Nonprofit Organization Proposal

Project 1

1. Name of Nonprofit Organization:
In two sentences or less OR a max of 3 concise bullet points, tell me why you are choosing this name:
Cleo’s Second Chance Rescue
Three years ago, I visited a local animal shelter and brought home the cutest Rat Terrier mixed bread puppy I named Cleo. Cleo was so scared at the shelter, and I knew I wanted to begin a foster organization that fosters pets in homes so they wouldn’t be so frightened.
2. Target Audience/Population/What your organization does:
Briefly describe who and the area/region your organization will serve (you should be able to do this in one sentence and maybe a bullet point or two). The area/region must be smaller than a state – i.e. – serve a county, a multi-county region, etc. Be specific and concise with the area served and description of your population. Tell us exactly what you do, for whom, and where – in as few words as it takes for us NOT to have questions! For example, “(Insert name of organization here) serves low-income, middle school aged children in Pickens and Oconee Counties, SC through four free, week-long outdoor adventure camps each summer.”

Second Chance Rescue is an animal rescue that helps save the lives of dogs in Aiken County by fostering them in homes until they are adopted. There are over 3000 animals euthanized in animal shelters in our area each year. Not all of these animals are unwanted, unlovable, or unadoptable; they just found themselves in unfortunate positions at no fault of their own.

3. Need Addressed and Justification:
In two sentences or less, describe the need your organization will address. Using the example from the last sentence, this description should tell me what problem or issue you are trying to fix for low income, middle school aged children in Pickens County. That might be as simple as providing access to the outdoors or as complex as building leadership skills or it might be a combination of several benefits/outcomes.
Cleo’s Second Chance Rescue will help alleviate overcrowding in the local shelters by placing dogs in foster homes. We get them fully vetted and work on rehabilitating them in the foster homes so the dogs are better prepared for permanent adoption.
4. Additional Sources:
Provide two valid additional sources (not already included in this module) that provide data supporting the need for your organization and its programs, services, and activities. So, you might provide census data showing there is a population of low income, middle school aged children and a peer reviewed research article that outlines benefits of outdoor recreation participation. For each of the two sources provide a link or cite the source using APA or MLA format and 3 bullet points outlining the data/support that article provides to justify the need.
Source 1: Title and link or citation
• Point 1
• Point 2
• Point 3
Source 2: Title and link or citation
• Point 1
• Point 2
• Point 3
https://www.wrdw.com/2022/07/31/aiken-county-animal-shelter-taking-many-pets-theyre-adopting-out/
• Aiken County Animal shelters are overcrowded.
• To prevent euthanizing the animals, they need to find a permanent home
• They teamed up with Friends of the Animal Shelter to help homeless animals find their fur-ever home.

• FOTAS and Aiken County have established short-term and a longer-term Foster Care program
• Volunteers foster adoptable animals outside of the shelter environment
• Ensures the animals are raised in a healthy environment

Project 2

Non-Profit Organization
Mission statement
We aim to rescue dogs from overcrowded animal shelters and provide a safe foster home for dogs in need, fully vetting them until they can be adopted.
Vision statement
Our organization is to ensure that all dogs have a safe haven where they can live until they are adopted (Bowen, 2018).
Values Statement
Kindness – Our organization is unselfish in its care for animals (Björkvall & Höög, 2019).
Compassion – We must show compassion for all beings, including those suffering.
Respect – We respect our fellow man and woman and believe in a future where all humans live in harmony and animal cruelty is no longer an issue (Björkvall & Höög, 2019).
References
Björkvall, A., & Höög, C. N. (2019). Legitimation of value practices, value texts, and core values at public authorities. Discourse & Communication, 13(4), 398-414.
Bowen, S. A. (2018). Mission and vision. The international encyclopedia of strategic communication, 1-9.
Project 3
For this week’s project building assignment, you will think through how you will build your team to include:
1. Three specific people to serve on your Board of Directors
These would be members who you feel would serve as mentors and could lead and make the big decisions needed to govern your nonprofit. You need to think about people you personally know or ones that you are connected to by only one degree of separation meaning someone you know could introduce you to them. For example, your parents, your coach, or your boss could introduce you to these people. Reflect on the resources for this week and the various roles that a board plays for a nonprofit as you select the three people that you want to serve on your board. For each of the three members of your board provide:
1) Their name and how you know or will be introduced to them.
***Names of my Veterinarians

Dr. Charles Groover, Veterinarian
Dr. Charlie Timmerman, Veterinarian
Sam Tiedman L.V.T. Technician
Laura Gossett L.V.T. Technician
2) Their area(s) of expertise they bring to the table such as qualifications. (finance, marketing, knowledge/expertise in mission and activities, etc) and/or experience that make them a good fit for your organization and its mission and provide a rationale for why you selected/need that/those area(s) of expertise. Each must reflect the needs of your nonprofit specifically. For example, if my nonprofit’s mission is to provide affordable housing for elderly in Greenville, I would select a board member with knowledge of elderly individuals since that is crucial knowledge for understanding housing needs for the elderly and will be useful in developing policies and procedures.
Make sure your board isn’t one dimensional (don’t choose three people who have them area(s) of expertise and experience, but instead, the strengths of board members should complement each other. Also keep in mind that you are creating a small local or regional nonprofit so each member should be appropriate to the scale of the nonprofit. For example, if you happen to know Bill Gates, would it be likely that he would serve on a board for a small to mid sized nonprofit addressing a need in Seneca, SC? Probably not!

2. Your CEO/Executive Director
In thinking about your mission and leadership of the nonprofit, you need the right person in the CEO/Executive Director’s role. As the liaison between the board and staff, your CEO/Executive Director is a key position in leading and managing the day to day activities of your nonprofit. Based on the reading and resources and additional resources you have identified, what are the three most important qualities or qualifications you would look for in your Executive Director? For each quality or qualification provide two bullet points telling why you feel each it is important.

