Can i start a non-profit without a board of directors?

How can I start a non-profit to provide street outreach to homeless persons in southern Maine?

• Advice on non-profit corporation forming, ideas on additional services to provide, marketing tips, and first-hand homeless experience, would all be helpful! Current Plan: 1. Open a PO Box with personal funds. 2. Open a new prepaid phone line such as a TracFone. 3.  Establish corporation bylaws, and an initial "board of directors" from a handful of volunteers. File Articles of Incorporation with the state (Maine), using sample form from  IRS publication 557 (fill-in template for non-profits). Use the PO box as  the corporation address and prepaid phone line as the corporation phone  number. From this point forth keep logs and meetings to legitimize corporation. Have a plan of how assets will be split if corp. dissolves 4. Design a simple logo with the corporation name. File for a trademark online through USPTO. 5. Obtain Employee Identification Number and File IRS form 1023 to get 501(c)3 tax exempt status (this will take time. But I believe a nonprofit corporation that follows 501(c)3 guidelines is considered exempt until $5k is grossed). 6.  Open bank account in company name with initial personal deposit from members of board. 7. Change PO Box to be paid by company account. Additional phone minutes will be purchased by company. Start Quickbooks to keep basic  accounting.                                                          8.Set up a paypal account to receive donations. 9. Create initial web page, Twitter page, Facebook page to establish social media presence. 10. Create business cards with corp name, mailing address and phone. 11. Reach-out to police forces in the area that organization will be providing outreach in and to other shelters in the area.  Let  them know you exist, what you want to provide, how they can contact you, and if there  will be the possibility of working together in the future. 12. Obtain pamphlets to resources in area for homeless persons. Create a summary page and laminate these pages so that they will be waterproof. 13. Begin to obtain essential items to homeless with corporation money and through donations. 14. Make t-shirts that can provide advertising, incentivize  volunteers, be sold, and provide a feeling of group unity and  legitimacy. 15. Begin street work (see work description below). 16. Take pictures of initial volunteers helping homeless.  Have any person photographed sign a release form.  17.  Update social media using photos to help recruit volunteers, seek item donations and monetary donations.  Look into using a site such as Indiegogo to raise funds for specific projects. 18. Target the local colleges (University of Southern Maine) for young, motivated volunteers. 19. Begin soliciting donations towards a used cargo van (or if certified tax exempt by this point, a donated van). Obtain this van to provide better mobile outreach and if necessary emergency transport to hospital.  Have logo and name printed onto van. Get insurance for van and find out who will be eligible to drive said van. 20. Continue expanding and regularly providing services with future  goals such as: hiring a person just for fundraising, hiring a van driver  who knows the area streets very well, renting a physical office space,  hiring a social worker, hiring homeless persons as liasons to assist. 21. As the nonprofit becomes legitimized, seek medical providers, crisis workers, and mental health workers to volunteer their time to go out with volunteers in van and provide any basic street medical help.  22. Seek any available grants from the state for this outreach.   Street Outreach Work: 1. Provide for a homeless person's basic needs: socks, food, blankets, gloves, sleeping bags, backpacks, shoes, etc. 2. Provide small comfort items to help maintain dignity. 3. Inform homeless persons of the resources available to them. Advocate that they use these resources and assist in establishing these connections such as connecting a homeless person with a social worker. 4. Provide monthly laundry days where wash tokens and soap are provided for free at a laundry mat. 5. Provide any emergency transport to a hospital (with homeless person's permission) if discovered during outreach. 6. Assist in any police-homeless interactions to help de-escalate, if safe. 7. Long term: help move persons out of homelessness. 8. Provide these services without advocating for any specific religion or faith.

• Answer:

  Great idea. I am from Southern Maine, Portland area, and would suggest contacting: USM Law School -- they may have a legal clinical program that has law students who give free legal advice to nonprofits, which this would be. Pine Tree Legal, an organization of professional lawyers who give legal help to people with low incomes. Given the nature of your project, they may be interested in giving you some help on the legal side of things. Of course, reach out to groups like yours in other states. Obviously the local issues will differ, and some of the legal stuff might differ by state, but they will have thought of basic to-do list things that would be very helpful.