“That’s easy,” says Prater, executive director of the Center for Nonprofit Leadership at Drury University. “Nonprofit work is mission-driven. People who work in nonprofit generally have a heart for something and the beauty of it is that they get to do what they like every day, and they just happen to get paid to do it.”
“The fulfillment that comes from nonprofit work is almost immeasurable.”
To appeal to those drawn such work, Drury recently introduced the new Master of Nonprofit and Civic Leadership degree program, which allows professionals to develop and enhance skills to help their communities.
Another way to help your community: Start your own nonprofit organization. Drawing on his background in nonprofit leadership, Prater offers six steps to those interested in starting their own organization.
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Talk to people who know nonprofits.
Before diving into such a venture, talk to nonprofit leaders who can give accurate advice. The nonprofit community, consisting of more than 1,600 nonprofit organizations within Springfield city limits according to the 2014 Nonprofit Impact Report, is close-knit. The goal is to help one another, not compete.
“We don’t want to start a nonprofit when there’s already someone in the community doing that cause,” he says.
By talking to someone in the nonprofit community, you gain a better understanding of the community’s needs and can avoid too much overlap. If the cause that you are passionate about is already represented, use your time and resources to help strengthen it.
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Differentiate the idea.
Establish the distinctiveness of what you want to do. If there are similar organizations but not exactly the same, find a differentiator – something that sets your organization apart and will solve a different societal problem.
“If you can differentiate that you are not duplicating something else, and that the need truly exists, that there is a gap that is not being met, then you can get support,” Prater says.
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Lay the foundation.
Get involved, and learn about the community. Having a better understanding of the community affects decisions of the organization and helps determine more applicable plans, Prater says. Planning steps — such as who will be on the board of directors or how to gain funding — will help lead to a successful implementation.
“Starting a nonprofit isn’t just about being passionate about a cause,” Prater says. “You can have the passion, but passion will only take you so far. You need many things including policies and procedures, people, professionalism, and ultimately performance. If you do not have all of those components, you will not succeed.”
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Gain supporters.
“Without money, you don’t have an organization — you just have an idea,” Prater says.
Communication is key. If you cannot articulate or prove that the need exists, it will not be supported, he advises. The inability to secure money not only indicates inadequate communication of the cause, but potentially shows that the community doesn’t perceive an established need for the cause.
“If you can prove the need exists, then you can fund it.”
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File the legal paperwork.
This step happens simultaneously with gaining support because it is difficult to get donations unless the organization is tax-exempt.
“Every state has a process to become incorporated, and then the federal government, from the IRS, provides the tax exemption,” Prater informed.
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Begin.
Continue communicating, Prater suggests. Keep networking and collaborating with other organizations and the community.
Continually reach out to the people you are targeting. People will not come to you because they do not know you exist. To establish a presence in the community, the organization must go to where the people are, Prater says. And then evaluate success regularly.
“The way we measure success is by asking if you accomplished your mission,” Prater says.
