The Start Your Nonprofit Masterclass, taught by Founders!

Operationalize your nonprofit by turning a specific change goal into a measurable mission statement, outlining steps to create measurable impact for donors and build technological literacy for underserved children.

Conduct market research to evaluate the viability of a new nonprofit service. Compare competitors, identify differentiators, and use donor sources from GuideStar and Open Secrets to inform fundraising.

Learn to write a donor- or investor-ready business plan for nonprofit or for-profit ventures using a practical template that clarifies your mission and timeline.

Write the executive summary last, as investors and lenders read it first and it captures the plan's essence. Use the template to outline goals, target market, competition, and financial outlook.

Outline your company's description and basic elements, including the business name, founders, and their backgrounds. Summarize the mission, philosophy, and vision as a central reference for investors and lenders.

Define your products or services by detailing the problem solved, benefits, features, pricing, market research, competitors, nonprofit considerations, and donor expectations.

Identify your nonprofit marketing plan using market research to assess industry attractiveness, barriers to entry, target donors, competition, and SWOT analysis.

Identify strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats in a swot analysis, assess industry, competitors, and yourself, honestly articulate strengths and weaknesses, set actionable opportunities, and mitigate threats for nonprofits.

Tailor nonprofit and financing plans to industries like service and software by detailing capital, costs, revenue, and profit to ensure bankers, investors see how funds will be used and repaid.

Discover the essential legal steps to start a nonprofit in the United States, including consulting a lawyer and CPA, setting founding documents, and obtaining an IRS EIN.

Decide your state to incorporate and whether to form a corporation or unincorporated organization, weighing liability protection and guidance from your tax advisor and lawyer, then apply for 501 status.

Apply for 501(c)(3) status by preparing legal business details, EIN, and director information, then file IRS Form 1023 or 1023-EZ if you expect to raise under $50,000.

Understand annual reporting and compliance for nonprofits: hire a lawyer and CPA, meet state and federal requirements, and maintain donor transparency through annual reports and financial disclosures.

Define your initial programs with a low-cost, high-impact focus, run webinars to engage communities, track attendance for donor appeal, and iterate your roadmap based on user feedback.

Learn how to manage nonprofit programs with strong reporting and capacity planning by collecting feedback, testimonials, and attendee data from day one to demonstrate impact and attract donors.

Select essential nonprofit software, starting with a CRM for email, forms, and campaigns, plus a data management tool. Use fundraising tools, a website, and social media to attract donors.

Explore nonprofit fundraising models from self-sustaining product sales to individual, corporate, government, and event funding, and research GuideStar, Open Secrets, Grants.gov, and state grants to test what works.

Experiment with multiple fundraising models to identify what drives donor support, then scale successful channels with clear impact reporting, recurring giving campaigns, and donor appreciation.

Explore grants from grants.gov and state, local town, city, and county sources, and use Instrumentl to find nonprofit funding, plus crowdfunding tools like Kickstarter for broader reach.

Explore donor types from individuals to foundations and governments, and learn practical donor acquisition strategies, including campaigns, in-kind donations, sponsorships, and applying for grants.

Retain donors through constant communication, making them feel like part of a team, with personalized updates for large donors, event invites, and transparent impact data.

Learn to build a nonprofit or for-profit budget by defining fixed costs like insurance, rent, utilities, salaries, and variable costs per product or event.

Learn to build a monthly nonprofit budget and revenue projection using the provided template and Google Sheets, including donors, grants, events, sponsorships, and other income, with informed assumptions.

Learn to build an annual nonprofit budget by linking revenue projections to income, detailing fixed and variable costs, accounting for one-off expenses, and forecasting profit.

Manage nonprofit finances by entering actuals in the monthly actuals tab while using the monthly budget and overview as reference to track performance against the annual budget and revenue projection.

Define donor and user funnels to guide your nonprofit marketing strategy. Identify target audiences, channels, and personas, then test messaging with tools like Canva and Monday.com to refine your plan.

Learn to fill out a nonprofit marketing plan template, defining your mission, setting measurable business objectives, and performing a SWOT analysis to guide programs and impact.

Conduct market research to map competitors and trends, identify white space, and determine donor channels; then complete a swot analysis to define differentiation and guide your marketing plan.

Set strategic marketing goals aligned with your nonprofit's aims, focusing on channels, donor and user acquisition, and metrics. Track attribution with a landing page and keep goals smart and attainable.

Plan nonprofit marketing channels and a budget informed by donor research, covering social media, traditional news, podcasts, websites, newsletters, with tailored tone and metrics.