 Janice A. Hartmann |
Fund-raiser start-up business?
I appriciate any suggestions on this..thanks!
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Mark Feldstein |
Kind of an interesting idea Janice, but before you get too far ahead of yourself, first, those fees sound awfully low. I think you need to charge much more for your time: Depending on where you live, I'd take it upward towards $100-200 bucks per shot. $10-20 is a "loss-leader" like Sears or walmart to get people into the store. I think you need much more profit in this thing to make it effective for the non-profit and worthwhile for you. Also, I'm not clear on fund raising for who, exactly? Like local or national non-profits? If so, you're going to need their blessing, in writing, and probably register with the IRS. among other outfits. If you haven't done so yet, I'd talk to a fund raising person at say, United Way and get their input. And you ought to talk to an accountant and see what's required of you in terms of reporting and paperwork, setting up your books etc. It's not a bad idea at all, quite admirable in fact, but you really ought to work out those pesky financial details before diving into background colors and media. Take it light ;>)
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Irene Troy |
Hi Janice; Mark has, as usual, offered your some good advice on your idea. However, since I spent 26 years working in not-for-profits, I thought I’d add my two cents worth in hopes that it will help. First and foremost: Many people make the mistake of thinking that because a charitable group relies on donations from the community that their standards are not as high as a for profit group. This type of thinking can be disastrous to your reputation! The governing boards of most non-profits are comprised of people from the community who often have a great deal of money and/or contacts within that community. If you do quality work you may have a good chance of getting other work through referrals from these board members. Therefore, it becomes even more essential that your prices – what you charge as an overall fee prior to giving the charitable group their share – be within the normal price range of your area. Do not under price your work unless you always under price your work. (Which you should not be doing anyway). The product needs to be as good as anything you produce. Of-course you are not going this just to get your name out into the community; however, you must never forget that anything that has your name on it will reflect on you directly. Second: If you have never worked with a non-profit you need to understand something about how most operate. While every charitable group is pleased when someone offers to help them raise money in an appropriate way, most are quite cautious about associating themselves with any unknown entity that has no track record in the community. They need to know that the person offering help is legitimate; committed to their cause and capable of following through with their part of the deal. Third: You will need to prove yourself to the non-profit just as you need to prove yourself to a potential client. This means having at least an informal portfolio of images that you can show the people interested in your proposal. Fourth: Be cautious about which non-profit group you select – just as legitimate groups are cautious about becoming involved with an unknown person, you need to know that not all non-profits are legitimate and that some will, unfortunately, take advantage of your generosity. Mark touched on the idea of contacting the local United Way. This is an excellent suggestion since they can tell you who is legitimate and who would be most likely to appreciate your proposed service. Another source for determining both the legitimacy and stability of a non-profit group is your state’s attorney general’s office. The AG’s office (in most states) maintains a list of not-for-profit groups; their finances and fund raising histories. This is public information and often can be accessed on the Internet. Finally, I also applaud your idea and hope that all of this will not prove so daunting that you give up on the idea! All of what I have written sounds much more complicated than it truly is. You probably already have some ideas of agencies/groups with whom you’d like to work. I wish you well with your idea and if you have more questions, please come back and let us help. Irene
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Mark Feldstein |
Wow Irene!!! You really hit those nails on the heads! Gr8 point #1, non-profit doesn't mean "no-profit". So Janice, ask what you really feel you should charge for the work to earn some money off this endeavor because (and here's point #2) you would get taken advantage of AND quickly burn out on an otherwise solid and generous offering. Also, something I forgot yesterday, talk to an accountant about how YOU can deduct your services provided to a non-profit because that would have some tax advantages to you too. M.
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Janice A. Hartmann |
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