Episode 3: The Nonprofit Success Path — The 7 Stages of Building a Successful Nonprofit
Thinking about starting a nonprofit? Struggling to fund your nonprofit? Overwhelmed? Before starting a nonprofit, learn the 7 Stages of a Successful nonprofit and get clarity on what should be done to start, fund, and run a profitable nonprofit organization before spending a dime.
Here's a Link to the 7 Stages of the Nonprofit Success Path to use as a reference of where to start to strengthen your organization.
Link to "SmallBizPro" https://www.smallbizpro.net/
Link to "Nonprofit Ready" https://www.nonprofitready.org/
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This episode's spotlight highlights the nonprofit "Fostering Dreams Project" founded by Melanie Buttarazzi who utilizes dance as a way for young children from the foster care system to demonstrate expression and confidence in their everyday lives.
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Website: https://www.fosteringdreamsproject.org/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/fostering_d...
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Podcast Transcript
Speaker 1 (00:06):
Welcome to On Air with Amber Wynn, where nonprofit leaders learn to fuse passion and commitment with proven business strategies to create long-term funding impact and sustainability. And now here's your host and resident Philanthrepreneur Amber Wynn.
Speaker 2 (00:28):
Hello fam, it's Amber, your resident Philanthrepreneur. And today I'm so excited because you know my moniker is that I provide non-profit founders with the roadmap to long-term sustainability and funding resources. And today I'm gonna share with you that roadmap. Listen, there's so much information out there on the internet. Is it free? Yes it is. But there's so much out there that you can easily get overwhelmed. But today I'm going to outline for you the nonprofit success plan. It's a pathway to alleviate some of that stress and overwhelm. So before we get started, cuz I have a lot of information to share with you, let's hear from one of our sponsors.
Speaker 3 (01:14):
Do you have a tool that organizes your company's paperwork and takes care of all your record keeping? Does your current record keeping systems send you 90 day alerts to remind you that your key documents are about to expire and need to be renewed? Can you find contracts and procurement opportunities in seconds from any of the 50 United States so you can grow your business?
(01:39):
Is your business organized so that you can tell which key documents are needed to efficiently run the business? How about woman-owned, small business or disadvantaged business enterprise certifications? Do you have a checklist of all the key documents you need to become certified? Does your current system allow you to conduct market research from multiple sources and provide you industry and market data in seconds? Well, Small BizPro does all of that and more. Small BizPro is the number one business management compliance, procurement assistance, and market research assistance tool on the market today. Download the app now and you will be amazed. It's like having three additional employees working for you, but you don't have to pay them. What are you waiting for?
Speaker 2 (02:25):
And we're back. You're here with On Air with Amber, and today we're gonna talk about the nonprofit success path. Now, the reason why you wanna follow a success path is because there is a roadmap for creating a successful nonprofit. A lot of founders with passion and commitment get out there and they just make it up as they go along. And what that does is that sets you back. There is a roadmap. And so when we talk about the nonprofit success path, there are seven stages. So let's just jump into it. Stage Zero. If you're in stage zero, you're thinking about starting a nonprofit, you're not quite on the path yet, but you probably have had an experience that's made you think that your community needs help, either because there's a missing or because there's not access to something or because you had an experience where you wish you, someone was there to help you.
(03:20):
You believe that you can do something to improve that situation and you're passionate and you wanna make a difference, but you may not know how to actually go about starting a nonprofit. You know...how to set it up, who your target audience is or how you deliver your services. All you know is that you feel a need to make a difference in your community. And so if this is where you are, then you're at the very beginning of the success path and you're not quite on it, like I said, but it's an exciting stage because you have so many choices. And my goal in this stage is to help make sure that you come out with all of the information that you need to determine whether or not you should even start a non-profit. Because just because someone told you you should, doesn't necessarily mean that you should.
