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Helping vets: Promotion ideas for my non-profit

Fearandloathing said:
The biggest mistake. I say "be professional" look "aspiring".

I have found in business 'professionalism' is lacking and one of the reasons my gardening social enterprise exploded. I drove a nice truck, ten years old and dented, dressed in second hand clothes but good ones, wore work boots even if I wasn't working and conducted myself the same as I had when selling $100,000 computer systems.

"Being professional" is mostly common sense but there are a thousand or more free sites that offer suggestions. I had no such help when I walked away from television producing and reporting and became a "computer consultant". So, I acted the same with clients as I did with interview subjects. I rose to top salesman in this company in 6 months. I had made a friend of their worst customer (he had quit ordering) and brought him back as a top reseller by grasping that my company cheated him out of $20 and wouldn't bend. I was going to hand him $20, but you see the issue wasn't money, it was pride and they were in the wrong. So, I went to the general manger and paid the $20, phoned the bad customer and said "I did my part, when can I expect an order" in jest. He stunned me by placing a large order, my first six figure deal.

Later, at lunch, I asked him why? Why me? So many had tried before and not even go in the door. And he told me. "Because you're a pro. See me in four or five months" meaning he wanted to hire me.

I cannot stress enough how being professional, which includes trust/honesty, will beat a lower price by 20% or more. I sold PC based networks to law firms and did so by making my word my bond, but letting them know getting my word could be difficult as I never bet on anything but a sure thing.

Like I say, check out the internet about professionalism, but don't hesitate to be pro. Feel free to call any businessman (find out as much as you can about him beforehand) and politely ask for a few minutes of his time, at any time for a discussion on professionalism in business. I guarantee you won't make ten calls before getting a yes then and there.

Then you do the most professional thing of any occupation, the king maker, the conquerer of Everest moment, you shut up and listen. I never sold anything in my life, whether it was getting a source to talk to me in reporting or flogging a $100 K system by talking. I have interrupted people in stores and told them "you're loosing me as a customer by talking too much."

One last thing. You're going to get a lot of "no's". This can be depressing and although you may not notice it will show in your voice on the phone. I have a long list of dos and dont's about phone etiquette but another day so you need to set some realistic goals, be careful about mood and know this cardinal rule: in one hundred phone calls you will get 20 "yeses" of interest, of those twenty one will buy. That will mean that at first you're going to get no, and no and no and no until you think its useless. Then the yeses start, first one, then five, then you no longer have the time to make those initial calls.

What makes the difference? Stamina.
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Nice read and thank you. Makes a lot of sense. I went out and bought cheap paper and cheap envelopes LOL. It's a start, right?
 
Superfly said:
Looking for promotion ideas for my non-profit.

Live in a small town with no TV station, so I can't go that route.

I need to be able to get my name out there for donations, as well as to let veterans and their families know that I'm around.

It's brand new, with zero dollars in funding as of yet, so this needs to be moderately inexpensive.
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Start a GoFundMe page.
 
Superfly said:
Thank you, hon. You are officially the first. <3

And yes, I will keep you updated. Hope this takes off OK. I know from experience how frustrating it is dealing with the VA - especially regarding compensation.
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I might be able to be of some help re dealing with the VA over compensation.
With regard to television, it's not necessary to be near a local station in order to utilize them.
I can possibly be of help with that, too.
 
Checkerboard Strangler said:
I might be able to be of some help re dealing with the VA over compensation.
With regard to television, it's not necessary to be near a local station in order to utilize them.
I can possibly be of help with that, too.
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Thank you. Yeah the VA compensation is what I want to do primarily, as more people need help fighting the VA than anything. There's a key to getting higher percentages, and I want to help in that way. But the other stuff that I added on -- I just thought, well if they need help in other areas, I need to be able to help out there, too.

Responded to your PM, and thanks!
 
Superfly said:
Looking for promotion ideas for my non-profit.

Live in a small town with no TV station, so I can't go that route.

I need to be able to get my name out there for donations, as well as to let veterans and their families know that I'm around.

It's brand new, with zero dollars in funding as of yet, so this needs to be moderately inexpensive.
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Don't know if you can make a posting on a GOFUNDME site or something?
 
Superfly said:
Looking for promotion ideas for my non-profit.

Live in a small town with no TV station, so I can't go that route.

I need to be able to get my name out there for donations, as well as to let veterans and their families know that I'm around.

It's brand new, with zero dollars in funding as of yet, so this needs to be moderately inexpensive.
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You can try routes like the newspaper, but radio might be your best bet, if you have a solid groundwork for it, many radio stations will let your message out for free just for the good publicity, but you do literally need to show it is legit. There are other routes but outside local parks grocery stores etc you may need to spend your own money to get it kickstarted.
 
beerftw said:
You can try routes like the newspaper, but radio might be your best bet, if you have a solid groundwork for it, many radio stations will let your message out for free just for the good publicity, but you do literally need to show it is legit. There are other routes but outside local parks grocery stores etc you may need to spend your own money to get it kickstarted.
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Yeah my own money is being spent for now. And thanks for the ideas!
 
