What are you talking about?? That's what you are saying right? Because it's been SO long that you probably have no idea what I am referring to. (Life got in the way of writing!) But let me tell you...My non profit found a place to start, with no start up costs, no money in the bank, just a wing and a prayer! And we are still open 6 months later! Amazing is just not even the word. Awesome, maybe. Crazy!? Yes, that's it.
So, let's talk lessons:
1. It really is all in who you know - My nonprofit had been looking and looking for ways to find a building but with no success. No one wants to take a chance on a business with no money in the bank, let alone one that is a nonprofit. (Our board agreed to never take a loan) Have you seen the number of nonprofits closing their doors lately? Of the more than 1.5 Billion charities in the U.S. it's a lot I tell you! (that number was taken from the National Center for Charitable Statistics by the way) I don't have the actual figure right now, but there were organizations closing shop left and right here where I live and it was scary watching it while trying to get one started at the same time.
So how did it happen for us? Our nonprofit happened to be called one day by a very new friend who had an eye on supporting what we were doing in some way non-money related. She was renting a small space for a small amount of money for a co-op and could not afford to stay anymore due to families leaving. Being that the place was perfect for a small start up for our cause, she called us asking if we would be interested in the spot. We were in it within two weeks thanks to her ability to put her personal defeat aside and ability to focus on a possible success for others first. Selfless! Love it. Love her. It just happened that she thought of us, and so it just happened to work out for us. But only because we knew the right person at the right time.
2. Never be afraid to think out of the box - The place we got into is small, and does not fit the entire vision we have. No matter though, we are well practiced in the art of creativity and flexibility! (No, we are not yogis, ninjas, or show girls) We got in and opened up our doors within the two weeks, making sure to never look back or question too much what we were doing. We just went full force ahead! It was too scary to think about it if we stopped to do so, so we decided not to. We basically looked at what we were given and made it work for as much as we could with the idea of looking back later and making adjustments as we went. And that seemed to work really well. Those we are helping in the community are super excited and loving what we are doing. We were really out of the box type thinkers anyway, so we were able to adapt to our situation well without much trouble.
Ah! But trouble always comes. And lessons are always learned. Hey, maybe I should title my blog something about daily life lessons!? Hmm...
Anyway, overall we are excited to be where we are and there are so many thing I can share about what we have done right and oh so wrong. So, obviously that will be where we are headed as I finally get back into blogging on a regular basis. Feel free to come back and check out the roller coaster ride of nonprofit world!
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