This is what I was referring to when I was saying anyone can start a non-profit
501c3 is the goal! Yes, anyone can start a non-profit, but my goal with it is indeed for its own sake, not my reward. I am making the non-profit regardless of whether it helps my app, I am just wondering.
âTo engage in any lawful activity of spreading awareness about illicit substancesâ
What makes you qualified to do this? Will it just be some hs kids going around talking about staying away from dangers? That does not need a non-profit. As said, plenty of other organizations are already into this; it would be a far better use of your time to affiliate with them, work alongside the adults currently managing this, rather than reinvent the wheel. better yet, working in a volunteer capacity with at-risk kids. Doing the hard work, committed to it.
Lots of kids think leading/starting a NP sounds executivie-y, as if college adcoms will automatically shout, âLeadership!!!â But no. This risks backfiring, if you arenât otherwise involved in a range of activities that show concern for others, good causes that are more than a few hours here and there, mostly fun with buds. Or some involvement with issues in your community, those existing advocate organizations. Etc.
We donât know what level of colleges you have in mind. But the higher the tier, the more they need to see more than a couple of things you consider spikey. What do you do where you truly roll up your sleeves and get involved with those who are in need or at-risk, now? On a consistent basis, with responsibilities? Thatâs the leadership quality, not some title.
corrected typos
Alright everyone, thanks for the helpful replies. First of all, I would just like to state there are roughly 3,000 non-profits in my county alone. That is roughly one non-profit for every 150 people.
Now, Iâm going to answer a few questions and comments in this thread.
Q: Why not just do events and not form a non-profit?
A: I am interested in creating a sustainable organization that is fully student-run. This will continue for years. There is not one non-profit located in my city (there is in my county, but not at a city level) that is advocating what I want to advocate. It will also make donations and financial handling much easier once created.
Q: Why not just help/work with another non-profit doing what you want to do?
A: I, alongside my group, want to be able to exercise full control over events and activities.
Q: Do you actually have a plan on an executive level?
A: Yes, I have a plan. I am working with students from around the area, have contacted national drug organizations, and will be filing documents soon.
Q: What gives you the credibility to do this?
A: We will be participating in small-group discussion and larger events with guest speakers. Take into consideration I am a high school student.
Q: How can you guarantee the events will be successful?
A: I have run multiple events before, and have enough experience with policymaking and event planning to ensure a successful run.
Please, please read the rest of this thread before you comment. Also, if you choose to comment in this thread, please make your comment replying DIRECTLY to the point of this post, which is asking if starting a sustainable, successful non-profit organization could be a heavily weighted part of my application. That is NOT the reason I am creating the non-profit, but I am still allowed to ask the question.
And yes, I know I used the word âhook.â I have already clarified twice before that I could also mean âstrong EC.â
I will not be responding to any more questions if they were answered in this comment. Thanks everybody once again.
âthe point of this post, which is asking if starting a sustainable, successful non-profit organization could be a heavily weighted part of my application.â
You phrased that, if it âcould be.â Well sure, if you make it so. Should it be and will it help? Maybe not. Imo, not. For the reasons I already noted.
For the limited info we have from you, Itâs a onesie. Meaning, your one big intended showpiece. Top adcoms look for more. The logical adult reaction, from people who see thousands of apps annually, can be to wonder why this, what you were thinking, when there are other ways to get involved with the same purpose. In fact, they could smell out this desire to âexercise full controlâ or âadd weight to my college application.â
And, if there are 3000 organizations⊠Of course, there may not be one dedicated to your exact statement of purpose. But so many operations are going right now, and as part of their fuller activities, are tackling drug related issues. Lots of media news now about the new fed initiative. Lots of local news about advocacy orgs, etc.
Make your own choice. But make it an informed one. Know what the colleges want to see, what they say and show.
Iâll answer the question directly. IMO, no. In order for this to have a considerable impact on your admissions chances you would have to do more than start a nonprofit. What would improve your admissions chances, at least slightly, is to have a demonstrable impact for the good on people in your community. This is something you can do without starting a 501©(3).
Admissions might pay attention to a nonprofit with a large donor, volunteer, and client base. This, in my experience, is likely to take much longer than a year and a half to attain, which is really all the time you have before youâll start submitting applications.
If I were an admissions officer reading your essay one question I would have is how much of the work of your nonprofit was driven by and accomplished by you as opposed to your parents or other adults. As a minor you cannot open a bank account for your nonprofit and in many states you cannot even serve on the board of a 501©(3).
I wonder if you might want to save yourself a lot of time, money and energy and skip the 501©(3) process. It seems to me much of what you describe can be accomplished without becoming a 501©(3). The only reason to file would be if you are soliciting donations and want to be able to issue tax deductible receipts. Remember, if you do start this as a 501©(3) the people on the board will be legally responsible to see that the organization files annual reports, taxes, and any other documents required by your state.
OP, people are always free to comment on the thread however theyâd like. If there are answers you donât like or need, just ignore them. You canât tell people how to post.
The problem with these types of projects is that theyâre not unique. Girl Scouts has gone to a model where the highest award requires girls to create a sustainable project similar to what youâre describing. Students donât have to create an official nonprofit group, but itâs the same premise as what youâre suggesting â plan a project that helps others in some way, get a team to help you implement it, and then find someone to continue it after you graduate.
