I want to start a non profit.

I want to start a non-profit organization. What do I do?

• I live in Texas and I wish to start a charity called "Save a Star" to help individuals pay for vet bills when their beloved pets are diganosed with life threating diseases such as Distemper and Feline Lukemia. I want to start this charity in memory of my cat "Star" (my advatar is a picture of her) who passed away 3 years ago from Lymphomia. Her vet bills were through the roof so I understand how some people might not be able to afford the vet bills and I want to help them. I have never started a charity before and I haven't got the slightest idea of where to start. Any advise from someone who has started a charity before would be greatly appreciated.

• Answer:

  The first thing I would recommend is do your research and make sure no one else is doing anything like what you want to do already. You can go much farther joining forces with someone, especially if they already have a structure in place. If there isn't, you can go to the Foundation Center and they have free classes online and at their locations specifically to help people start and fund their nonprofits. They will walk you through the entire process from beginning to end. It's a lot of work, but worth it if it's what you really want to do.