Nonprofit entrepreneur - Existing nonprofit may be interested in taking on project - what should I do?

[onecent]

I have begun preliminary work on a non-profit industry resource website for my industry (architecture), and am building a good amount of anticipation. I am considering forming a non-profit, as the website will be built upon volunteer professional contributors similar to Wikipedia, though there is ample opportunity for sponsorships making the website self-sustaining.

Anyway, I have several different organizations descending on me asking about it. One in particular is another non-profit industry membership organization. I'm wondering if they may want to do this as a project under their umbrella.

I would not be opposed to it, but would like to be involved, and hopefully create a paying job for myself out of it (I'm currently one of tens of thousands of under-employed architects).

Unfortunately, beyond the idea itself, and many ideas related to how it should operate, I don't have technical expertise to offer in developing the site, so I'm a little concerned it would simply be taken from me.

Are there any guidelines to follow in selling/transferring a project idea to a nonprofit that might be different than if a for-profit company wanted to buy my 'business' idea?

[rogercbryan]

Why do you need to be a non-profit? What are the benefits you think you'll have? I work with non-profits on all kinds of projects. I'm always a little concerned when people say they want to form a non-profit.

What is your site actually going to do that would qualify you for non-profit status?

Also, you can't sell an idea in most cases... a site like this sounds very simple. You can set-up a blog for free and then RSS feed from other blogs/sites in your industry. You could have this site up and running with massive amounts of good content in a matter of days (if you really work at it). I have people that can set this up for you very cheap... You'll still have to do the marketing work to get people to participate on the project. Once you have the blog up and running with a lot of fresh content being sent to it you could then look to develop the site further.

It's not a home run but you could make a little money doing this.

I still see absolutely no reason why you would consider being a non-profit... This is even before I tell you how hard it is to become a non-profit with fundraising rights...

[onecent]

Thanks so much for your reply!

Actually, the website would be a wiki (ala Wikipedia). The content would be an ever changing/evolving master document (called a Master Specification) for use by architects on building projects, not consisting of individual articles by specific authors. In looking into Wikipedia's formation, their reasoning for going nonprofit was to encourage participation by a maximum number of volunteers. People are not thought to be as inclined to volunteer for a for-profit entity. Also, by its nature, there would be a strong incentive by product manufacturers to influence their place in the document financially beyond typical wiki editing. By forming as a nonprofit, the site would be able to maintain more integrity as an unbiased resource, which would be integral to its success and adoption as a resource.

It may be possible to do this as a for-profit company, but at least in my mind, it would reduce the impartiality, as well as the motivation for volunteer professionals to render it a successful resource for the industry. Manufacturers would have a financial incentive to use the site, but architects/specifiers would not. It needs a healthy balance of the two to be credible.

I have another for-profit business concept that is somewhat related, but at least my perception leads me to believe this project needs to be basically a nonprofit educational resource for building professionals.

Is anyone aware of any successful wiki projects that are for-profit? That might sway me. It could definitely be a wiki site that was free to use, but had some paid advertisements in a for-profit scenario.


I really appreciate your thoughtful input, I'm unfortunately a typical architect - lofty ideas and terrible business skills.

Clearly, I'd rather make money than not But I do want to see this become a successful project.

[rogercbryan]

You totally missed the boat on the non-profit element.. you are looking at how the non-profit will serve you (adding credibility) but not in how you will serve the non-profit (what you will provide for the greater good of the community). Non-profits are a complex beast that people do not give enough due diligence to. I've had many an argument with people on this site about their proposed use of the non-profit structure. While yours isn't all that bad... ie you didn't say you were doing because you thought it would make you money.

Wikimedia Foundation

Wiki is a 501(c)3 which means they have incorporated, filed for tax exempt status, been granted a 501(c)3 license, they have received their fundraising bonds ($520,000 worth for the 32 us states that require them - at 1% brokered that is $5200 per year unless you have $520,000 in the bank) and that they file their annual filings in each state (costs about $4500 per year). So in your first year in order to meet all filing requirements and considering you have the credit to get $520,000 in bonds you will have an out of pocket expense of about $12,000 if you file all the paperwork yourself. If you use a law firm as I would recomend it will cost you right about $25,000 your first year and about $12,000 each additional year.

Based on the information I provided above do you still want to be a non-profit???

I do not think being a wiki is the right approach at all. I'm well versed in this market segment and I'm sure other experienced marketers will also recommend that you take the blog approach with RSS feeds. Think of it like this... if you are going to create a wiki for the architecture industry you are going to have to promote the site in a manner that gets people to come supply you with content while offering them little fresh content (the content thats there will be semi-static after a short period of time). You will need to optimize each individual term in order to compete directly with the real Wikipedia in order to be found in the search rankings. You'll also have to monitor this on a daily basis to watch for manipulation as you will not have the kind of traffic that Wikipedia has in order for honest posters to out weight illegitimate posters. WOW it was rough just typing that... now imagine doing all this!

