Girl Guides USA

When I decided to start a non-profit organization, I gathered as much advice and help as possible. I read the book Non-Profits for Dummies, and I spent a weekend at Yale picking the brains of professors and administrators I thought would have good advice. I attended workshops on non-profit management from The Foundation Center and SCORE, and a “Non-Profit Boot Camp” sponsored by the Craigslist Foundation. I then built the necessary infrastructure for my organization. I filed articles of incorporation in the State of New York, got a P.O. Box and bank account, reserved a domain name, and learned how to create a website. Next, I made sure I had the necessary elements in place to carry out our activities. I found affordable insurance policies for youth groups, and I worked with a risk manager to draw up the organization’s policies and procedures. I obtained Red Cross CPR/First Aid Certification and I attended Outdoor Leadership Training through the Appalachian Mountain Club’s Youth Opportunities Program, which permits my group to borrow certain types of outdoor equipment. I also spent weeks working on budgets for our activities throughout the year and for camp. I was pleased to find many young women interested in being leaders for the group (I e-mailed groups of Columbia University students and Yale alumni in New York City and got several enthusiastic responses), but recruiting participants has been my biggest challenge so far, as it has been difficult to reach the right market of young girls. I posted fliers in libraries and community centers throughout Manhattan and got some very enthusiastic responses from people in underserved communities where girls have less access to outdoor activities. However, as we are a new organization without funding, we will require the girls to cover the cost of activities. Costs are kept as low as possible (and the leaders are all volunteers), but they proved still too high for lower-income families. Hopefully we will eventually be able to offer scholarships to girls who can not afford the cost, but to get the program off the ground I realized that at first I needed girls who could. The most privileged girls, however, are usually already overbooked with activities, so I am now focusing my publicity campaign – fliers, blog postings, stands at farmers’ markets, contacting schools and community groups, and giving information sessions – on specific (mostly middle-class) neighborhoods in Brooklyn.