I think itâs a better use of time to join an existing group and use their resources to make a more immediate, longterm difference. You donât need to start a nonprofit to get speakers to visit your county schools, for instance, and you could probably start reaching students right away. You can start a group if you want, but I wouldnât count on it moving the needle in college admissions.
Thanks everyone again. I will discuss this with my group and consider making it an LLC corporation. Having a business solves so many issues with donations and financial handling. At least an LLC will be easier to handle. I also understand now that it will not have a large effect on my application unless I plan to do a lot with it (which I do).
@dreamivory, Iâm not sure youâre hearing what many of us are saying. As @austinmshauri has succinctly out it,
Not in my book. Contributions to a LLC are not tax deductible and organizing as a LLC may cause prospective donor to assume your group is for profit. Also, who are you planning to do your legal work, accounting and tax preparation? The tax forms for a LLC are not simple. (As a 501(c)(3), if you normally pull in less than $50,000/yr. you can file the extremely easy 990-N postcard.) Also, in my experience, the IRS is more forgiving of mistakes made by 501(c)(3)'s than by other types of corporations.
Interesting points. I will take this all into consideration in my endeavors with starting an organization. I look forward to it! Thanks everyone.
Itâs been about 10 years since I was a practicing tax lawyer whose work included setting up 501(c)(3)'s, so things may have changed, but as of that time, to create a 501(c)(3) you had to
- File with the state to create a no-for-profit corporation (label can vary state to state). This requires forms, filing fee, articles of incorporation, by-laws and a board.
- File for tax exempt status with the IRS. I'm not familiar with the EZ form, but look at it carefully to make sure you'd be eligible and that you can provide the information requested.
THEN, there will be filings required every year with both the state and the IRS. Iâm not even sure a minor can sign any of these documents.
If this is meant to be a fully student run organization that goes on for years, I have several questions.
Who will sign all the various forms, if you need an adult? If the organization is student run, what authority will the adult have to sign the various filings?
Who will be responsible for preparing all the filings?
How will you ensure that proper corporate records are maintained and that filings are appropriate each year, as leadership changes frequently?
The charity will need a bank account. Will a bank let a minor open an account for a charity?
Whatâs an EIN? Do you need one? If so, how do you get one? If not, why not?
Letâs say the charity needs to buy something. Can you describe for me the interaction of sales tax and tax exempt status?
Adults often pay accountants and tax lawyers to deal with these things. Yes, as a small organization the matters will be simpler, but what makes you think a bunch of high school kids will know what to do or even recognize when they need a professional?
Can you explain the difference between a public charity and a private foundation? Are you aware that you want to be a public charity? Do you know how to qualify as one?
Donors want receipts for their donations, so they can substantiate their tax deductions. Do you know how to write an acceptable receipt?
Who is going to keep the books? Do you know how to do the fund accounting required of a charity?
There are activities in which charities may not engage without endangering their tax exempt status. Do you know what you canât do?
If the charity doesnât work out and decides to wind up, who gets whatever money or other assets is left?
Or, possibly, you are exempt from some of these requirements. Do you know? Have you read this IRS document?https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/i1023ez.pdf Did you understand it? Every word? Are you sure?
Wouldnât it be easier to work with the organization in your county that is already working on the issue you want to work on?
And all that, just to go tell kids to stay away from dangers? When those adcoms see it in an app, itâs not the entity that will impress. Itâs not some lofty sounding statement of purpose, nor the title a hs kid bestows on himself. Not the hours he claims he put in, the number of schools he spoke at, etc.
All of the logistical issues Millie210 raises (and others of us have raised as well) are important but in they end theyâre surmountable. It is possible for a private citizen with no specialized training to create and run a 501©(3) nonprofit. My main concerns are
- Are you really the best person to do this work? Ego aside, can you be more effective working through an existing organization, and
- How much stamina do you have for this project? As founder you'll have to shepherd this for a long time, long after applications are due. As Millie210 details, there is a lot of ongoing work to operating a charity beyond the actual program activities.
I would encourage you to think of this as a 10 year commitment, not a 2 year one. My litmus test, and a question that doesnât require an answer here but that you should ask yourself honestly, is this-
** If itâs possible the creation of this nonprofit will LOWER your odds with colleges would you still do it? Are you so compelled toward this work that youâll continue with it long after your classmates have lost their enthusiasm? **
If so, and you honestly canât find another organization to work within PM me and Iâll hook you up with some resources.
The advantage to working through an existing org is you work alongside other adults in their roles, the presumption is you qualified for the opportunity, met the expectations of those adults, ongoing. And learned from them, as well as contributing to the groupâs impact. It can be a significant impression.
In admissions- for top schools- there is no tip for âowningâ your own org, going trough the labors to create it, especially if the work itself does not require this formation. The value is in the work you actually do for others, that effort and its true impact. Just founding something isnât âit.â Making it a legit NP isnât âit.â Going and giving talks- about something you are not a subject expert on, isnât âit.â
And if a kid has no other substantial service, he doesnât create this impression he thinks he does, of an aware, concerned, and activated individual.
This sort of thing comes up all the time for kids wanting Penn for business (But I created a venture, I earned $$!!) or wanting, say, Stanford. (But Iâm an entrepreneur!!) Or they claim to have raised big bucks.