A free resource for nonprofit organizations, NGOs, civil society organizations,
charities, schools, public sector agencies & other mission-based agencies
by Jayne Cravens
More resources at coyotecommunications.com & coyoteboard.com (same web site)

Starting a Nonprofit or Non-Governmental Organization (NGO)
(or starting a foundation, a charity, a community-based organization, etc.)

Later on this page is a list of web sites for various countries regarding how to start a nonprofit organization, NGO, etc.

If your country is not listed

• Search the International Center for Not-for-Profit Law. Search just by the country name. For instance, type in Kenya, and you will get a list of documents produced by the center or submitted to the center's knowledge base. Read through the documents and you should be able to find the name of the federal office that regulates nonprofit organizations in that specific country.
• Go to Google and type in your country's name and the phrase starting an NGO
• Go to your city government offices and ask for the paperwork for starting an NGO in your country.

No matter what country you want to register in, before you file any paperwork, you first need a business plan, in writing, that answers these questions:

• What services will this organization provide?
• What statistics and testimonials do you have that prove this organization is needed AND wanted? How did you gather those statistics and testimonials?
• What programs will you launch first, and which will launch later, in a year or two? What data do you have that shows you are prioritizing your initial programming correctly?
• How do you envision the staffing for your initial programs – by volunteers? If so, what tasks might these volunteers do? Could the tasks be divided into different roles: leadership roles, one-time group activities, short-term individual roles, online volunteering, university classwork, etc.? What might the costs be to involve such volunteers (recruitment, screening, support, etc.)? Or will these initial programs be staffed by paid employees or consultants? If so, what might these roles look and what would the costs be?
• What will the decision-making and leadership of your program look like? How will the board of directors be chosen? How long will each member serve? How will their fiscal responsibilities and other oversight responsibilities be defined? Will there also be an advisory board?
• Will the organization charge for services? If so, how much and how will prices be determined?
• What will these services achieve? What will success look like? How will you prove those achievements?
• How much will providing these services costs -- rental space, computer, registration as a nonprofit with the federal and state, paying staff or consultants, equipment, etc.?
• What will you do in terms of programming without your own physical space? Before you get your own building or office, how will you leverage church or mosque or temple fellowship halls, library meeting rooms, cultural centers, arts spaces and other existing facilities to offer your programming until you get a physical space of your own?
• How will the organization account for donations, income earned and expenses?
• What will be done to protect your clients, volunteers, staff members and others from exploitation of any kind?
• What will you do to ensure your organization is free from corruption and mismanagement, beyond just promises and assurances?

After you have written this business plan, you recruit a board of directors -- people over 18 who are willing to be fiscally and legally responsible for your organization, willing to provide some of the start up costs (even a token amount), and willing to put their reputations on the line to say this organization should exist. Then you file your official paperwork with the correct government body. Also, open a bank account in the name of your nonprofit business.

 
USA

Starting a Nonprofit Organization

Foundation Center: How do I start a nonprofit organization?

Also, type in how to start a nonprofit organization or starting a nonprofit organization and the name of your state into Google for information for your specific state (look for the web address or addresses with .gov.

A foundation is different from a nonprofit organization in the USA. A nonprofit delivers services of some kind; a foundation makes grants to nonprofit organizations, individuals or other agencies. A private foundation is funded through one source, normally an individual, family or corporation; a public foundation is funded through multiple sources. Here is an excellent primer for starting a foundation in the USA.

Australia

Philanthropy Australia >> Establishing a Charity

Charity Village QuickGuides >> Starting a Nonprofit or Charity

England and Wales

Registering as a Charity in the UK (England and Wales)

India

India: NGO Registration Methods

Ireland

Setting Up A Voluntary Organisation Or Community Group

Japan

Japan NPO Center

Mexico

Comisión de Fomento de Fomento de las Actividades de las Organizaciones de la Sociedad Civil

Scotland

Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator (OSCR)

South Africa

Registering a nonprofit in South Africa

Once your nonprofit is officially registered, find resources at Southern African NGO Network (SANGONeT)

