REASONS NOT TO INCORPORATE A NONPROFIT ORGANIZATION
This is the start of the questions. Jot down your answers as you read this and the next
several sections.
1. You do not have a group of people who share your mission and sense of vision
who will work with you to create this nonprofit tax exempt organization.
2. You are not sure whether other people will work with you on the project.
3. You left a similar organization and you want to compete with them. 4. You really do not know how much work it will take to incorporate in the State
and file with the Internal Revenue Service.
5. You do not expect to raise money or seek grants, at least no more than two to
three thousand dollars a year.
6. You are not sure what kind of work goes into operating a nonprofit corporation
after it is incorporated and recognized by the State as a nonprofit organization and
by the IRS as a tax exempt organization.
7. You know there is a need for this service but you have not documented the need
and do not know how to go about meeting the need.
8. You believe it is easy to incorporate a nonprofit group.
9. You believe it is easy to operate and maintain a nonprofit organization.
10. You believe it will be easy to raise the money to accomplish your goals and
objectives.
11. You like to be independent.
12. You have a great idea and you are concerned that other people who become
involved will change the programs and activities you want.
13. You and your family want to control the organization so that it will be run right.
14. You want to be the chief executive officer such as the executive director for a
salary and sit on the board as chairperson.
Please rethink why you want to start a nonprofit. There are many great reasons and
motivations but these are not among them. Nonprofits as with for-profit businesses can
fail. The reasons listed above will help you along the path to failure. Nonprofits can fail
when they are not mission-driven but driven by some other force. The mission, the
purpose, the vision have to be the reasons to start a nonprofit. So rethink your motives.
A second reason a nonprofit may fail is the failure to have a market plan, and a plan to
collaborate and to partner with others rather than to duplicate and to compete. A third
reason for failure can be a lack of attention to the fiscal details involved with the budgets,
bookkeeping and other elements of administration and management. A fourth reason
why it may not succeed is a failure to understand who or what is being served, who is the
constituency, why the service is needed and by whom. A fifth reason a nonprofit may
fail is because the leadership is not creative and has not diversified the supporters, the
volunteers or staff to fill in for the leader's and others' weaknesses. Therefore if you are
one of the fourteen folks listed above, give some new thought to your motives and your
mission - and read on. All is not lost, simply altered. See the article by Tony Poderis at
http://www.raise-funds.com/1101forum.html for a discussion about mission and mission
statements.
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