high school student.
Or you could decide that you can complete your mission without an official organization. To further screenings of newborns for heart defects, I started a grassroots organization, Pulse Ox Advocacy. It isn’t a legal institution. I don’t collect any money. However, I have helped get legislation passed in several states.
Whatever you decide, know that your baby is loved and remembered.
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About Kristine
Incredible timing. Before falling asleep last night I put non-profit research onto my TO DO list for this week. I’ve also been advised that going through an umbrella organization might be helpful, but I feel like my objective would be a hard fit. So, it just looks like I need to do more research. I assume that there are specific non-profit lawyers that could advise if the non-profit path is the right one for each idea? Thanks for sharing your info and for all you do in Cora’s name.
Kim, you’re right. There are both lawyers and accountants who specialize in nonprofit law and nonprofit accounting. I would suggest talking to your local community foundation, who could also provide you with great insight, without a big price tag attached. Good luck!
I also think talking to an attorney is a good idea.
Great info–thanks!!
I started “You are my Child” after I lost my son Nathan. I just recently started looking into non-profit status options and I didn’t realize how much money and time was involved. I didn’t think about teaming up with an existing non-profit… great advice! I’ll have to look into that.
Thank you for this, and I look forward to hearing more! We began a ministry in our daughter’s name. It is called Naomi’s Circle and is a website and support group for parents of babies in heaven. We raise no funds and any money issues that we have are done under an umbrella organization. Our purpose is to make information available, especially about local support groups, to parents who lose children in pregnancy or early infancy and to make churches more aware of the needs of parents and how to minister to them. We do want to become an “official” non-profit eventually, but there is an amazing amount of stuff you can do without being one, especially in this digital online age.
GREAT article! I actually DO have a degree in nonprofit management (technically, arts administration, but my core courses are all in NPM), and you are 100% correct in your assessment of things. I especially love your suggestion of working in partnership with another NPO – its called having a fiscal sponsor, and it a great way to focus on the thing you love without being distracted by the paperwork and legal issues of running an NPO.
And like someone else said, great timing. I’ve been considering starting up one myself, although it feels less intimidating to me with my background in NPM.
I’d be happy to talk non-profit management with anyone who’d like some guidance or advice. You can contact me thru my blog, linked here.
Whew. Glad that I was able to write it well without a nonprofit background.
I was nervous because there are so many details and nuances. Would you mind looking over future articles? I’d link to you in my post. Thanks!
Kristine, I’d be happy to help any way I can. Thanks for asking!