• The Global Development Research Center, an independent nonprofit think tank that carries out initiatives in education, research and practice, in the spheres of environment, urban, community and information, and at scales that are effective. Its NGO Management Toolbox includes a section on NGO Accountability and on NGO Credibility and Legitimacy.
• Have a look at this free NGO Capacity Assessment Tool. It can be used to identify an NGO’s or nonprofit's strengths and weaknesses and help to establish a unified, coherent vision of what an NGO can be. The tool provides a step-by-step way to map where an organization is and can help those working with the NGO or nonprofit, including consultants, board members, employees, volunteers, clients, and others, to decide which functional areas need to be strengthened and how to go about to strengthen them. The tool was compiled by Europe Foundation (EPF) in the country of Georgia, and is based on various resources, including USAID – an NGO Capacity Assessment Supporting Tool from USAID (2000), the NGO Sustainability Index 2004-2008, the Civil Society Index (2009) from CIVICUS, and Peace Corps/Slovakia NGO Characteristics Assessment for Recommended Development (NGO CARD) 1996-1997.
• TrustLaw, an initiative of the Thomas Reuter Foundation, has a Legal Health Check to help NGOS & social enterprises to identify some of their operational legal needs, like governance, finance and regulatory compliance regarding fundraising, intellectual property, human resources management, volunteer engagement and more. It also lists the questions your NGO needs to ask itself regarding its collection, handling and storing of personal information in compliance with data protection and privacy laws, website terms and conditions, social media (e.g. Facebook, Twitter) policies, limiting risk of libel/defamation and ownership of software or an app. These general questions are designed to help you work out whether you need to consider a particular legal area in more detail. TrustLaw is a free service. NGOs and social enterprises can request free legal support, and lawyers can volunteer to work on projects that interest them - but to get that free support, the NGO or social enterprise must become a members. "All organizations that apply for TrustLaw membership must have a clear social mission that states: who they aim to help; how they plan to do it; the impact they are trying to achieve; and how they will measure this impact."

Also see:

• First Steps in a Nonprofit Dream
  The first step is not getting an office or building. The first step is not trying to get donations. The first step is not building a web site.
  

• Basic Fund-Raising for Small NGOs serving the developing world
  This free document offered via the Coyote Communications web site provides very basic guidelines for small NGOs in the developing world regarding fund-raising, and points to other online resources. By small NGOs, I mean organizations that may have only one paid staff member, or are run entirely by volunteers; and may not have official recognition by the government, and by the developing world, I mean organizations in Africa, parts of Asia, parts of Central and South America, and Eastern Europe. This document will not be helpful to nonprofits serving communities in North America, Western Europe, etc.
  

• Crowdfunding for Nonprofits, NGOs, Schools, Etc.: How To Do It Successfully
  Crowdfunding is difficult and most nonprofits that try it raise NO MONEY. This is realistic advice.

• Don't Just Ask for Money!
  If all your nonprofit, NGO or charity does is tell people how much you need funds, you won't get much. Here's how to craft your messaging - online and face-to-face - to exude success and attract donors.

• 14 simple things to do to your web site to attract more donors
  And I mean it - these are SIMPLE things.

• Vetting Organizations in Other Countries
  A resource that can help you evaluate volunteer-placement organizations that charge you for your placement as a volunteer, as well as for people interested in partnering or supporting an organization abroad but wanting to know it's a credible organization, that it's not some sort of scam, or an 'organization' of just one person.

• Hosting International Volunteers
  More and more local organizations in developing countries are turning to local expertise, rather than international volunteers, to support their efforts. However, the need for international volunteers remains, and will for many, many years to come. This resource provides tips for local organization in a developing countries interested in gaining to international volunteers.

• Questions to Ask for a Major Report from the Developing World
  Most people who write reports about their projects in the developing world rely heavily on field staff to provide information. Often, however, field staff aren't expert report writers, and struggle to provide meaningful, timely information in a coherent written form. Many report writers get around this by interviewing field staff about their work, so that needed information is provided through answers to questions. This method can also build the capacity of field staff to provide written information themselves. This is a list of questions I used to interview staff at an initiative in Afghanistan that was focused on rural projects. I based these questions on previous monthly and quarterly reports, suggestions from donors, the initiatives stated objectives, and my own need for information that could lead to stories in which the press might be interested.

• Building Staff Capacities to Communicate and to Present
  Marketing and public relations is never just one person's responsibility at an organization, regardless of everyone's job titles; everyone at an organization will interact with other staff, partner organizations, potential supporters and the general public at some point. Therefore, everyone needs to be able to talk or to write clearly about his or her own work and that of the organization overall. This new resource describes various activities I undertook to improve the communication capacities of Afghan government staff. This resource links to various slide presentations and materials used for this endeavor in Afghanistan that can be adapted by others in different countries and situations. Included is a workshop on helping women in strict religious cultures to cultivate their presentation and public speaking skills, a workshop and tip sheet to help staff write better reports, and a slide presentation to help staff take photos in the field that will serve a variety of communications and reporting purposes.

Read more about Jayne Cravens

my capacity-building work

my credentials and expertise

my core professional competencies

my workshops & presentations