MONA PATEL
MONA PATEL RESPONSES TO QUESTIONS
QUESTION 4: If a person wants to start a 501(c)3 nonprofit corporation, what suggestions do you have based on your experience doing this? Did you complete the paperwork yourself, or did you hire professionals? If you experienced any problems with this process, please share the problems and how they were resolved.
RESPONSE: Make sure you’re 100% committed to launching on this endeavor before pushing “send”! Don’t get overwhelmed with the paperwork. Ask for and seek assistance, guidance, advice from others who have gone through the process. So how I did it—I always had a huge desire to become a nonprofit but it took me a while to get the paperwork submitted to the IRS. I had to renew my State Incorporation a few times lol. It took me a while because "life happened”-marriage, higher education pursuits, adulting stuff. And had been serving my amputee/limb loss community for 17 years without the 501c3 distinction through support groups, individual peer support, case management, education, and advocacy. I had the 501c3 application 3/4 completed for a while, then finally just bit the bullet, paid a law firm to finish and submit it and then BAM, we were approved a month later!
QUESTION 5: The selection of members of the Board of Directors for a new nonprofit is important. What characteristics for Board members do you believe are important? What contributions by Board members do you believe should be expected? Did your Board members receive any training? If so, please identify that training.
RESPONSE: Yes, characteristics of Board members are very important. For me, I wanted 100% of my Board to be living with limb loss or a family member of someone living with limb loss. I also needed people who had true compassion for giving back to the community and not driven by ego. I needed people with different skill sets (eg we have Tom who is retired CPA as Treasurer, we have Yvonne, a retired teacher as Secretary, someone who loved to fundraise, someone who had computer/tech/social media strengths). Contribution-first of all, they have to show up to the events. They need to step up and not be afraid to talk to strangers about the nonprofit. They need to contribute with ideas and discussions during meetings. No, my Board did not receive any training.
QUESTION 6: Most nonprofits benefit greatly from the contributions of volunteers. Approximately how many volunteers do you have? Approximately how many paid staff do you have? Have you experienced any problems recruiting volunteers? If so, please share your experience. What suggestions do you have for recruiting volunteers?
RESPONSE: We are an all-volunteer nonprofit. It’s been very important to me that no one is ever financially compensated to serve our limbloss community. As Executive Director, I have never taken a salary. We usually do not have a need for volunteers. If you do happen to have an event that would require volunteers, we would not have problems recruiting help from the community. Recruiting volunteers-be visible in your communities, network, strive to have a good social media following when you do your asks for volunteers. On the flip side of this question- we, as an organization, try to organize monthly volunteer events to serve our community.