My husband and I want to start a charity for school children in Jamaica. Where do I start?

Question

I dont know where to start but Im sure this is the right thing for us to do. We feel strongly that if we live in Jamaica we must do something good in return. Will the government help? US or Jamaican? I am open to any ideas. I want to help them buy their uniforms and books. I would like to have free skill workshops. Where do I get the money? and how do I start the paperwork?

Answer 1

Maybe you can contact Bill O'Reilly, Fox News.

He runs his own personal Charity in Haiti.

Just a thought.

Answer 2

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/...

Surely there are already charities in Jamaica that you could help, rather than starting one of your own?