Hotline

By Rebecca Gardyn

Laying out the steps for starting a charity from scratch

Getting a refund when a grant recipient misuses an award

Recruiting college students for volunteer work

The Chronicle's Philanthropy Careers section asks its readers to submit questions about job hunting, recruiting, and management challenges in the nonprofit world. In our bimonthly advice column, we respond to some of those inquiries with tips about resources and recommendations from experts.

Previous editions of Hotline are available at http://philanthropycareers.com. Send your questions about job hunting, recruiting, or managing in the nonprofit world to hotline@philanthropy.com.

Q: I am interested in starting a Christian nonprofit organization that assists the parents of children with disabilities, as well as focusing on foster and newly adopted children. I have a graduate degree in school psychology but have no experience in running an organization. What steps do I need to take to get my organization up and running?

A: Before anything else, make sure that other organizations aren't already providing the service you intend to provide and, more important, that a demand exists for the service, says Kate Atwood, founder of Kate's Club, a nonprofit organization in Atlanta that provides programs for children who have lost a parent or sibling.

Genevieve Piturro, founder of Pajama Program, a charity in New York that provides pajamas and books to children in foster homes, orphanages, and homeless shelters, also suggests spending time with those you want to help. Volunteer experiences before she started her charity several years ago helped her learn more about children's needs — and, she says, helped her focus her mission: "I felt that people would want to help and support my work if I could clearly and briefly tell them what my purpose was."

Charles Bender, founding executive director of Place of Hope, a foster-care facility in Palm Beach Gardens, Fla., recommends setting up meetings with any founders of child-welfare charities in your area who may be able to offer you some start-up advice as well.

If you decide to forge ahead with your plans, start by registering your organization with your state's Bureau of Charitable Organizations (which is usually housed in the Department of State office) and with the Internal Revenue Service. Find your state's charity office at the National Association of State Charity Officials Web site and visit the IRS online for its registration procedures. The paperwork can be daunting and expensive, so if possible, find a lawyer who is willing to provide his or her services free, suggests Mr. Bender.

Next, develop a formal mission statement, as well as a list of goals, objectives, and core values, says Mr. Bender, and begin drafting bylaws. Create a system for documenting the services you provide, so that at the end of the year you can report how many families you have served, he adds. Hiring a director of program services, he says, might be a good idea: "They can help you formulate your policies and procedures and handle the components of working directly with the families as you continue to manage the organization."

If you can, hire a business manager to handle your group's finances, as well as a director of development to ensure that all donations are adequately documented, adds Mr. Bender. "A key to recruiting and retaining your donors is to ensure that they are thanked in a timely fashion and that they truly see and hear what a difference they are making in individuals' lives," he says.

To assist with both fund raising and strategy, gather no more than four or five friends and colleagues who share your passion and form a founding board of directors, says Ms. Atwood.

For additional resources on starting a charity from scratch, see this Chronicle article

Q: What recourse does a foundation have if a grantee doesn't use the grant for the purposes intended? Can the foundation require that the funds be returned?

A: This is largely a matter of contract law, says Thora Johnson, a Washington lawyer who works with nonprofit clients. In general, if there was no written contract between the foundation and the grantee that specifically outlined how the money was to be used, she says, it would be difficult to recoup funds.

But Ms. Johnson says that she hasn't had any clients who have dealt with this issue. "I suspect that it does not come up very often," she says.

Indeed, smart foundations generally protect themselves from such scenarios by having its grantees sign grant agreements, says Tim Walter, chief executive of the Association of Small Foundations, in Washington.

This document should include the following elements, he says:

• Goals to be achieved with the grant.

• The amount and payment schedule.

• Certification of the grantee's current tax-exempt and public-charity status.

• Expectations for grant reporting, such as whether interim reports are required and what format those reports should take, and whether the reports should include backup materials, timelines, and so on.

• Expectations for evaluating the grant.

• If and how the foundation would like the grantee to publicize the grant and who pays for doing that.

• The project budget, if applicable, and a provision that no changes can be made without the foundation's approval

• Provisions for ending the grant and recovering the money if it has been used improperly.

Mr. Walter advises foundations to require the grantee to return the signed document before any money is transferred.

