In this conversational video, hosts Vanessa and Antoinette discuss the practical and emotional hurdles of launching a nonprofit. They compare the unpredictability of weather to the instability founders may face, emphasizing that nonprofits are businesses with legal and tax structures that require financial readiness. They reveal that setting up a nonprofit’s legal entity typically costs $500‑$800 if done independently, and that hiring professional help can increase costs but may reduce stress. The hosts stress the importance of being financially fit—having personal capital and stable personal finances—before starting, warning against depleting personal funds without guaranteed funding. They advocate learning to “fish” (doing the paperwork yourself) to avoid future dependence on external help. Emotional challenges such as loneliness, stress, and crying are highlighted, with the Nonprofit Founders Club presented as a support network offering resources, mentorship, and community. They also suggest that some aspiring changemakers might join existing nonprofits instead of starting a new one. The video ends with a call to action for viewers to reach out for help, become financially fit, and stay tuned for the next episode.
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Hello, hey, hey, hey!
How are you today, Vanessa?
It's good, I'm great.
That's good, that's good. Well, you know, I know you're right now in sunny California.
There's no sun in California. I woke up this morning and it was pouring rain and I was like—
Well, I, I think that is, that is a pretty perfect for our topic today about stress and challenges, right? Because it's beautiful here in Maryland. Beautiful. It's freezing cold outside, you know, like, but it's beautiful. And so here I'm thinking, here you are in sunny California and it's probably awesome, but then you are in the Bay Area.
So yeah, and it's just been cold snow and people are snowed in even in LA. It's like, what? You know, it's just amazing how things just change. You, you think there's consistency, there's no consistency, and so you don't expect it. But sometimes when we're running a business, we expect, you know, we're thinking everything should be consistent if you have all your ducks in a row and you set that foundation.
Yeah, like an earthquake.
It's like an earthquake, right?
California.
Yeah, you got the foundation set, but then there's an earthquake and it just shakes everything up. Yeah, that's what it's like when the stresses and challenges are starting to come up.
Yep. Because I'm thinking, that's smart. March— what does it say? March comes in like a lion and goes out like a lamb. So how appropriate that we picked this month to talk about stresses and challenges of starting a nonprofit. And we kind of touched on a few last week where we talked about, um, you know, just the challenge in starting a business, being pulled in different directions. But today we're going to talk specifically about, uh, for nonprofit, um, executives and those who are thinking to start a nonprofit, what the cost is to start a nonprofit. Because, um, when you start a nonprofit, it is not free, and it's not necessarily, um, the most expensive thing you're going to do, but it does come out of somebody's pocket. And 9 times out of 10, that person's pocket is yours.
So, you know, I get a— I get a question a lot. This question people ask me a lot is, where can I get money to start my nonprofit? And it's like— and I always say, you know, the— put them out of your pocket. You know, I said, because you, you want to start a business and no one's going to give you money to start a nonprofit because everybody is either in business for themselves they're working a job, and it's your vision to start your nonprofit. So if I want to— if you want to start any business, it generally comes out of your pocket. So one thing I'd like to have people think about is, am I financially fit to start a nonprofit?
And I'm going to take that one step further and say, am I financially fit to start a business?
That's right, because it's a business. And you're so right, you know, people think, oh, this is a nonprofit, but they forget a nonprofit is a business. It has a different, um, legal— it's a different legal entity, but it's a corporation. You have a different tax status, but you're a business and you're a corporation.
Yep. And you have to do all the same things a business owner does. So Vanessa and I are business owners, and we have to advertise, we have to market, we have to You know, we have to stay in touch with technology, so that means we're taking classes, you know. And that's why the Nonprofit Founders, um, Club is so awesome, because you can get a lot of those things right there. You can get resources, you can get help, support, encouragement, you know, right in the club. But as a business owner, so you decided you want to start this nonprofit Um, we don't really want to tell you figures right here because you could be watching this video 10 years from the day we make it, 30 years from the day we make it, and the numbers are going to change. But we can tell you right now that it'll run you anywhere between 500 to maybe 800 at in this period to probably start your nonprofit.
And when she talks— when you're talking about start, she means setting up the legal entity.
Setting up the legal entity.
Yeah, just because you have a legal entity. And what I learned, if I got my— I had my tax ID, my tax— my determination, they're saying that I had a nonprofit, but I didn't have a nonprofit. I had a piece of paper that said that this business that I want to start will be recognized as a nonprofit. But you don't have a nonprofit, right? Right.
So I'm so glad that you, you clarified that. Yes, let me be clear, um, $500 to $800 just to set up the nonprofit entity, to get the piece of paper from Internal Revenue, because there are several pieces that you have to go through. And that's if you do it on your own. Now, if you do it, you know, like if you get support and help, you may have to pay a little bit more for, you know, to set that up. But it all is so totally helpful to have a professional walk you through it. It can be, I should put it that way, it can be helpful to have a professional walk you through setting up your nonprofit.
Um, versus doing it for you.
Versus doing it for you.
