1.Know your WHY.

Whether a social enterprise or nonprofit organization, the work is NOT easy, so you need to know your WHY. Why will you work long hours, learn new skills, talk to people you don't usually talk to, and push yourself to do uncomfortable things? It is your WHY. Your WHY speaks to a particular need in the community that your efforts will fill. It should be researched and documented with both qualitative and quantitative data. Your WHY will change over time. However, its essential purpose will remain the same. Your WHY is a critical part of your mission statement and should be shareable, preferably within the time it takes to ride an elevator up a floor or in a tweet. 

ME to WE - is an innovative social enterprise that provides products that make an impact, empowering people to change the world with their everyday consumer choices.

Humankind Investment - We believe that many of the problems in our world today can be fixed if businesses are held accountable by their investors for how they impact humanity. Investors just need a way to do it… and that's where we come in.

Grameen Bank - By providing comprehensive financial services, empowering the poor to realize their potential and break out of the vicious cycle of poverty.

ChangeMakers provides a step-by-step Mission Making Workbook. You can work through the workbook, and ChangeMaker will offer a FREE review of your mission.  

2. Gather others who share your passion for the WHY.

As you build your WHY, it is important to gather people as passionate about it as you are. To become a registered nonprofit in most states, you will need at least three volunteer board members. They may become board members, program volunteers, and potential donors when they share the WHY they can become your organization's champions. As you wait for your IRS Determination letter recognizing your organization as charitable, you will probably want to develop and pilot programs, build partnerships, and engage the community. The people who are passionate about the WHY are fantastic resources.  

3. Make the WHY come to life.

Begin to develop and implement programs and projects through partnerships and volunteers. Don't wait until your funding comes in and all your ducks are in a row. Remember to collect data both qualitative and quantitative this will help your requests for funding moving forward. Look at it as an opportunity to prove your concept and make tweaks in preparation for full implementation.