Another Step Forward

Life is funny in that it can take you months to get around to doing something that you have literally thought about every day for...well, months.

This, I believe is the text book definition of procrastination in action. ( I giggled at the very idea of the phrase "procrastination in action".) I have been at a standstill with the non-profit since September. The reason? It is simple yet complex. A one-word answer would simply be: PROCRASTINATION. The more complex answer would be that there are a lot of little components that need to line up. I let myself get overwhelmed with what to do next and I stalled. Then I hid behind my exterior, my life; I am knee-deep in the trenches of raising two preschoolers that both had birthdays in the fall. Then there are the fabulous holiday's that November and December bring. Just a few days before the celebration of New Years, I find that I am expecting our third child. Life has not been simple and thus I would like to retract any "simple answers" to this question. Life happened.

Here we are almost 6 months from my last post and I have only a few new things to share. I attended a Non-profit boot camp with one of my board members at the end of September, I opened a page on facebook (click on From the Heart and "like" us), and I officially started the process of becoming an 501(c)3. Here is where you are going to get a little lesson in Non-profit 101.

You can be a non-profit for years and years and never have tax-deductible benefits. You must file with the government to become a type of non-profit. There are 28 types of non-profit organizations 501(c)1-28 (thank you Wickipedia). The most recognized by the masses is 501(c)3 these are your religious, educational, charitable, etc organizations. When you become a full-fledged 501(c)3 as an organization you have tax-exempt and tax-deductible benefits. The IRS will review your application for whatever type of 501(c) you apply for and they are the ones that determine if you qualify to in fact be that type of organization.

So, now that my lesson is done, I will tell you that this is not simple task. I decided that From the Heart, Inc. would never get off the ground if I had to do this paperwork myself. Thus the board agreed to hire The Foundation Group to be our guide in this process. I was thrilled! This is not cheap and our first fundraising will be put towards paying for this major milestone in our organization. Which also brings me to my point of this post. I would like to now make a public to-do list for March. I feel that making it public might actually help me achieve my goals more quickly.

1.) Draft the letter that will go out to everyone I know letting them know what we are doing and what we hope to do.

2.) Open our bank account to begin accepting funds

3.) Begin to get the website up and running.

I feel that these tasks along with at least one more blog post (hopefully more) in the month of March is about my limit to what I can accomplish.

Wish me luck, if you read this say a prayer for me and the others working on this project. If you would like more information please leave a comment and I would be happy to answer any questions.

Thanks!