I have gone through the VA process, they started me at 30%. I have Parkinson's Disease, there is no cure. With a little help from an advocate group they got me 100%. I was paid from my initial filing date, made for a big fat check since the process took about 2 years.
Most states have departments that will help for free, since doing so brings money into the veterans pockets which they usually spend in their state. So the states pay their employees to help the veteran.

You are trying to enter a field of endeavor that is already over populated by people doing it for those high salaries.
 
UtahBill said:
I have gone through the VA process, they started me at 30%. I have Parkinson's Disease, there is no cure. With a little help from an advocate group they got me 100%. I was paid from my initial filing date, made for a big fat check since the process took about 2 years.
Most states have departments that will help for free, since doing so brings money into the veterans pockets which they usually spend in their state. So the states pay their employees to help the veteran.

You are trying to enter a field of endeavor that is already over populated by people doing it for those high salaries.
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Appreciate the advice, but I don't think there will ever be anything wrong with trying to help people, even if the field is overpopulated by wealthy lawyers, etc.

Thanks. :)
 
Re: Promotion ideas for my non-profit

Superfly said:
I will contact them tomorrow and see what they charge. Maybe it won't be much, because until I start getting donations, all this is coming out of my pocket. I can't even get 501c3 designation with the IRS until I can come up with upwards of $800 for the charges and legal fees.

Thanks!
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Just be sure the people you are soliciting donations know you don't have your 501(c)(3) yet and as such their donations will not be tax deductible.

Do you have more people than just yourself, if not get on that, you'll burn yourself out otherwise. I've seen so many people in your situation over the years, some have even gotten as far as getting the 501(c)(3) and it all fizzles cause they don't have enough committed people and don't have a clear idea of what they want to accomplish.

Is there a local VFW Post? Maybe there is some kind of community outreach you can help with.

Anywho, your hearts in the right place and I wish you luck.
 
Superfly said:
Can't get the 501 without the funds. Can't get the funds without donations.

My books are 100% open to any IRS agent (or anyone else) who wants to look into them. Don't know what else I can do until I get the funds to get the certification.

As far as the non profit, it's basically for veterans and their families. I was originally just going to do it to help veterans who were struggling with getting increased compensation, but then I thought that I could help them out in other ways, too. Too much red tape dealing with the VA, so I thought that maybe I could help out without having to get tied up with the VA. Anything I can help with - food, clothing or shelter for homeless vets, information for vets and families (things that might not be widely known), stuff like that.

I am working on something, too - since 100% of the money is going back to the vets, I thought I'd do something like "If you donate $10, you can provide a veteran a shower if he needs it." "If you provde $20, you can provide a homeless vet clean clothes." Something like that.
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Have you read the form 1023 & instructions yet? It not it might give you an idea of what you're in for. If you can get the legal/accounting work done for $800 then god bless you. I won't do them anymore (even for existing clients and if I lose the client over it, so be it), too much of a PITA and very little thanks even when I donate a huge portion of my time with them.
 
Re: Promotion ideas for my non-profit

Winchester said:
Just be sure the people you are soliciting donations know you don't have your 501(c)(3) yet and as such their donations will not be tax deductible.

Do you have more people than just yourself, if not get on that, you'll burn yourself out otherwise. I've seen so many people in your situation over the years, some have even gotten as far as getting the 501(c)(3) and it all fizzles cause they don't have enough committed people and don't have a clear idea of what they want to accomplish.

Is there a local VFW Post? Maybe there is some kind of community outreach you can help with.

Anywho, your hearts in the right place and I wish you luck.
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Thanks
 
Winchester said:
Have you read the form 1023 & instructions yet? It not it might give you an idea of what you're in for. If you can get the legal/accounting work done for $800 then god bless you. I won't do them anymore (even for existing clients and if I lose the client over it, so be it), too much of a PITA and very little thanks even when I donate a huge portion of my time with them.
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Yeah I've read it. The 1023 now has an EZ form (just a handful of pages instead of like 28) but it still isn't any cheaper that I've seen. I'm going to talk to my lawyer tomorrow and see if he does anything like this. I did find out that honestly the only reason I need 501c3 right away is to allow people to deduct donations from their taxes. But I'd like that eventually, and it will also make me more credible.
 
Superfly said:
yes I am.
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I looked at your site, nice setup. One word of caution, I'd be really careful about claiming non profit and soliciting donations. You could be opening yourself up.

nonprofitissues said:
A statement that an organization is a nonprofit could be accurate even if it is not a charity. It would generally be illegal under state charitable solicitation registration laws or other state laws for an organization to represent or imply that it is a charity to solicit charitable contributions when it is not recognized as a charity. An organization that claimed it was nonprofit and is not nonprofit under state law would open itself to claims of misrepresentation and fraud if a third party detrimentally relied on that representation.
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https://www.nonprofitissues.com/to-the-point/may-group-falsely-claim-nonprofit-status

Personally I'd make it very clear on your site that you are not yet a qualified charity and as such donations are not tax deductible as charitable contributions.
 