3. Staff
For the purposes of this project, assume that you have the budget to pay for 3 staff members to carry out the daily operations of the nonprofit. What will those three positions/roles be (provide a title, one to two bullet points describing what that staff member will do, and why that position/role has been selected as one of your first three hires?

4. Volunteers
Provide one example of how you will use volunteers (including what for) in the daily operations of your nonprofit and how/where you will you find those volunteers? These are volunteers that help with programs and activities, not board members. For example, if you were starting Habitat for Humanity you might say that you are going to use volunteers to build houses and that you will find and recruit volunteers through local churches.
Your submission should be organized into four clearly labeled sections and use numbered/bulleted lists where appropriate. In addition to citing sources that we have provided in this module, you must also include at least one outside source.
Module 3 Introduction, Readings, Videos, and Resources – Watch, read, and review this stuff!!!
Welcome to Module 3/Week 3 – Building your Nonprofit Team. This module focuses on the “…working with boards, staff, and volunteers” component in learning outcome 2: Demonstrate a critical understanding of fundamental principles related to leading and managing nonprofit organizations including mission; working with boards, staff, and volunteers; funding and expenditures; promotion and storytelling; and best practices.
All nonprofits must have a Board of Directors that provides governance and oversight for the organization. As you learned in Module 1, the big thing that distinguishes nonprofits from for-profit organizations is that the board (owners) of nonprofits typically cannot be paid/make a profit from the organization whereas board members/owners of private sector businesses can be paid and personally profit from the business. So, what does a nonprofit Board of Directors do? Typically, a board and its members provide high-level guidance and direction, act as advocates, and participate in fundraising activities for the organization. Members of boards that have hired a CEO/Executive Director (ED) and staff hand the day-to-day operations of the organization (marketing, program management, accounting, etc.) to the paid staff. Oftentimes, the CEO/ED serves on the board and acts as the liaison between the board and staff but as an ex officio member which means they are not a voting member of the board. These lines blur when we look at small local nonprofits that do not have the budget to hire a CEO/ED and staff. Small, startup nonprofits usually have “working” boards where the board members also volunteer to do the day-to-day work (marketing, budgeting, conducting programs and events, etc.) it takes for the organization to function. As board members, they are usually doing so as unpaid volunteers but can be reimbursed for expenses they incur that are related to operating the nonprofit.
1. Overview of Boards and Staff
The following resources do a nice job of outlining the basics. The first article provides a brief summary that talks about how to build your board, board roles, how boards differ from staff, and committee structure. The second item is a video by Boss on a Budget (we obviously love Tiffany’s videos) that talks about board and staff and roles and how they are different and sometimes overlap. The third link is to an article that provides an overview of organizational charts that shows the relationship between boards and staff and provides some different ways to think about how to set up your organization, staff functions, and reporting lines. Finally, we are including an article that discusses the importance of building a diverse team.
2 page reading – Building your board Links to an external site.
16 minute video – Starting a nonprofit? What about staff? Links to an external site.
4 page reading – Nonprofit organization charts: what are they and why are they vital Links to an external site.
1 page reading – Building a diverse team to address future needs (SUPPLEMENTAL) Links to an external site.
2. Diving Deeper into Boards
The following videos and articles provide information on the roles and responsibilities of nonprofit board members.
5 minute video – Board roles and responsibilities Links to an external site.
8 page reading – Successfully create your first nonprofit board (2022) Links to an external site.
3 page reading – Nonprofit board committee structure Links to an external site.
5 page reading – 10 roles & responsibilities of a board of directors (SUPPLEMENTAL) Links to an external site.
11 minute video – Roles and responsibilities of a nonprofit board member (SUPPLEMENTAL) Links to an external site.
Links to an external site.And, here is an article that talks about purpose-driven boards and types of boards that give a different way of thinking about how a board goes about its business and the realities of boards that might not have an ideal make-up.
4 page reading – Purpose driven board leadership, legally speaking Links to an external site.
3. The CEO/Executive Director
The CEO/Executive Director is the paid staff member who provides day-to-day leadership for the organization and usually serves on the board as a non-voting or ex-officio member. Their role is to execute the mission of the organization and advise the board on the day-to-day operations. Other staff are hired and supervised by the CEO/Executive Director.
13.5 minute video – Starting a nonprofit: what does the executive director do, exactly Links to an external site.
This infographic from nonprofitfixer.com outlines 10 responsibilities of a nonprofit executive director
4. The Staff
Staff positions will vary according to the size and scope of the nonprofit. In general, nonprofits have a need for the same categories of staff that the private and public sector and include areas like accounting, marketing, program management, human resources, communications, etc. Plus, there are lots of roles, positions, and titles that are specific to the nonprofit sector. The following video discusses 22 staff roles that you commonly find in nonprofit organizations.
15 minute video – 22 types of paid nonprofit jobs and careers Links to an external site.
6 page reading – Your guide to hiring staff for your nonprofit Links to an external site.
5. Volunteers
Volunteers are essential to nonprofits. The following readings will help you begin to understand why and how volunteers support nonprofits and how to recruit and manage volunteers.
7 page reading – Volunteers are important right now. Why? Nonprofit Sustainability Links to an external site.
10 page reading – The smart nonprofit guide to volunteer management (Supplemental) Links to an external site.
6. Trends and Alternative View
Finally, a couple of articles that point out some issues and alternative views related to this week’s topic.
4 page reading – The default nonprofit board model is archaic and toxic; let’s try some new models (Supplemental) Links to an external site.
3 page reading – Nonprofit leadership is out of step with America’s changing demographics (Supplemental)