(04:04):
There are so many alternatives to starting a nonprofit and you can still make a difference. So that means you'll have a full understanding of the role, the function, the benefits, and the challenges of a non-profit. You'll be able to answer the question, Should I start a nonprofit? So everything about stage zero is about making an informed decision. Stage One, starting a nonprofit. If you are at this stage, then that means you've already determined the name, you've developed the mission statement, and you've created an organizational purpose or philosophy for your statement. You may be wondering, besides being the founder, like which role should you occupy? Should you be the executive director? Should you be the president? You may think that you can be both, but you can't. We will dive into all of that in stage one, but you'll also learn what it actually means to start a nonprofit because that actually has two meanings.
(04:56):
One is forming the legal entity with the local, state and federal agencies. But two, starting a nonprofit actually means building your organization's all-important infrastructure. And most founders skip this section, but you're gonna learn why at this point in developing your organization, the very first stage, why it's so important to funding. Then Stage Two, developing your purpose. You're getting clear on the need in your community and your organization's capability of meeting that need. Once you start submitting your grants, your purpose, your purpose is especially important because that's how funders determine whether or not they're gonna fund you. So in this stage, you're gonna crystallize your mission statement so that you have all of the essential elements that funders are looking for when determining who they're gonna fund. This stage is essentially the north star of your organization. So everything you do from developing your programs to building your website, from your collaborators to creating your fund development strategy, everything that you do centers around your organization's purpose.
(06:06):
And in stage two, that's where we develop that stage three, developing your programs. Now, you may think it's really simple just to say, I'm gonna do tutoring or I'm gonna do technology. But from a funder's perspective, it's important that you have really clear goals and objectives and that you know who your target audience is, what type of programs you're gonna deliver, and how those programs are different than everybody else's. So this stage is all about the little nuances that go into producing deliverables that help funders understand the impact that you're gonna make in your community. A lot of consultants and other organizations may focus on what you do. I tend to focus on what the funders looking for because at the end of the day, you're going to do what it is that you do, otherwise you wouldn't have started your non-profit. My purpose is to make sure that your organization is funded.
(07:04):
So I'm gonna look at everything. I'm gonna set up everything from the perspective of a funder. So in Stage Three, we wanna make sure that by the end of the stage you will officially have all of the basic foundation for a non-profit organization. If you just start a nonprofit, put three people on a board and just roll out, then there's some very fundamental elements of your organization that are missing. In stage three, it's all about creating program descriptions that's gonna help funders understand what services you'll be delivering and the impact your organization will be making in your community. So I'm talking a lot about the non-profit success path, and if you are taking copious notes, you can stop because I am going to make sure that I have a description of each one of these stages for you in the comments section. So you'll be able just to click onto the link and download each one of the stages.
(08:03):
And just to reiterate, for those of you just joining me now, hi, it's Amber you're On Air with Amber Wynn Philanthrepreneur, and I'm talking about the non-profit success path. This path is for people who are thinking about starting a non-profit or who already have a non-profit, but they're confused about what to do. The non-profit success path lets you know if you're at this stage, here are the things you should be doing, or here are the things you should already have in your non-profit organization. It's important that you stage your yourself so that you understand what it is you should be focusing in and not wasting your time on things that you shouldn't even be wasting your time. So the nonprofit success path is going to help you crystallize every element of your organization. It's gonna help alleviate all of the stress that you have from what should I do, what I should be doing?
(08:55):
We're gonna stage yourself. And then from there you'll know exactly what type of things you'll need to work on. This is gonna save you hundreds of hours, thousands of dollars, and it's gonna give you the clarity that you need to move forward in your organization. All right, so let's get back to the stages. Stage Four, build your leadership team. So most nonprofits, like I said before, will put three people on their board and never think about it again. That's a huge mistake because your board is responsible for not only helping you to guide the organization, but to fundraise. So on stage four, we'll talk about the board and how you go about recruiting an effective board that's gonna help you and increase your capacity. Cuz a lot of times my amazing non-profit leaders think that they can do it all and when they get into it, they realize that they can't and they get burnt out.
