<p>I would like to start a charity of my own with a group of friends. We want to start an organization where we are in control of where money is allocated. Does anyone have experience with starting a charity like this? Your help is appreciated.</p>
<p>There are so many good non-profits out there (including the one I work for) that need money that I’ve never felt the need for another one. I would look around first to see if you can help a group that’s already up and running.</p>
<p>Startinng an actual charity is not that complex, but you definitely need a lawyer (it’s not a fill-in-the-blanks deal like creating a business corporation), and your annual compliance costs (for accounting, tax returns, reports to state AG, complying with obligations toward donors) will be pretty high. Unless you have the capacity to raise a great deal of money, it is not a very efficient thing to do. You could also run into real trouble if you drop the ball. It’s very hard to get rid of a charity once it’s created, and the named officers and directors will have a responsibility to see that it meets its obligations. If you are not legally of age in your state, you won’t even be able to be an officer or director.</p>
<p>Here are a couple of alternatives: </p>
<p>If it’s just you and your friends, why don’t you form a club like an investment club, except what you do is evaluate existing charities and decide which to contribute to / raise money from others for / volunteer with? I would bet you would get a good reception at local charities, and that by pooling your insights and energies, and supporting each other, you could have much more of an impact than the combination of each of you separately.</p>
<p>The other thing to explore is forming a “donor-advised fund” with your local community foundation. Basically, you make donations (and maybe get others to make donations) to the foundation, and they’re put in a separate fund, and you and whoever get to determine how to allocate it to other charities with help from the foundation staff. The foundation handles all of the paperwork and reporting – it’s really all just part of the foundation’s endowment – and provides expert guidance for you; it also takes a cut of the money for its administrative costs. These structures differ, and you have to pay close attention. Some won’t let you spend the original amount contributed, just the income on it, and that’s probably not what you want. But this is often a good solution for people who can contribute or raise a decent amount of money that should be allocated over a period of years, but not enough money (multiple millions) to justify a separate organization.</p>
<p>If what you’re doing is trying to pad your college application . . . well, either of the foregoing would probably look as impressive and more honest than creating an inefficient separate charity.</p>
<p>Easy to start. Very hard to keep going.</p>
<p>how much money do you think you’ll be raising in the first year? second year?</p>
<p>realistically, we’ll probably raise a couple hundred. i think i’ll just follow JHS’s advice and donate directly to a charity instead of creating one. maybe i’ll be able to start my own charity once i graduate and have a steady income.</p>
<p>thanks.</p>