How to Start a Nonprofit–A Checklist for New Organizations

You have an idea for how you can help your community. You have an EIN and the IRS has approved your 501c3 status. Now what?

Launching a brand-new nonprofit is a lot like building a car that’s still missing a few parts—and then realizing the car also needs to fly. The first few years are a chaotic mix of ambition, duct tape, big dreams, and “wait, who’s supposed to do that?” moments. Yet it’s also when the real magic (and occasional panic) happens.

In this article, we’ll dig into what new executive directors actually need to tackle in year one—beyond the glossy mission statements and inspirational quotes—to build something real, resilient, and maybe even a little revolutionary.

Create and practice your elevator pitch

When you start your nonprofit, you’ll quickly find many opportunities to bring supporters into your organization and your mission. If you run into someone at the grocery store or have a good conversation over coffee, that’s a chance to invite someone in to be a donor or volunteer.

To make sure you’re ready when that moment comes, practice your elevator pitch. An elevator pitch is your opportunity to tell someone what your organization does and why it matters. You should be able to explain who you serve and what results you produce. It should be relatively short — a few sentences — and should be easy to recite.

Practice saying it aloud. It should take no more than 30 seconds to say and it should avoid jargon. Hopefully when someone hears it, they’ll be excited to contribute to your mission.

Create a social media page for your organization

At the end of your pitch, you want to be able to direct people somewhere so they can stay involved with your mission. A great place to point people is a website (we’ll touch on that in a moment), but if you’re not ready to set that up yet, you can start with a social media page. They are easy for anyone to create, regardless of your technical skills.

Think about your audience and your network and choose the channel where those people congregate online, whether that’s Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, or something else. But whatever it is, make it as accessible as possible. You don’t have to have a complex marketing strategy, but having a home base on the internet gives people an easy way to stay up to date on your work.

It also makes it easier to find your organization as these social media pages will help you appear in internet search results. As people find you online and as people you meet in person follow you, you’ll quickly start spreading your message to more and more people.

Sign up for MonkeyPod Launchpad

MonkeyPod Launchpad is a program specifically designed for new nonprofits. Your budget is tight during those first few years. MonkeyPod recognizes that and wants to help you get started without breaking the bank.

MonkeyPod Launchpad provides you with a database to manage every aspect of your new organization. A MonkeyPod subscription includes fundraising and email outreach tools, a comprehensive nonprofit accounting and grant management system, and a database to store all your contacts. And best yet, the first year is completely free — and years 2 and 3 are heavily discounted.

This is your chance to get started using professional nonprofit software while spending practically nothing. But it’s also an opportunity to lay a strong foundation for your future. If instead of writing things down on sticky notes or keeping track of donors in a spreadsheet, you're tracking that in a CRM, you’ll be set up for success as you bring on more volunteers or staff members.

Set up your online fundraising tools

MonkeyPod includes tools to allow you to receive online donations. That means people can donate to your organization from anywhere at any time. You can link a fundraising page to your social media page or website and start taking donations in minutes.

Now, sometimes that first donation can feel overwhelming. You need to collect contact information, record the transaction on your books, and thank the donor. That’s a lot of busywork, but fortunately, MonkeyPod does it all for you.  

MonkeyPod’s fundraising pages will send receipts to your donors, collect their contact information, and update your books — all done automatically so you don’t have to worry about the busywork. We want you to start funding your mission as soon as you can, so that’s why our fundraising tools are free for new nonprofits.

Create a website

If you don’t already have a website, this is your next priority. You’re a new nonprofit so you don’t need anything fancy. You need a simple website that you can direct people to, something as simple as a landing page with a few pictures and a description of your mission.

Try Squarespace or Wix and use a template to create a basic website. Yes, it will cost you some money each year. But a website makes you official; it gives you credibility. It also provides an easy way for folks to get involved once you include a place to sign up for emails or make a donation (more on that soon).

Share your mission statement, who you serve, and how you help. This is your chance to inspire someone to raise their hand and support your work.

Create your email lists

In addition to accepting donations, you need a way to stay connected with your community. Setting up an email outreach plan is a great way to do this.

In MonkeyPod, you can create email lists to track all your constituents–donors, volunteers, or just people that want to hear about your mission. Then you can create a subscription form that you can include on your website and make it easy for people to sign up for updates.

Every time you meet someone and deliver your elevator pitch, ask for their email address so you can stay in touch. Don’t worry about creating a super detailed communications plan. For now, just focus on collecting email addresses and building your list.

Send regular emails to your lists letting them know about upcoming events, opportunities to volunteer, or fundraising campaigns. This helps people stay engaged, even if they aren’t ready to make a donation or volunteer yet. Sending a regular newsletter keeps your organization top of mind for the people in your community.

MonkeyPod’s email outreach tools are free and unlimited for new nonprofits. You can add an unlimited number of people to your email lists and send an unlimited number of email campaigns.

Starting a new nonprofit is an exciting, but intimidating task. But if you follow these steps, you’ll be well on your way to making an enormous impact for your community.

If you’d like to receive more tips like this, make sure to sign up for our newsletter. And if you’re ready to fire up the Launchpad and get your nonprofit off the ground, head to monkeypod.com/launchpad.