(09:47):
So it's really important when you're building your non-profit to build it with a leadership team that's going to help you move your organization forward. And it's also important to understand that every nonprofit goes through a couple of cycles. You've got your initial inaugural board and those are usually people who believe in you and support you. But then as you develop your organization, those people tend to rotate off and then you get more seasoned board members, people who can actually give you access to resources. So your stage four is really just giving you an insight to how you build your organization and what type of leaders you need, and just understanding that that's gonna evolve over time. If you are already established and you're struggling to get your board engaged and fundraise and support on a consistent basis, stage four will help you with that. You may be wondering, how do I even recruit seasoned board members?
(10:47):
Do I pay them? The answer is no. But you may be saying, Well then why would they serve on my board? In stage four, you're going to understand how to do all of that because it's a process, right? There are board recruitment essentials that every successful board recruitment strategy needs. So if you are in stage four, you're laying the foundation for work-life balance, which is extremely important in a non-profit cuz non-profit leaders get burnt out. Having a powerful leadership team means that they're gonna do some of the work and that gives you work life balance. And that's important to me because I want my non-profit founders and executive directors to be around for a long time and it's great that you're serving your community, but I don't want you to burn out. So stage four is about building your leadership team. Stage five is about building systems.
(11:40):
Remember a nonprofit is a business, it's just a business with a philanthropic purpose. You are going to hear me saying that over and over in every episode, every time my mouth opens, you're gonna hear me say that a nonprofit is a business. It's just a business with a philanthropic purpose. So in Stage Five, you're going to be building systems, right? You're gonna get your organization ready for funding. What does that mean? That mean you have to set up processes to receive funds, to produce financial statements and generate compliance reports. These are essential elements of running a business. If you wanna get funded, the funder needs to have financial statements, and if you don't know what it takes to generate financial statements, then you don't qualify for funding. So on stage five, we're gonna talk about that -- you're implementing business practices that show funders they can trust your organization with managing in its investment.
(12:35):
Remember nonprofit funders, their role isn't to give you money, their role is to accomplish their mission, their funding goals. And so in order for them to know that they can trust you, you have to have basic business processes and systems in place and that's what you're gonna get in stage five, right? Funders are looking for indicators that their investment will yield tangible results. And that's what they ask. That's why they ask for financial statements. So there's absolutely no way of getting around it. You can't run an organization on a wing and a prayer, it can't be raggedy. You have to provide your funders with some type of proof that if they give you money, you'll be able to track it and you'll be able to determine, they will be able to determine that they got a return on their investment. So on stage five, we'll help you set up the processes, the systems to facilitate these funders requests, and you'll be able to look the part cuz looking the part is half the battle, but at the end of the day, in stage five, we'll help you look like a well-oiled non-profit organization.
(13:41):
So today we're talking about the non-profit success path. We're on stage five. There are seven stages in this path, and it's important for anyone thinking about starting a non-profit or anyone who already has a nonprofit to stage themselves to understand where they are so that if there's something missing or if there's something that they need to do, they don't waste their time in stage seven when they're really in stage one or two. All right, so let's keep it going. Stage six, build your credibility. Now the nonprofit sector is a very small community. Funders talk to each other. That's why a lot of these nonprofit organizations continue to get funding because a funder will say to another funder when they're sitting on these different boards, Oh, you should check out the Institute for Nonprofit Management. They are amazing. Their reports are on time. They're like, Oh, really?
(14:35):
And then they'll go and they're like, Oh my god, they are amazing. And they'll fund them. Likewise, if your non-profit is raggedy, they're gonna say, mm-hmm stay away from that. They don't ever turn their reports in on time, they mismanage their money. So it's important that you build your credibility. And in stage six I explain what that looks like and what the things you should be doing are. Number one, you should be making your organization more competitive for funding. What does that mean? That means you need to build collaborations and get visibility building your portfolio of social proof of your organization's successes. Nonprofits are notorious for doing the work and not tooting their own horn. It's important that you toot your horn as loud as you can because that's how funders learn about what it is that you're doing. If you are on social media, and if you're sending out e-blasts, if you're doing things to let people know about the wonderful work that you're doing, you have testimonials and success stories, Funders get to see that you are worth investing.
