April 27, 2012
5 Tips to Starting A Nonprofit Organization
Do you have a dream of starting a nonprofit but aren’t quite sure where to start? Well, good for you! Taking your time is definitely a better choice than just jumping into opening a nonprofit. To help you get started here are a few tips:
- Do your research on the type of nonprofit you dream of. This should be something you are passionate about.
- Develop a business plan. You can find sample of a nonprofit business plan online in our Nonprofit Research Center.
- Make sure the legal requirements are taken care of before starting your nonprofit.
- Develop a fundraising plan that will bring in more money than is takes to do the fundraiser.
- Build an efficient board. The board is responsible for keeping you on track with your mission, helps you to protect your funds, and provides a great deal of expertise that you will need.
Starting a nonprofit may seem frustrating but these tips may help ease the frustration and get you to open your dream nonprofit.
April 24, 2012
Training & Supervising Volunteers in your Organization
Selecting volunteers for your Nonprofit organization is a difficult task and one you can pat yourself on the back for accomplishing. Now you start having them, contact potential donors, run errands and make the overall daily operations of the organization a bit smoother.
Unfortunately, the work isn’t over for you once you have a group of volunteers selected, now they need trained, managed, and supervised. How do you know if you have proper strategies for ensuring safety and continuity in your volunteers? Here are some guidelines for supervising volunteers. First, make sure they know their duties and have instructions. Also, make sure they know what they can and cannot do. Common sense will not always work in all situations. Second, safety for everyone should be clearly understood as the priority. Third, actions leading to discipline and termination should be defined prior to volunteer work. Fourth, injury to a volunteer should be addressed immediately.
Review these guidelines with all new volunteers in your Nonprofit Organization and include a copy in the Volunteer policies and procedures packet you provide.
April 20, 2012
Get your Child ready for Summer!
It’s almost the time for our children to get out of school, have friends over, need a ride everywhere, stay up late, and eat a lot of junk food. It may seem hard to keep your child disciplined during this time but here are a few tips to keep them on track:
- Make a list of chores that each child must complete before having friends over or leaving the house.
- Instead of allowing your children to sit inside and play video games all day, encourage them to go outside and play football, go swimming, or other activities outside with proper sunscreen and water, of course.
- Always make sure that your children are supervised by a mature adult. Something that may not seem dangerous can turn dangerous fast.
- Instead of filling your house with chips and sugar filled popsicles, try veggie chips, low-fat popcorn, or sugar free popsicles. In most cases your children will enjoy that just as much.
- Sign your child up for camp. This will get them out of the house doing hobbies they enjoy that could make them more friends.
Summer vacation may not be too bad this year if you follow these tips right? Just remember that you are helping your child by providing them with a safe, healthy atmosphere.
April 17, 2012
Volunteer Recruitment in your Non-profit Organization
There are many opportunities for recruiting volunteers these days, especially since the Internet surge, but we still must keep in mind that this also increases the availability of predators to gain access to our nonprofit organization information. Screening is key! There are three types of screening processes including:
- written applications
- interviews
- references
If at any time a red flag pops up during an interview just STOP. The greater the risks associated with the volunteer task, the more extensive a screening must be. A more in-depth look can be found in license verifications, agency record checks, and federal and criminal history. Remember to always provide a truth clause for the applicant to sign verifying that all information provided is honest and true.
April 16, 2012
A-Z of Fundraising- part 3
Now for the final letters of the fundraising alphabet; Z does not stand for Zebra in this alphabet. Below are letters N-Z of the fundraising alphabet:
N is for Nurture- take care of your supporters and volunteers
O is for On-Line Fundraising- set up a facebook account
P is for Popular Performance Indicators
Q is for Quality- make sure you are providing top notch fundraising events
R is for Regular Giving- acknowledge your regular contributors
S is for SOFii- The Showcase of Fundraising Innovation and Inspiration (http://www.sofii.org/)
T is for Tangibility- The quality of being perceivable by touch (touching their hearts)
U is for Upgrade
V is for Very Urgent
W is for Wide Range of Fundraising Ideas
X is for Xcelling
Y is for Youth of Today- Presidents of Tomorrow
Z is for Zonk Out- Everyone needs to catch their z’s to function so make sure your getting a good night’s sleep.
Following the A-Z guide of fundraising will help you identify what areas your Nonprofit Organization may need to focus on.
Let us know how this guide helps you!
April 10, 2012
General Safety Guidelines for your Non-profit Organization
How many times have you bent over to pick something up and hurt your back? It might have happened while picking up a simple object like a pen or a large box full of supplies. This may get you out of work for a few days, but the pain and later disability isn’t worth it. There are a few tricks to keep your back safe. First, avoid bending and lifting objects from the floor. The best location for lifting heavy objects is to have it lined up with your hips, however light weight supplies can be placed on lower shelves because this won’t put as much pressure on the back. If you have the option to use cranes, lifts, carts, and pulleys please do so! If you have to lift an object, remember to be conscious of your back and provide it with support. When lifting, keep your feet shoulder width apart and squat down as close to the object as possible. Next, securely grip the box with your palms, tuck your chin, and lift using the muscles in your abdomen, buttock, and legs. When you are carrying the object, DO NOT TWIST, walk in the direction that your feet point.
Safety Guidelines for Nonprofit Organizations
How many times have you bent over to pick something up and hurt your back? It might have happened while picking up a simple object like a pen or a large box full of supplies. This may get you out of work for a few days, but the pain and later disability isn’t worth it. There are a few tricks to keep your back safe. First, avoid bending and lifting objects from the floor. The best location for lifting heavy objects is to have it lined up with your hips, however light weight supplies can be placed on lower shelves because this won’t put as much pressure on the back. If you have the option to use cranes, lifts, carts, and pulleys please do so! If you have to lift an object, remember to be conscious of your back and provide it with support. When lifting, keep your feet shoulder width apart and squat down as close to the object as possible. Next, securely grip the box with your palms, tuck your chin, and lift using the muscles in your abdomen, buttock, and legs. When you are carrying the object, DO NOT TWIST, walk in the direction that your feet point.
It is critical for Nonprofit Organizations to establish safety guidelines and procedures. You can visit our online Nonprofit Research Center for more information on Nonprofit Safety Guidelines.
April 9, 2012
A-Z of Fundraising-part two
Next in the alphabet is F as in Football, but not for the fundraising alphabet. Listed below are letters F-M of fundraising:
F is for Facebook- Have you taken advantage of this free source of advertising?
G is for Grow – how will your grown your donations, number of individuals you help, those you educate?
H is for Honesty
I is for Imagery in your Advertising
J is for Just Ask – They can’t say yes if you don’t!
K is for Kindness
L is for Legal – make sure all of your fundraising techniques are legal
M is for Monitor – track what you are bringing in compared to volunteer hours and expenses required
April 7, 2012
Meet…Dawn Smith!
Dawn Smith, the accounting backbone, has been a part of the BA Barrick Insurance team for twelve years. On Dawn’s free time she enjoys knitting, crocheting, reading, walking, visiting her grandchildren, and spending time with family. Dawn’s friends and family describe her as a talkative, outgoing, nurturing, detailed, and an honest type of woman.
