You don t need to start a nonprofit to do what you wish to do. In fact, many organizations, houses of worship, schools and other places already organize toy drives and book drives which they do as part of their charity work. See Toys for Tots at http://www.toysfortots.org for an example. I suggest you contact a local school, church or charity and see if they have volunteer opportunities for you to assist them in their efforts in this area.if you decide to start your own anyway, you can see the resources at the Foundation Center at http://www.foundationcenter.org (look under FAQs/Getting Started to find helpful information and tutorials that will help you thru the difficult process. As well, you should see the IRS website at http://www.irs.gov under Life Cycle of an Exempt Organization to see what you will need to do to apply for and maintain exempt status: http://www.irs.gov/charities/charitable/��
Associations may be a good avenue to explore. These organizations will address many of the thoughts, questions and concerns you ll inevitably have as well as many you haven t anticipated yet. http://www.ncna.org/ -- National Council of Nonprofit Associationshttp://www.ncna.org/index.cfm?fuseaction�� �C Directory of State Associationshttp://www.nsfre.org/ -- Association of Fundraising ProfessionalsResearch, research, research �C this cannot be stressed enough. Read as much as you can about the industry. Here are some book titles that are relevant:* Starting and Running a Non-Profit Made Easy by Entrepreneur Press, David H. Bangs* Starting and Running a Nonprofit Organization by Joan M. Hummel* The Nonprofit Handbook: Everything You Need to Know to Start and Run Your Nonprofit Organization by Gary M. Grobman* Starting Building A Nonprofit: A Practical Guide by Peri PakrooThere are plenty of free informational resources out there. Check out these free articles:http://www.ezinearticles.com/?Building-Y�� �C Building Your Dream �C Locating Resources for Nonprofits Online by Madison Lockwoodhttp://www.ezinearticles.com/?Writing-A-�� �C Writing a Non-Profit Business Plan by Shaunta Pleasanthttp://www.ezinearticles.com/?Non-Profit�� �C Non-Profit Strategic Planning by Jennifer Baileyhttp://ezinearticles.com/?Fundraising-Le�� �C Fundraising Letter Templates Harm Your Non-Profit s Reputation and Response Rates by Alan SharpeHope that helps! I wish you much success happiness in all your ventures!
