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Guide to Starting a Nonprofit

Many people consider forming a not-for-profit organization because they see a problem that they believe they could address. Or they have an idea about a product or service that would benefit the community. In this way, starting a nonprofit is just like starting a for-profit business - you have to have a good product, and there has to be a "market" or need for that product.

This document will help you to understand the steps involved in starting a nonprofit and creating a business plan. If you are wondering whether you should start a nonprofit, this document is a great place to start. This short quiz, published by The Nonprofit Center, will also help you to decide if you are ready to start your own nonprofit.

This guide contains numerous links to online resources and articles. For printed materials, we recommend The Nonprofit Handbook by Gary M. Grobman, Starting and Building a Nonprofit: a practical guide by Peri H. Pakaroo, and How to Form a Nonprofit Corporation by Anthony Mancuso.

Click on one of the images below to download the document as a Microsoft Word 2003 or Adobe PDF file.

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