The Truth About Making Money with Your Nonprofit Startup
My advice to every non-profit founder is this: Don’t start a non-profit for the sole purpose of making money.
And honestly, this goes for any business that’s being built from the ground up!
Yes, I do STRONGLY believe you should be paid for your work. Yes, I do STRONGLY believe that it’s totally doable. And yes, I do STRONGLY believe that non-profits are businesses too.
But, I want to be realistic on today’s blog.
I STRONGLY believe that you should start your business as a side hustle (at least in the beginning).
HERE’S WHY:
Although I don’t draw a salary from my non-profit, it took me 4 years until I could hire someone else to help me out.
I had to invest time, energy, and money to be able to work up to a profit.
And the same goes for any other business out there as mentioned before, whether it’s non-profit or for-profit!
It takes time.
And this is why I always recommend working at another job while starting your business.
DON’T make the transition immediately.
DON’T depend solely on your business when you’re just starting out.
PURPOSE FIRST, INCOME LATER:
One common mistake I’ve noticed over the years through coaching social entrepreneurs is this: People put making an income at the forefront of their mind instead of their purpose.
Did you know? Approximately 70% of all non-profit giving is from individual donations. Therefore, your fundraising plan should be strategically aligned with and focused towards attracting and connecting your purpose to your ‘ideal donors.’
Of course, it’s important to have a fundraising plan in place. Focusing on WHY you’re in business and your RESULTS, however, is what’s going to make your ‘ideal donors’ willing to separate themselves from their funds to give to you.
As you can see, there’s much more to making money with your business than you may have thought.
Before you worry about funding, give yourself the time to:
Find your ideal donors and foster relationships with them
Develop appropriate messaging
Generate results
Build a good brand
Have a plan in place and give yourself direction, but focus on the more important things mentioned above.
The rest will follow as a byproduct.
All this information (and more) is covered in my Unleash Your Purpose and Unleash Your Profit course.
My Unleash Your Purpose course offers a private Facebook group to ask questions and to get feedback as well as step-by-step assistance to prepare you to file for your 501(c)3 status. When you’re ready, we file together! My course also provides bonus information relating to building your board, budget development, and more.
My Unleash Your Profit course, on the other hand, is there to help you design a roadmap towards creating a profitable and sustainable business.
Interested? Check them out!
See you in the next blog!