The stepping stone of a non-profit organization is first determining the purpose of establishing such an organization. This can be achieved by self-writing a basic mission statement of the organization. This is also a formal requirement for the incorporation of the organization in future.
There are certain guidelines to be followed:
• The statement should describe the overall purpose by answering the question as to the reason of existence of the organization.
• The statement can belong to any variety of format and length. At the developmental stage, it is usually of about half-a-page.
• The following aspects needs to be covered –
1. The primary benefits and services that are on offer for the clients.
2. Specification of the target group who will be benefiting
3. The ethics and values that shall act as guidelines for operation
4. The manner in which you will like the non-profit organization to be apprehended
The next aspect involves on how to start a non-profit organization. It can be an informal non-profit organization by the getting together of some friends to say, form a self-help group. You can also incorporate it as a separate legal organization where you file the articles of incorporation with the appropriate state office. Appropriate measures ought to be taken with the Provincial and the Federal offices, if you prefer tax exemption. This will depend on the nature and the services offered by the organization.
If you want to achieve a charitable status, you need to be incorporated with the relevant Revenue agencies. One must also be clear that tax-exempt is not the same status as being tax deductible. You can initiate a non-profit organization after incorporating it and acquiring the tax exemption certificate in order to later lawfully receive tax deductible donations.
In the early stages and also in later period, one can always depend on expert advice and trust the commitment of like minded others who are willing to share the responsibilities and provide you the opportunity to learn important lessons in the skills of leadership.
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