"Negotiating grant agreements that document mutual expectations goes a long way toward avoiding misunderstandings and legal action," he says. "More broadly, having open discussions of needs and goals with your grantees builds relationships, trust, and a sense of shared accountability."

If a foundation does not have a grant agreement in place, recovering misused funds will be more difficult, but not necessarily impossible, says Jane Nober, special counsel for the Council on Foundations, in Washington. A grant proposal, for instance, might be sufficient in setting the terms of the funding.

However, she adds, with no documentation of a grant's original purpose, the foundation must simply appeal to the grantee's conscience to secure reimbursement or redirection of the funds. If the foundation is a longtime or major supporter, a foundation may indeed be able to pressure a grantee into returning the funds."

Sample grant-agreement documents can be found in the Council on Foundations' book Grantmaking Basics: A Field Guide for Funders ($35 for members, $55 for nonmembers), which can be ordered on the Council on Foundations' Web site or by calling (888) 239-5221.

Additional information can be found in the Association of Small Foundations' primer Communicating With Grantees: Building Effective Relationships Throughout the Grantmaking Process ($10 for association members, $15 for nonmembers), available on the association's Web site, or by calling (888) 212-9922.

Mr. Walter also suggests consulting a lawyer who is knowledgeable about foundation regulations. To help find legal and other services, visit the Association of Small Foundations' online Professional Directory of member-nominated advisers.

Q: What are the best ways to market volunteering opportunities at my charity to college students?

A: Start by approaching the heads of career-development centers at colleges in your area, says Mark Valli, president of New Jersey After 3, a nonprofit organization in New Brunswick that finances after-school programs in that state. Come prepared with a written job description that clearly explains what you are looking for from student volunteers, says Mr. Valli, who often recruits from nearby Rutgers University.

"A good relationship with the career-development office staff will likely lead to staff recommending your agency over others that don't take the time to build a relationship," he says.

Next, contact the fraternities and sororities on campus. Keep in mind that most of these groups' meetings occur at night, and be available to attend if they request a presentation, Mr. Valli says.

Form connections with student governments and any community-service programs the academic institution offers as well, suggests Mr. Valli. For instance, many colleges are involved in the Bonner Scholars Program — supported by the Bonner Foundation, in Princeton, N.J. — which provides scholarships to students who are active in charity work. You can find more about the program and see if colleges in your area are participants on the foundation's Web site.

In addition, Mr. Valli recommends calling your state's Commission for National and Community Service to find out about local AmeriCorps programs. "AmeriCorps members are excellent at recruiting college-aged volunteers because many of them are fresh out of college or still enrolled and have good relationships on campus," he says.

And don't forget about contacting the academic departments where students would be most interested in your cause, adds Mr. Valli. For instance, if yours is a health-related charity, seek out public-health or pre-med students. If it is an environmental charity, contact the biology or political-science departments, he says.

That last tactic has worked particularly well for the Redlight Children Campaign, an advocacy group in New York that helps protect young children around the world who are in danger of becoming sexually exploited.

Because of the organization's strong international component, the group often attracts students taking classes in global affairs, says Cortney Rhoads Stapleton, the organization's public-relations director. Ms. Stapleton says that creating relationships with professors can help steer new volunteers to your door. "It is always good to have some members of faculty who are interested in your cause when you are trying to reach college students," she says. "They may have students to recommend to you or they can hand out fliers in their classes."

Once you identify where there is a natural fit between the curriculum and your charity's work, see if those courses offer any affiliated chat rooms, job boards, or other forums where you can post messages, suggests Ms. Stapleton. Be sure to list specific skills that students will garner by working with your charity.

"The more task-oriented you can make the volunteer projects, the better," she says. "While it is good to have volunteers generally helping out, we have found that the best experiences are had when volunteers or interns have a project they are responsible for seeing through."

You might even consider marketing your volunteer jobs as unpaid internships "which can add further legitimacy and structure to the students' experience," says Ms. Stapleton. "While some students choose the charity they volunteer with based on the cause, others will choose based on the skills they will obtain that will help them with their career development."

If all else fails, Mr. Valli recommends arranging with the student-activities office to host a pizza party where students can come learn more about your organization. "You're guaranteed to attract volunteers when pizza's on the table," he says.

For more on getting results from young volunteers, see this Chronicle article.