Winchester said:
I looked at your site, nice setup. One word of caution, I'd be really careful about claiming non profit and soliciting donations. You could be opening yourself up.



https://www.nonprofitissues.com/to-the-point/may-group-falsely-claim-nonprofit-status

Personally I'd make it very clear on your site that you are not yet a qualified charity and as such donations are not tax deductible as charitable contributions.
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I will make some changes tomorrow, and thanks. Am also going to call my Secretary of State to get certified with the state. Hopefully that will be enough to get me started.
 
OK. Made some phone calls, did some research.

While I am going to hold on to the "non-profit" moniker, I am going to, at least temporarily, swerve.

I don't have funding to pay for the 501(c)(3) designation or the fees involved in incorporation in my state, so until I do, I am going to look into something called Fiscal Sponsorship. It's sponsorship from like-minded organizations. Once I can get the $1,000 or so to do the 501(c)(3) and incorporation with my state, hopefully I can wean away from anything like that.

So any ideas for like-minded veterans organizations? I am contacting DAV, AmVets, the Gary Sinese Foundation and the American Legion.
 
Superfly said:
Looking for promotion ideas for my non-profit.

Live in a small town with no TV station, so I can't go that route.

I need to be able to get my name out there for donations, as well as to let veterans and their families know that I'm around.

It's brand new, with zero dollars in funding as of yet, so this needs to be moderately inexpensive.
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I started veteran's advocacy all on my own.
The response has been overwhelming, but manageable.

Talk about this particular veteran's issue.

CUT OFF .... Veteran's kicked to the curb by the VA when the VA decided to stop issuing them pain killers for service connected injuries, all because of a POLITICAL descision. Having nothing to do with their medical conditions or injuries.

Now they are clueless as to what to do. There are answers for them, but when it comes to opioid abuse, the VA is the biggest abuser.
First the VA irresponsibly OVER prescribes, then they irresponsibly CUT OFF thousands of veterans who need them for POLITICAL purposes.

Seek out these vets who have been cut off and i can give you details on how they can get responsible private medical care, and alternative methods.
The VA just passes out pills and does not do much else.
If it is not in a pill bottle, then they have no solution.
 
PleasantValley said:
I started veteran's advocacy all on my own.
The response has been overwhelming, but manageable.

Talk about this particular veteran's issue.

CUT OFF .... Veteran's kicked to the curb by the VA when the VA decided to stop issuing them pain killers for service connected injuries, all because of a POLITICAL descision. Having nothing to do with their medical conditions or injuries.

Now they are clueless as to what to do. There are answers for them, but when it comes to opioid abuse, the VA is the biggest abuser.
First the VA irresponsibly OVER prescribes, then they irresponsibly CUT OFF thousands of veterans who need them for POLITICAL purposes.

Seek out these vets who have been cut off and i can give you details on how they can get responsible private medical care, and alternative methods.
The VA just passes out pills and does not do much else.
If it is not in a pill bottle, then they have no solution.
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I've noticed that with my husband. He has pretty severe pain, but if he did exactly what the VA wanted him to do, he'd be hooked, too. He deals with the pain.

Thanks, and yes - send me any information you have. That'll be great.
 
Superfly said:
OK. Made some phone calls, did some research.

While I am going to hold on to the "non-profit" moniker, I am going to, at least temporarily, swerve.

I don't have funding to pay for the 501(c)(3) designation or the fees involved in incorporation in my state, so until I do, I am going to look into something called Fiscal Sponsorship. It's sponsorship from like-minded organizations. Once I can get the $1,000 or so to do the 501(c)(3) and incorporation with my state, hopefully I can wean away from anything like that.

So any ideas for like-minded veterans organizations? I am contacting DAV, AmVets, the Gary Sinese Foundation and the American Legion.
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Going to almost have to be some local organization where you can get to know the folks and they're willing to take you on. I've been approached by some of my non-profit clients saying they've had other local groups request to "use" their 501c3 to collect donations on their behalf. My response is always, why would you risk jeopardizing your own status as you've got to report all new "activities" not previously covered by your ruling... an activity you have no real control over.

None of them really want to allow these groups to do this, nor do they want to say no. They love it when they can tell the people our CPA told us it would be a bad idea. :lol:

If you can get into such an arrangement it could help you a lot, but I'm kind of a negative nancy on the topic.
 
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Superfly said:
I've noticed that with my husband. He has pretty severe pain, but if he did exactly what the VA wanted him to do, he'd be hooked, too. He deals with the pain.

Thanks, and yes - send me any information you have. That'll be great.
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I will type it all up in condensed form and PM you if that is OK with you.
 
Barnacle said:
I'd advise you to remove that statement "As of right now, I am not even accepting a salary."
It sounds like you're hoping for a cushy income financed by strangers who think they are helping vets.
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Ditto. I know you didn't mean for it to come across this way, but it does.
 
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