**I've seen Akula recommend this to someone just today - have to give props when they are do - A much simpler way to do all this is to create a blog with some good general content about your industry. Then go out to all the networks you belong to and find 10-20-50-100 blogs that relate to your industry. Ask them for an RSS Feed of their posts and have them post directly to your blog. Instantly you have tons of fresh content pouring in. Fresh content = traffic... plus you'll be giving all the other blogs links and traffic. Your blog will become well known for supplying great industry specific traffic...

Now here is a little trick... which I've done on my site

Charity Dispatch Car Donation - look at the very last tab on my menu bar

Now we just added this section last week and its not complete yet... but I'm adding a wiki section! I'm starting by making everything static content... but in a few months when its all built out I'll change that to a wiki (user updated) section. Amazing! I'm preaching what I'm already doing... This site feeds from 10 different blogs all of which give it great new content.

This system works! While my site is not designed like your's will need to be the same basic rules apply. Provide fresh interesting content and the traffic will come. Optimize your site and the traffic will come... do all that the money will come...

Hopefully this helps!

[onecent]

wow, that's actually incredible that we have set up such a prohibitive system for organizations that want to serve the public good. Thanks for filling me in before I went too far down that road.

you are definitely swaying me toward a lower profile, for-profit model. My model will be probably be built more on directing traffic through personal contacts, social media, and influential advocates and partners in the industry, which will lead to word-of-mouth. I have a phone meeting planned sometime this week with another related internet startup founder in my industry. I'm sure he'd say the same thing (their site is for-profit, but advertising is done in a very seamless way). It might actually be easier to find potential partners for a for-profit venture as well.

The content is the key purpose of the site, however, so the wiki is fundamental its reason for existence. Unlike wikipedia, these aren't encyclopedia articles, these are architectural technical specifications, so there is really competition with Wikipedia. I will likely need to license the use of the organizational structure from the membership organization I mentioned above. The purpose of the site is to have manufacturers adding their closed, proprietary specifications, and proposing open, non-proprietary specifications, which are edited and policed by specifiers and competing manufacturers to ensure their generic nature for competitive bidding (sort of free market keeping itself in check with some oversight). Manufacturers will most definitely be checking into the site regularly to keep tabs on their competitors. Architects will be on regularly to review/edit/and use the specifications for their projects, as competing similar products are very expensive. Traffic shouldn't be a problem.

Anyway, solid arguments, sir. Also, I can see from your site that you clearly have quite a bit of experience in the non-profit world. Thanks for taking the time to talk me down, so to speak.

You may actually want to use add a section to your site: "Do you really want to start a nonprofit"!

[rogercbryan]

wow, that's actually incredible that we have set up such a prohibitive system for organizations that want to serve the public good. Thanks for filling me in before I went too far down that road.

you are definitely swaying me toward a lower profile, for-profit model. My model will be probably be built more on directing traffic through personal contacts, social media, and influential advocates and partners in the industry, which will lead to word-of-mouth. I have a phone meeting planned sometime this week with another related internet startup founder in my industry. I'm sure he'd say the same thing (their site is for-profit, but advertising is done in a very seamless way). It might actually be easier to find potential partners for a for-profit venture as well.

The content is the key purpose of the site, however, so the wiki is fundamental its reason for existence. Unlike wikipedia, these aren't encyclopedia articles, these are architectural technical specifications, so there is really competition with Wikipedia. I will likely need to license the use of the organizational structure from the membership organization I mentioned above. The purpose of the site is to have manufacturers adding their closed, proprietary specifications, and proposing open, non-proprietary specifications, which are edited and policed by specifiers and competing manufacturers to ensure their generic nature for competitive bidding (sort of free market keeping itself in check with some oversight). Manufacturers will most definitely be checking into the site regularly to keep tabs on their competitors. Architects will be on regularly to review/edit/and use the specifications for their projects, as competing similar products are very expensive. Traffic shouldn't be a problem.

Anyway, solid arguments, sir. Also, I can see from your site that you clearly have quite a bit of experience in the non-profit world. Thanks for taking the time to talk me down, so to speak.

You may actually want to use add a section to your site: "Do you really want to start a nonprofit"!

I love it! I think you have an excellent idea... and you seem to have a plan to implement it. So many users on this site get defensive when you try to offer them advice based on experience. When this project launches let me know... I'd love to take a look at it!

[rogercbryan]

We just launched our wiki section that I was talking about... check it out - Charity Dispatch Wiki

Just launched today so it is still a work in progress...