Non profit help | Imamother

amother

Sat, Feb 10 2024, 10:27 pm

Considering starting a local non profit. There is a huge lack in my community for this specific thing.
Someone told me I could open a non profit to raise money to fund it.
What are the rules about starting one? What can it pay for? Can I take a meager salary to pay for my time involved? Not trying to get rich or anything but it will take up a lot of time at least at first.

Has anyone started one? This is highly needed and no one is doing it. I just can't afford to do it on my own and pay for it all.

I will of course consult a professional but do I speak to an attorney and an accountant or both?

notshanarishona

Sat, Feb 10 2024, 10:53 pm

It costs a few thousand just to start a non profit.
You need at least 2 people on your board.
You can take a reasonable salary.
I am in the process of moving my swimming school to non profit.

amother

Iris

Sat, Feb 10 2024, 10:54 pm

notshanarishona wrote:

It costs a few thousand just to start a non profit.
You need at least 2 people on your board.
You can take a reasonable salary.
I am in the process of moving my swimming school to non profit.

What’s a non profit swim school?
How does one decide a “reasonable” salary?
Thanks this is interesting I’ve toyed with starting a non-profit in my field

amother

NeonGreen

Sat, Feb 10 2024, 11:06 pm

There’s no real rules for non profit salaries just keep in mind that if you become large enough or depending on how you’re classified you may have to file a non profit tax return and your salary will be reportable for anyone to see. Even if you’re not large enough, donors can ask for your financial statements and assuming you’re the only employee they’ll clearly see that information.
You also need to consider what goes into paying employees. Many companies outsource payroll because it gets complicated with tax withholding and reporting requirements.

amother

Iris

Sat, Feb 10 2024, 11:13 pm

amother NeonGreen wrote:

So if it’s reportable what do people consider reasonable? How would one decide that? Is it supposed to be similar to what they’d get in private sector for such a job?

amother

NeonGreen

Sat, Feb 10 2024, 11:35 pm

amother Iris wrote:

So if it’s reportable what do people consider reasonable? How would one decide that? Is it supposed to be similar to what they’d get in private sector for such a job?

That can be a reasonable way of figuring things out but there’s no one right way. It’s trickier when you’re essentially paying yourself than if you’re hiring someone from the outside so ideally you’d want to set it up so the board members are officially doing the hiring and determining salaries.
Reportable doesn’t mean it has to be a lower than standard salary I just wanted OP to be aware. It can be uncomfortable when everyone knows what your paid and I’ve met people in such situations who didn’t realize their salary was so readily available online.

amother

Sun, Feb 11 2024, 2:42 am

So what are the rules for non profits?
So We need a board. What does the board do? What are the responsibilities of someone on the board? Can it be family members? Can I be one of them?
What else do we need?
If it costs money to start a non profit, I assume we can't fundraise for that...

I wish I had extra funds to just pour into this but I am not wealthy and found a real need.