How can I start a charity?

Question

i have an idea for one. I want to collect used wheelchairs and donate them to hospitals, nursing homes, the needy..etc.

how can i go about doing so????

Answer 1

Your plan can be divided into 2 steps

Step 1. Find places that need wheelchairs make some phone calls and write some emails to places near you that you think may need wheelchairs. Make sure there is a significant need.

Step 2. Find Wheelchairs. Craigslist.org has a section entirely for charity and volunteer requests. You can also put up fliers and take out a personal ad in your local newspaper.

Once you've re-assigned a few wheelchairs solo and have a feel for your basic needs you can go onto more complex things like coordinating multiple volunteers and filing as an official nonprofit organization.

You should also learn some of the technical information about wheelchairs and learn to fix them since many wheelchairs you recieve will be rusty or worn.

Answer 2

Maybe you can try finding manufacturers of wheelchairs and other medical equipment and tell them that you are non profit? I don't understand the other guys answer, I guess he means advertise that you need free, used, wheelchairs that will go to the needy? That would probably be a better idea than asking companies. I do have one side comment on the hospital situation. I volunteer at a medical center and ALL of the wheelchairs are exactly the same I think. I'm just saying, definitely ask but they may/may not need them. Homeless shelters and nursing homes will probably take them though. Good luck with building up an organization though.