<p>Hello,</p>
<p>My friends and I were thinking of starting a nonprofit organization...does anyone have any ideas???</p>
<p>Go to the library and find a book about non-profit incorporation. </p>
<p>Oh. you didn’t mean that?</p>
<p>You mean you want to start a high school level club that meets some community need that’s so small as to not incur any scrutiny by US tax laws? Oh that. Well, none of us live in your community. Why don’t you guys brainstorm and see what needs a group of HS kids can use their energies to alleviate? </p>
<p>Or better yet. Don’t reinvent the wheel (because you feel that starting a new club looks better to Harvard). Instead, find an extant organization that’s doing REAL work and pour yourselves into that. Salvation Army, Red Cross, senior homes. </p>
<p>And better yet? Don’t tell anyone – including the colleges. </p>
<p>That’s building character.</p>
<p>Oh. you didn’t mean that.</p>
<p>^We have a winner.</p>
<p>I second the nomination.</p>
<p>thanks, I get the message, but the sarcasm wasn’t needed. </p>
<p>And you know what, no one said that I wanted to do this to look better on a resume for Harvard. My friends and I were going try and do something to give back to our community, because not everyone is as fortunate as we are, (the last time I checked helping the less fortunate was doing REAL work). I only posted to this forum because a Harvard student I know says that he knows some people there who started a nonprofit organization. So I thought that someone on here would have an idea as to what we could do. </p>
<p>So, next time maybe you should find someones reason for wanting to do something like this before you snipe at them. </p>
<p>But thank you for your input.</p>
<p>Think about starting an animal rights group. Those people do a lot of good for our world.</p>
<p>You could also start a youth missionary group. With the help of your community, you could raise money to make missionary trips to Africa, South America, and other places where the locals allow you to indoctrinate them in exchange for water filters, antibiotics and suchlike.</p>
<p>CJ1995: This question should really be on a different section on the forum–consider the CC Cafe section perhaps… It’s not really a Harvard-specific question per se; nonprofits of various stripes are founded by students and alumni from many different universities. Also (assuming you are actually serious about this endeavor), you may actually get more help in the Parent’s Forum than here, as the majority of readers and posters on the H thread are HS applicants and perhaps a few current Harvard students, most of whom have NOT (yet) started or founded their own nonprofits.</p>
<p>P.S. Speaking from some limited personal/professional experience, the process can be a pain in the you-know what, especially when dealing with the IRS.</p>
<p>cj: yes i was very sarcastic – too much so. I apologize. </p>
<p>I know you’re trying to do your best. But really, piggy back someone else’s proven idea and make it better. The “I started so and so club” is actually common as heck. Don’t do the standard thing. Really make something great.<br>
BTW: starting a Non Profit is a huge corporate ordeal. You don’t need to do that to achieve what I think you and your friends want to do. </p>
<p>Best of luck to you and your friends.</p>
<p>A real nonprofit requires 501(c)3 status. How do you intend on doing that?</p>
<p>^Not difficult at all.</p>