Starting a Nonprofit

The Association of Fundraising Professionals (AFP) represents more than 30,000 members in over 230 chapters throughout the world, working to advance philanthropy through advocacy, research, education and certification programs. The association fosters development and growth of fundraising professionals and promotes high ethical standards in the fundraising profession.

The Association of Fundraising Professionals Southern Colorado Chapter is committed to refining and improving the development community. They host a quarterly Lunch and Learn speaker series on a variety of development topics. They are also responsible for the Summit on Philanthropy, an all-day training featuring a national speaker. Both with member and non-member rates. To encourage a broad audience, they host a free monthly mixer that is open to anyone interested in fundraising.

BoardSource is the premier location for any nonprofit management and board training needs. There is fee to join; it does offer workshops and trainings, with member discounts. In their learning center, they offer community resources that can be downloaded for free, regardless of membership. Topics include board basics, performance, etc. You can also subscribe to their e-newsletter for free.

Candid Learning is the educational arm of Candid. Here you will find workshops, tutorials, knowledge base articles, and more.

The Colorado Nonprofit Association of the Pikes Peak Region is a local branch of the Colorado Nonprofit Association. The Colorado Nonprofit Association believes nonprofits are essential to a better quality of life for those in our community. They connect people and organizations with the resources they need, act as a voice for the nonprofit sector, and promote best practices for nonprofit organizations to follow. They offer roundtable discussions for members on development, human resources, volunteers, and CFOs every month. They also offer workshops on a variety of nonprofit topics, for both members and non-members.

Community Resource Center creates opportunities, tools and strategies to develop nonprofits and community groups to strengthen Colorado. They host the Colorado Grants Guide, which PPLD subscribes to, offers workshops on a variety of nonprofit topics across the State of Colorado. They publish a Starting a Nonprofit workbook.

GuideStar provides information on nonprofits in the United States. The free search will usually provide you with enough basic information on a nonprofit. In order to locate nonprofits, create a new account, select Advance Search, and input the city and state you wish to search. It has merged with the Foundation Center and is now under Candid.org

Harbor Compliance will assist organizations in preparing their 1023 application for a fee. This can be helpful in minimizing the timeline to obtain your 501 (c) 3 designation.

The National Council of Nonprofits (Council of Nonprofits) is a trusted resource and advocate for America’s charitable nonprofits. They identify emerging trends, share proven practices, and promote solutions that benefit charitable nonprofits and the communities they serve. There is a fee for membership. They provide Tools and Resources on a variety of nonprofit topics, from starting a nonprofit to ethics that can be read for free. They offer a blog that does not require membership.