Several months ago, during a long car ride with my husband, we were talking about my Mom, Sarah Bodge, who had passed away in 2023 at the age of 87. Mom had been an entrepreneur for decades and inspired me and many others. She worked her whole life — up until three weeks before her death – and had cobbled together a nest egg for me. We decided that we wanted to use some of those funds for good, and during that conversation, the idea for a grant-giving nonprofit began to develop.
After a few more brainstorming sessions, we invited two entrepreneurial family members to become co-founders of the organization that we named Threadneedle Alley Foundation after the street where Mom’s store had been for over two decades. My two co-founders and I have committed to contributing annually to the foundation, with Mom being the 4th “contributor.” We will also fundraise.
We determined that we would offer annual grants and mentorship to midlife entrepreneurs facing financial challenges. We know this cohort well and feel strongly that while midlife entrepreneurs are armed with years of experience, they are often ignored and underestimated.
Wherever Mom is, I’m sure she is grinning ear to ear!
Saving money for your org
Forming a nonprofit has been quite a learning experience! I realized along the way that there are many opportunities to save money and even receive free services for your organization! I thought I would share what I’ve discovered so far in case you or someone you know is starting a nonprofit of their own.
To note: everything I mention here requires you to submit information confirming that you are an official 501(c)(3) organization, so it’s best to have that info before applying. This includes your letter from the IRS, EIN, an email address for the organization, and, in some cases, a mission statement/vision statement.
Google Workspace
Google Workspace for Nonprofits is free for eligible organizations. Nonprofits can use this suite of productivity and collaboration tools to operate more efficiently and effectively.
Tools include:
• Custom email addresses for your organization
• 30GB of cloud storage per user for documents and email.
• Access to Gmail, Google Meet for up to 100 participants, Google Drive, Google Docs, Google Sheets, Google Calendar, and more.
• Administrative controls where you can manage user accounts.
• Access to Google’s standard support.
Google partners with Goodstack to verify the legitimacy of nonprofits. Once approved – after 7-10 days — you will start a 14-day free trial if your organization is not currently using Google Workspace. Just a warning that I found this process to be clunky. My trial was canceled, and I lost access to Google Workspace and had to be re-verified. Maybe I missed something along the way, but I wanted to mention this!
Canva Pro
Eligible nonprofit organizations can get Canva Pro for free through the Canva for Nonprofits program, giving you access to all Canva Pro features, including:
• A vast library of templates, images, graphics, fonts, and more.
• Nonprofits can add up to 50 team members to their free account.
• The tools you need to create social media posts, presentations, reports, and other visuals to promote your organization’s mission.
• Access 100GB of cloud storage for your designs.
To apply, visit the Canva for Nonprofits page. You’ll need to sign up for a free Canva account if you don’t already have one and complete and submit the application form via Goodstack, which Canva uses for verification purposes. Your approval notice will arrive within 7 to 10 days.
WIX Websites
Every nonprofit needs a website! You can save 70 percent off 2 years of web hosting on WIX once TechSoup approves you. TechSoup is a nonprofit organization that WIX and other providers, like Intuit, Adobe, and Microsoft, use to vet nonprofits. Of all the TechSoup providers, WIX has one of the more generous discounts for nonprofits.
Here’s what you get:
• A 70 percent discounted rate on a 2-year Wix Premium Core plan subscription is suitable for creating and hosting a website with basic e-commerce functionality.
• 1-year domain registration voucher.
To apply, visit TechSoup.
Give Lively
If you are a nonprofit, you will need a platform to manage your donations, generate donation thank you letters, etc. There are many platforms out there, but after much research, we chose GiveLively, a free fundraising platform for nonprofits.
Here’s what you need to know:
• Give Lively’s operating costs are covered by philanthropist founders.
• Approved nonprofits have access to the tools they need to raise funds, track donations, create widgets, QR codes, and more.
• While Give Lively is free, users must connect to Stripe, which has standard payment processing fees. *See next section
You will need to complete a membership application. You can begin using the platform once approved (within 5-7 business days).
Stripe
To accept donations and payments, nonprofits must utilize a payment platform like Stripe, PayPal, Venmo, etc.
Give Lively requires nonprofits to use Stripe (see previous section), but Stripe offers discounted processing fees for eligible nonprofit organizations. Donors can also opt to cover these fees when they donate.
Here’s what you can expect:
• Stripe offers a discounted rate for processing tax-deductible donations, typically 2.2 percent + $0.30 per transaction for standard credit card payments (excluding American Express).
• American Express: American Express transactions generally have a higher rate of 3.5 percent for eligible nonprofits.
• ACH Donations: ACH transactions (direct debit from bank accounts) for nonprofits are typically charged at 0.8 percent with a maximum cap of $5 per transaction.
You’ll need to apply for the Stripe nonprofit discount. To qualify, you’ll need the usual 501(c)(3) documentation and commit to process at least 80 percent of your incoming funds as tax-deductible donations through Stripe.
Leave a Reply