(15:37):
So we talk about that in stage six, right? We want you to stand out from your competitors. It's a small community and there's never enough money to fund everybody, so you wanna rise to the top. And in stage six, we show you how to focus on building visibility, credibility, and an amazing reputation because these are the keys to consistent funding. So this stage focuses on non-profit marketing strategies that'll help you tell your story the difference your organization is making and the lives you're impacting and what that impact looks like. Stage six is extremely important to non-profit funding. And then we have the last stage, which is stage seven, building a sustainable nonprofit, it's the final stage on the non-profit journey. And this is when a non-profit is really just rocking and rolling and they're really ready to scale, meaning you wanna up level, but you're not quite sure how because scaling requires a strong foundation and it's gonna require a lot more investment -- financial investment, social capital investment.
(16:47):
But it's about having the right processes in place, the right team to help you run them and preparing yourself for the mindset to really grow, right? You're not doing the same things the same way, you're doing them differently, you are stepping out. So that means more responsibility, more influence, but it's really about investing more in the building and planning for bigger impact. It's about thinking 10 years out and then putting those things in place that's gonna get you to those 10 years out. If it's an endowment campaign, if it's trying to get people to put your organization in their wheels, that's like thinking about the future, but it's also preparing you so that you can be around for the long term. So as I said, stage seven is about growing your team so that you can focus on what really matters most.
(17:41):
So if you are a non-profit founder and you've been running this organization for 10, 15 years, you should be success planning, right? Succession planning, who's gonna run this after you? You've been doing this work for 20 years, and if you die, it's gonna die with you. You don't want that up-leveling means that your organization that's been making a difference in your community will be able to continue to make a difference in your community because you are bringing in the next generation of leaders who's gonna take your organization to that next level. So this is a stage where knowing your numbers becomes essential to your success because those numbers will influence your decision making and your business. And those numbers will show funders why they should invest in your organization. So in stage seven, you'll be doing a case for support. You're gonna say, over the last 20 years, these are the number of clients that we've helped.
(18:32):
Here's the outcome, here's the impact, but here's the area that we could really use your support or with additional funding, we could even do more. So when you're first starting off your nonprofit, so in the weeds trying to get your organization solid, trying to get money in consistently, but in stage seven, you've figured out the formula for running your organization. In stage seven, you want to take it to the next level. So that is the nonprofit success path, and it's a high-level overview of the nonprofit journey. But when we talk about a roadmap, I need you to understand that there is one. You don't have to get out there and try to figure it out. The first thing you wanna do, and I'm gonna put the link again in the comment section so that you can download and look at yourself. Do I have these things?
(19:21):
If you have these things, then yes, you go to the next stage. Do I have these things? And if you do and you just keep going to, you get to that stage where you're like, Oh, I don't have that. So now you know exactly where you are and exactly what you need to do as you move through each stage. Remember, it all boils down to these three things, launching, growing, and scaling a highly successful nonprofit business. And it starts with understanding that you need to attract, convert, and keep your funders. All of that comes down to having a solid infrastructure. And all of that is what you learn, is what you do, is what you accomplish when you travel along the nonprofit success path. It sounds easy because it is easy. I'm not saying that you won't have to work because you will have to work, but following the path is very clear.
(20:16):
Knowing what stage you're in will help to save you hundreds of hours and thousands of dollars and wasted time and money, and it will give you clear steps to take goals to accomplish, and outcomes that you need to achieve. And understanding where you are on this non-profit journey is key to growing your funding non-profit strategy. So I'm excited to introduce this to you, and we're gonna go through each level. I'm gonna explain to you if you're on, you're in this stage, this is what you should have. And if you don't have it, this is how you get it. So today we're talking about the nonprofit success path, and again, I'm going to put a link so you can download each one of those stages look like. But for now, we're gonna pause and we're gonna hear from another sponsor.
