I would like to start a non-profit fitness center. How do i get a non-profit grant?

Question

I would like to start a non-profit fitness center. How do i get a non-profit grant?

Answer 1

Yes, starting a non-profit business is very hard.  I believe harder than starting a regular business.  I have just started one back at the first of the year and I am still waiting for the government paperwork to come through for me to be able to take mine to the next level.  The FIRST step is to do MAJOR research on the internet, the IRS site, your local county and city, and then the state department.  If permits or lisences are needed and so on.  I wish you the very best in starting yours.  It is a LONG and HARD road and I am not even close to thinking about applying for a grant yet and it has been 8 months now.  

Answer 2

Before you get a grant, you have to form the nonprofit. To start a nonprofit, you first need to get a very impassioned group of people together who support your idea and will provide some start up funding and serve on the board of directors, you need to get letters of endorsement from existing organizations saying this program is needed, you need to have data that shows your target group is in need whatever service it is that you want to provide and that they are not served otherwise, you need to have profiles of your staff showing they have experience and expertise, and you need to have a draft of what your first year's budget would look like (what expenses you expect to incur, what you expect to pay staff, etc.). You aren't going to have any money until you have donors, and you aren't going to have any donors until you have a viable, solid business plan for your nonprofits first five year's of existence. At some point, you need to decide if you are going to be a member of the board (and, therefore, not paid), or if you are going to be, say, the Executive Director, reporting to the board (and you can be paid -- and fired -- by the board).

And then there's the paperwork:

Starting a Nonprofit Organization

http://www.managementhelp.org/strt_org/s...

(one of my favorite resources)

Starting a Non-Profit

Checklist- The Things You Must Do to Start a Nonprofit Organization

http://www.ctnonprofits.org/pages/NonPro...

IRS Tax Information for Charitable Organizations

http://www.irs.gov/charities/charitable/...