Yes, yes. And I always like that because it's a stress. I know it's a stress. People like, oh my God, I got to do all this paperwork and yada yada yada. But I, I always believe that if you— we could teach you how to fish or we could fish for you, but if we fish for you, you bring you that fish, you're still hungry. And if you allow— you, that you say, you know what, this is my baby, I want, I want to walk through it, somebody show me you know, and let me do it. So if something comes up, you can all— you always know what to do and you won't have added stress. Because I know sometimes I've had people do things for me and then something came back and I didn't know, and it added extra stress and challenges on me with all that I was going through because I didn't know. And the person who sets it up for you is probably not going to be there with you for the long haul through the organization.
And I also want to say, um, So one of the things that I do for the Nonprofit Founders Club is I help people set up their nonprofits, right? And, um, walking people through this process has been eye-opening for me, and I think has been very rewarding for them as well. So I have one lady, as we were walking through this process, um, she encountered two problems. And she remembered her steps she took to get to, you know, the situation. So she was able to backtrack and go back, and then as a result, it helped to kind of like solidify, to seal the— I'm sorry, this is learn— but it helped her to, you know, just to solidify her understanding because she was able to go back, reach out to the people and say, hey, when I submitted this, I actually said this, but you wrote this. Why? And then they either fixed it for her or they were able to explain it, as opposed to her getting something in the mail and she just have been like, so Antoinette, what did you do?
Yeah, freaking out, frustrated, freaking out, and And so she was empowered. Yeah. So she was empowered. She's like, hey, I'm powerful. And that's what we have to be when we step out in this, because it's going to be so many stresses and challenges. Going to be powerful. And I love that we're talking about this because I see— and I've done it too— is we teach people how to start, but we don't teach people about nonprofits, that the stresses, the challenges, the ouches and the owls, and to give them that support and that love along the way. Because it is powerful. It's hard.
Yeah. So yeah, so I wanted to just— I wanted to talk about that. Like, you know, there are stresses when starting a nonprofit, there's cost when starting a nonprofit. And then I would hope that what you walk away with from our, uh, short video today is the fact that you're not just starting a nonprofit. Get that out of your head. You're getting that paper from Internal Revenue that says you're starting a nonprofit. But you're actually starting a business. So how are you— you know, how financially secure— is that what you said a minute ago, Vanessa?
Financially fit. Are you financially fit? You know, anything you do, you want to make sure that you're financially fit for the long haul. You know, if you're going to be running a marathon, you know, you need to be financially fit for this. You need to be fit for this marathon. And so remember that you're going to have to come to the table financially fit with capital. And we talk about financially fit. Do you have someone at your home who's depending on you? Or do you have children? Are you taking care of a parent, your loved one? You're going to be spending money out of your pocket from the money that you're making from your job. So you want to make sure that you have this extra money, because I've seen so many people just cry because they spent all their money on their nonprofit and did not get a grant, didn't get any other funding, and they're stressing. And now they don't know what to do. So I would love to help prepare you. Like, let me— let us help prepare you.
Yeah.
You don't just run out willy-nilly, jump into it, start this nonprofit, you're like, shoot, I'm struggling, I'm stressed, I can't get no funding, I can't do this, and I spend all my money.
And another thing, just— this is just a very quick thought— some people who are listening may not need to start a nonprofit. What they might need to do is to join an organization that's already established and help that organization.
Yeah, yeah, yeah. And that's, that's challenging too. Yeah, I just have to say, this whole world about starting a business is challenging, but starting a nonprofit is full of challenges and it's full of stresses and it's full of blood, sweat, tears, crying. And it's, it's not an easy task, but it's so rewarding when you help someone. So if any of you guys have any questions, you want to know more, you're stressing, you're going through some things right now, you just want to talk to somebody about it because sometimes, you know, they say it's lonely at the top. When you start a nonprofit, it could be very lonely because it's like, who do I talk to? And I always say this, my parents are sick of listening to me, my brothers and sisters, my husband doesn't want to hear anything more about this business that I'm trying to start. Who do I talk to? So I've been there, and that's why I started the Nonprofit Founders Club, because I cried so many nights. I still cry. I'm not even gonna lie, I've been doing this since 1987, and I still cry behind my nonprofit, you know. So that's why, that's what the club is for. Let us give you support, let us give you some love. So come on over here to the sisters, let's give you some love. It's gonna be all right. That's right. So for those of you who are listening, if you have any questions, please hit us up. We're at the nonprofitfoundersclub.com, and we'll, you know, just sit back and talk to you. If you want the resources or you just want to sharpen your sword a little bit, come on over. We're going to get— we'll give you some, some time to just love on you and help you, because what you're doing is a really tough, hard journey. Yeah. And we know it, and we want to help you along the way.
Yeah, awesome.
So love you all. Get out there and just get financially fit. Find out all what needs to take to be financially fit and, um, what's one of the first steps you can do to really get funding for your nonprofit, um, when you don't know anyone and when you're doing it solo. So love you all, and we'll see you same time next week, and we'll continue this discussion on stress and challenges of a nonprofit. If any of you have anything you want us to talk about, go ahead and email us at Vanessa nonprofitfoundersclub.com. That's B-A-N-N-E-S-S-A at nonprofitfoundersclub.com. So we'll see you later.