Speaker 4 (21:09):
Starting a new career in a new sector with unfamiliar job titles and new jargon can lead to frustration and burnout.
(21:19):
What if you had an easy way to get up to speed to learn the key elements of successful non-profits and the critical steps we should all take to maximize our impact? Introducing the non-profit Essentials certificate. Three short interactive courses that cover three critical areas. What makes a non-profit a non-profit? How non-profits raise money and skills needed to build a thriving career in the non-profit sector, interactive exercises and actionable advice from non-profit experts help bring clarity to key concepts. And the end of the course, an exam tests your knowledge so you can earn a certificate and badge and then quickly put your new knowledge into practice. The best part, the non-profit essential certificate is 100% free. Thousands of learners have already earned their certificate making this our most popular set of courses in non-profit ready. Register at nonprofitready.org and get ready to accelerate your impact and your career.
Speaker 2 (22:30):
Hello everyone and welcome back to On Air with Amber Wynn, your resident Philanthrepreneur. Listen, you can check me out on all of my social media. I'm on Facebook. I'm on Instagram. You can hook up with me on LinkedIn. All of my social media handles are available for you because I'm here if you wanna ask a question. This next segment that we're gonna have is called Ask Amber. So you can visit any one of my social media handles and ask me a question and I'll read it here on the podcast. So the question that we have today is, How do I re-engage my board after the pandemic? That is an excellent question. Listen, if you've had an active board and they were having your back on the pandemic, they should be extremely wiped out. Having worked with dozens of non-profits, their board really had to step up because they couldn't function the way that they normally do with in person fundraisers.
(23:40):
So they may be burnt out or because you couldn't figure out a way to really engage your supporters, they kind of tapped out. So one of the things that I would recommend is that you use the non-profit success path. And what you would do basically is identify where your organization is on the journey. Are you in stage 1, 2, 3, 4, 7, whatever. But what this does is help to bring clarity to where you are, and then you identify the gaps. So you wanna see what it is that you have, the things that you've done, the things that you've done well, and celebrate those, right? Say to your board, You have done an amazing job with X, Y, and Z, but based off of this nonprofit success path, we have a couple of gaps. So what is it that you need to do? And then delegate or have your board step up and say, Yeah, we do need to do more social media, or we do need to do more networking.
(24:36):
I'm gonna take that on. And so that's gonna help them re-engage. But instead of something being really random, they can see that maybe in the seven things that they need in one of the stages that you guys have for, but you need three. And if you take those three things on, you can then move to the next stage. So don't forget, download a copy of the Nonprofit Success Path so that you can look and identify where you are. But if you're really interested in how you can re-engage your board, that would be the perfect way to do it. All right, so now it's time in our episode where I get to spotlight a non-profit. I said to you before, I work with so many non-profit organizations and our founders, they're so busy working, working that they're not doing the type of networking that needs to happen. And also, I mean, the work that you guys are doing is so amazing. I want other people to really see you as resources. So today's Spotlight is Fostering Dreams Projects. It's a nonprofit that was founded by Melanie Buttarazzi who may look familiar. Melanie was on Dancing With the Stars, and she shares her experience, passion, and love with youth from Foster Care and low in communities to use dance as a safe space to center, ground and as a mechanism for self-expression. So let's take a look at Fostering Dreams in Action.
Speaker 5 (26:28):
The program is such a wonderful program because it introduces another aspect of the arts to our students here.
Speaker 6 (26:38):
It brings out the best in them, it helps us understand them a little bit more. It helps us to look at where their strengths are, but it's also a way for them to start building more confidence in themselves. It's a way for them to build relationships, and it's a way for them to understand how to work in a team.
Speaker 7 (27:01):
Dance kind of seems scary when you first think about it, but when you actually do it, it's not that scary at all. I have better confidence when I have to do homework, or when I have a big project to do.
