Starting & Building a Nonprofit: A Practical Guide [Paperback]

Peri H. Pakroo J.D. (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 14, 2009

If you're ready to save the world, here's the book you need.

Rescue a school library. Preserve an endangered species. Support the arts. Whatever it is you want to do to give back to your community, Starting & Building a Nonprofitprovides the kick start you need.

Filled with user-friendly information, practical advice and step-by-step instructions, this book is your guide through the process of getting your nonprofit up and running. It explains how to:

pick the perfect name for your organization

structure a nonprofit to achieve your goals

choose a federal tax-exempt status

create a mission statement

develop a strategic plan and initial budget

launch a successful fundraising plan

recruit and manage board members and volunteers

hire and train staff

obtain necessary insurance

market your organization

and much more

Starting & Building a Nonprofit goes beyond paperwork -- it addresses the big picture, showing you how to create a solvent, efficient organization that will make a real difference. All the forms you'll need are included as tear-outs and on CD-ROM.

And the newly updated 3rd edition has a brand new chapter on building a website for your nonprofit, along with essential new details on getting the word out and marketing your nonprofit. (20080202)

Editorial Reviews

Review

Planning and management, not good intentions, are the keys to success -- this book lays out the framework and insight to make that happen. (Randolph Belle 20080202)

"Offers tons of practical advice and step-by-step instructions..." (Accounting Today 20080215)

"Takes readers through the nuts and bolts, from deciding on a name to bookkeeping." (Library Journal 20090101)

"Offers practical advice to allow nonprofits to set up their operations so that they run smoothly and efficiently..." (Deborah Brody Hamilton, Director, Member Services, Association of Small Foundations 20090101)

Offers tons of practical advice and step-by-step instructions... (Accounting Today 20090101)

Offers practical advice to allow nonprofits to set up their operations so that they run smoothly and efficiently... (Deborah Brody Hamilton Association of Small Foundations 20090101)

Describes the steps required to start and run a nonprofit organization, including how to decide whether to form a charity, and how to conduct long-term planning, manage finances, and develop a website. (Chronicle of Philanthropy 20090101)

Everything needed to start and build a nonprofit -- this resource makes it easy to navigate the startup process and make informed decisions. (Mona Lisa Wallace East Bay Nonprofit Coalition )

Takes readers through the nuts and bolts, from deciding on a name to bookkeeping. (Library Journal )

About the Author

Peri Pakroo is a business and communications consultant, specializing in legal and start-up issues for businesses and nonprofits. She has started, participated in, and consulted with start-up businesses for 20 years. She owns and runs P-Brain Media (www.pbrainmedia.com), a strategic consulting and communications firm that develops information-rich media for web, print, video and other formats. Peri received her law degree from the University of New Mexico School of Law. She is the author of The Women's Small Business Start-Up Kit, The Small Business Start-Up Kit (national and California editions) and Starting and Building a Nonprofit ( all from Nolo), and has been featured in numerous national publications including Entrepreneur, Real Simple, Investors Business Daily, and BusinessWeek. She is active in supporting local, independent businesses and is a co-founder of the Albuquerque Independent Business Alliance. Visit Peri's blog at www.peripakroo.com.

Product Details

• Paperback: 310 pages
• Publisher: NOLO; 3 edition (April 14, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1413309410
• ISBN-13: 978-1413309416
• Product Dimensions: 10.9 x 8.4 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.7 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (31 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #532,254 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Peri Pakroo is a business and communications consultant, specializing in legal and start-up issues for businesses and nonprofits. She has started, participated in, and consulted with start-up businesses for 20 years. She owns and runs P-Brain Media (www.pbrainmedia.com), a strategic consulting and communications firm that develops information-rich media for web, print, video and other formats.

Peri received her law degree from the University of New Mexico School of Law in 1995, and a year later began editing and writing for Nolo, specializing in small business and intellectual property issues. She is the author of the top-selling Nolo titles The Small Business Start-Up Kit (national and California editions) and Starting and Building a Nonprofit, and has been featured in numerous national and local publications including Entrepreneur, Real Simple, Investors Business Daily, and BusinessWeek.

Peri teaches adult education courses at WESST (www.wesst.org) in Albuquerque, a nonprofit whose mission is to fight poverty by facilitating entrepreneurship among women and minorities in the state of New Mexico. She is active in supporting local, independent businesses and is a co-founder of the Albuquerque Independent Business Alliance (www.keepitquerque.org).

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

47 of 49 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An Excellent Book..., June 1, 2006

By 

K. A. Stevenson "WIAPilot" (Tucson) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Starting & Building A Nonprofit: A Practical Guide (Paperback)

I was interested in learning everything that I needed to know about setting up a nonprofit organization, step-by-step. I wanted to know the right questions to ask an attorney and do as much of the groundwork as possible to help save costs.

Attorney Peri Pakroo has done a superb job. This book was EXCELLENTLY written, easy to understand, thorough, and presented in a concise format. I found the price to be quite reasonable considering that it ALSO contained a CD that had various checklists.

So much of forming a nonprofit organization is just following directions (but you NEED to FOLLOW the directions perfectly) and doing steps A-Z. (There are a LOT of steps!) "Starting and Building a Nonprofit...." made following these directions clear and straightforward to get you through each step.

At the same time, because they were featured together - I also ordered "Everything You Never Wanted to Know About Your Nonprofit Organization" by Ms. Cellaneous based on a lot of excellent reviews. In my opinion, it didn't begin to cover the process of all the steps needed to form an organization.

Thankfully, I ordered THIS book as well...because frankly, it was the only book I found I needed.

36 of 39 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars get the Mancuso "How To Form A Nonprofit Corporation" instead, February 27, 2007

By 

bookbuyerr "bookbuyerr" (Blue States, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Starting & Building A Nonprofit: A Practical Guide (Paperback)

Very simple, and not very useful. I bought this first, thinking it was the cheaper Nolo Nonprofit book. In the first few chapters there are at least 6 or 7 little comments "*NOTE: SEE MANCUSO* for more information". So many notices that it reads like an ad for the Mancuso book. On that point, I agree, Mancuso is much more detailed and helpful.

The 'forms' provided on the CD rom are only computer versions of the checklists that are printed at the end of each chapter. Total waste of plastic.

33 of 36 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars We'll tell you how to do only what you already know., April 6, 2008

By 

Michael Barnathan - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Starting & Building a Nonprofit: A Practical Guide (Paperback)

This book is titled "Starting and Building a Nonprofit". Let me assure you that it does not contain enough information to do so. It seems fine at first glance, but then you start to notice the large number of references to other books in lieu of content when it comes time to actually do something intricate (like filing for 501(c)(3) status).

This book will not tell you how to file for 501(c)(3) status, a major milestone in formation of a nonprofit. In fact, it only devotes one tiny paragraph on the top right of page 29 to the subject, and this paragraph merely refers to another book. It won't tell you how to draft articles of incorporation or bylaws, yielding only another paragraph and another reference (and suggestion to consult a lawyer - while a good idea, this is not always a financially practical move for new organizations).

They don't tell you anything about trademarks, either. Another reference on page 10 is all the discussion you get.

I was hoping the chapter on marketing would be helpful as well, but no, all you get is another reference.

This sort of thing just happens again and again throughout the book. They seem to explain everything except the most vital information that you need to know.

The bottom line is that this book cannot stand on its own. I'd rather go with something more comprehensive.