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Do you have a passion for our military? Do you have expertise in any area that could help them to re-integrate when they come home, help them when they are deployed, provide them with healthcare and mental health services? Do you also have some business experience?
Whatever your angle, if you are going to start a nonprofit you need a solid base to start from. While starting a nonprofit is not extremely difficult, you will want to make sure you follow some steps carefully.
Before You Start
Find out who is already running a military support organization in your area, and nationally.
It is not hard to do this. You can google to find national and other state organizations and you can contact your state’s nonprofit association. They will have member lists.
If there is an organization already formed in your local area, talk to them about incorporating what you want to do under their umbrella before you go and start a new organization. It will save you lots of work if they are interested.
There are five essentials for starting a nonprofit
There are five essentials for starting a nonprofit organization:
A board of directors which should be more than your friends and family
Officers of the Corporation
Articles of Incorporation and bylaws drawn up by an attorney
501 (c) status from the IRS
A solid fundraising plan
Do More Homework
There are excellent resources as well as books about how to start a nonprofit.
Again, your state’s nonprofit association is a great place to get information and referrals that can help you to get started. You will most likely find an attorney through the nonprofit association as well because members of nonprofit associations include consultants, attorneys and others working with nonprofits. You can also find foundations in your area that fund military support organizations and others doing similar work with other populations and talk to a program manager about the funding potential for your specific idea and any tips they might like to share with you.
We recommend that you read books about how to start a nonprofit such as, How to Form a Nonprofit Corporation (National Edition): A Step-by-Step Guide to Forming a 501(c)(3) Nonprofit in Any State (How to Form Your Own Nonprofit Corporation), by Anthony Mancuso Attorney. [paid link] We have listed several books that could be helpful to you on the Store page of this site.
Your organization will need a name, domain and website
As you can see, we have developed all of that for you to claim as your own. Visit the New Nonprofit Startup Package page of this site to see how.
Soldier Care will give you a head start on the business end of your organization where you can get started really fast. We are consultants to nonprofit organizations, and have put a lot of thought into this site for you already.
We salute you for thinking about starting a military support organization. We have deep respect for our military.