Speaker 8 (27:15):
I feel more comfortable speaking instead of being shy and not saying anything. And when I dance, I don't feel so stressed out.
Speaker 5 (27:27):
Some of our kids have anxiety. Some of our kids have some symptoms of depression, and when they can kind of channel those feelings and have a physical outlet, it can help them calm themselves down and regulate their emotions.
Speaker 6 (27:42):
Honestly, most of the students that are in the Fostering Dreams Program don't necessarily -- at least not since they've been in the program -- have had any real behavioral issues. They really have taken on more of a leadership role.
Speaker 9 (27:53):
But this is huge. It's so good for the kids, It is so good for the kids.
Speaker 10 (28:00):
Through patience and just showing them that you care, whether it's being here or teaching them a simple move, they start to relate that as what love truly is.
Speaker 2 (28:33):
So listen, Melanie is on a mission to bring her programs to significantly underfunded arts program in LAUSD. They have a full curriculum designed to deliver to and delivered by professionally trained stage, live theater, film, and TV choreographers in ballet, modern dance, flamenco, ballroom salsa, and hip hop. So if you are an LAUSD principal or know someone in the district office, or better yet, if you are a funder looking to help children reenvision the world and how they fit into it by bringing arts education to schools worldwide, then consider bringing Fostering Dreams Project and more of the schools throughout LAUSD. They are an approved vendor. They're just looking for contacts so they can actually get into the different campuses. You can visit www.fosteringdreamsproject.org, or you can email Melanie at info@fostering dreamsproject.org. Thank you, Fostering Dreams Project for all you do to transform lives in our community.
(29:45):
Now we're gonna drop jump into our mindset minute. But before we do that, I just really wanted to take the time to thank our sponsors. If you're interested in sponsoring any one of our episodes, you can contact me on any of my social media handles. But it's important that people understand in the non-profit sector that there are resources out there to help you. So thank you to Small Business Pro, thank you to Non-Profit Ready. And of course, we want to thank Fostering Dreams for all that they do in the community. I also wanna remind you that one of the resources that we're giving you today is the Nonprofit Success Path. And I want you to download it. It's free, and we want you to stage where you are as a nonprofit so that you can understand where you are and where you need to go.
(30:37):
And then finally, you can of course, check me out on all my social media handles. I'm on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, all of those. Don't forget to, if you have a question, send that question to me and I'll read it live and get you some of the answers that you need. But right now, for our Mindset Minute, I wanna talk about why nonprofits fail, and I wanna talk about it because if you know what the reasons are, then you can avoid them. And the main reason that nonprofits fail is because they make the rules up as they go along. And the IRS has already created what that structure looks like, and funders are actually responsible to report to the IRS. So if what you're doing, I don't care how impactful it is in the community, if it doesn't align with IRS rules and regulations, they can't fund you because it then puts their nonprofit in jeopardy.
(31:39):
So the number one reason why nonprofits fail is because they make it up as they go along. And I will tell you, having served my amazing non-profit founders, y'all get all riled up. And I understand, it's because you've been doing it for years, you've been trying to figure it out. You've invested time, you've invested money. But the reality is, even if you've been doing this for 20 years, you've been self-funding. There are rules. And so instead of trying to just make it up as you go along and squeeze a circle into a square peg, step back, look at what it is that the IRS and funders require so that you can meet those and then you can get funding. So yeah, that's really the number one reason why nonprofits fail. So when we talk about shifting your mindset, take a deep breath. Now that you have the nonprofit success path, you can follow it, you can readjust, and you can get on that path so that you can open up your resources for more funding and more opportunities. So yeah, that's it for today's episode. Thank you for joining me. I'm so excited. Our next episode is actually gonna talk about stage zero, thinking about starting a non-profit organization. See you next time.
Speaker 1 (32:57):
Thanks for listening. If you enjoyed this episode, subscribe and leave a review on iTunes. Head over to www.amberwynn.net/podcast for the links and resources mentioned in today's podcast. See you next time.
