By: Hannah Franz
“Experience is simply the name we give our mistakes.”
– Oscar Wilde
Do you know how to fill out the paperwork it takes to become certified as an official 501(c)-3? Do you know what documents you need to make or what they should look like? Do you know anyone else who shares your passion? Have you ever held a fundraiser or been successful at convincing strangers to donate to your cause? Have you ever written a blog post or even been on a blog?
These are all things that take time and experience. They also come with a lot of mistakes, resubmissions, edits, advocating, and following up time and time again. It is all hard work. You may get frustrated and impatient. After each first step, the subsequent one gets a tad easier, and before you know it, what took you weeks now only takes a day or two. After a few awkward conversations you will develop the ability to talk to people you do not know and slowly build a strong network.
None of W.I.F.E.’s board members have taken classes on how to start a nonprofit, nor did we have prior fundraising, or marketing experience. We come from finance, environment, education, and psychology backgrounds and all have full time jobs in these fields. We had to start at home plate and are slowly making our way to second. Communication, perseverance, research, and our passion keep us going. The path is not straight, it had bumps, pot holes, and fallen trees all over the place. We continue to walk the path though and take on each obstacle to gain deeper insight and knowledge.
Much of what we are doing is still trial and error and some things we just could not/cannot do ourselves. That being the case, we have reached out to many talented people and have received unsurmountable support.
Never hesitate to ask for assistance.
People WANT to help!
People are good and want to do good. Many are extremely talented and have made mistakes, of which you can take advantage of the knowledge they have gained. What you are trying to do has been done in some form and there is no reason for you to blaze that trail alone. Reinventing the wheel takes a lot of wasted effort so reach out to the people who have their own models and adapt them to your needs.
The Women’s International Fund for Education constantly seeks advice from others and have been lucky enough to obtain a lot of quality services as well. We are forever grateful for what others have done to help us to reach our ultimate goal of helping make the world a more educated and equal place.