Hi folks! I have a question for folks that may be “in the know” about setting up a nonprofit, specifically a nonprofit charity. This would be in Iowa, for locational context.
I’ll throw a few why’s and wherefore’s about what I’m thinking and why, and folks can chime in in the comments below as they like. Thanks in advance for any advice and suggestions.
Being diagnosed with a potentially (probably?) terminal condition sharpens the mind a bit, and and some Kossacks already know, about a year and a half ago I was diagnosed with Stage IV colon cancer and was given 50/50 odds of making it 2 years.
Obviously, I’m still around and intend to be so for many years yet if I have any say in the matter. I had major surgery earlier this year that removed all of the known tumors in my colon and liver, but sadly, a recent MRI has revealed I have new tumors in my liver again and so I’m back on a new chemo regimen.
And I’m due soon for a consult on my eligibility for having a HAIP (Hepatic Artery Infusion Pump) surgically implanted. It’s a relatively new procedure (approved by the FDA in 2020 IIRC), but the nub of it is that a pump is surgically implanted in the abdominal wall and connected to the hepatic artery, the main artery feeding the liver. Since all of my known current tumors are in the liver, this will deliver small consistent doses of chemo to the liver 24/7. Advantages are that since it’s delivering the chemo directly to the affected organ, much smaller doses can be used for potentially greater effect, plus can administer it around the clock. The smaller doses also means likely reduced side effects. Downsides is that it does involve a bit of surgery (but hey, been there, done that for a lot worse), and having to drive about 3 hours each way to Mayo every two weeks to have the pump refilled (the pump includes a port that can be accessed just like the one currently in my chest for my regular chemo).
Anyway, on to other thoughts….
For all that I have every intention of being around for a long time, I realize that statistically, my odds of that happening are not particularly high. So it gets one considering one’s legacy — not that I’m dissatisfied with mine as it stands, but hey, if you can do more good in the world, why not do it? And if I AM still around...hey, more time to do even more good, right?
As some Kossacks also know, I am a school librarian. And sadly, school libraries have been declining and under attack for many years now (mainly through neglect, under funding, and under staffing), but in the last couple of years that’s gone into overdrive with the concerted efforts by certain groups to attempt to ban books from school (and public) libraries and also attacking school librarians who try to defend their students’ First Amendment rights to access to information (as determined by SCOTUS on down in the court system in past censorship attempts).
So here is my desire: create a small nonprofit charity set up to supply funds to school libraries, especially those that are suffering from chronic under funding so they buy more new books and improve their collection. For example, I know of districts whose ENTIRE library budget comes from their annual book fair. I know of another about twenty miles from my district that, at least just pre-COVID, had an annual budget of about $850 for books and supplies — for a district of about 1,500 students, which comes to about 57 cents per student. The ALA reported that in 2020-21, 10% of school librarians in the US reported having NO library budget. For the 2019-20 school year, 38% of school libraries reported decreases in their budgets.
I’m not talking big money here, unless somehow this would really catch hold: grants of a few hundred dollars, maybe a thousand if the money’s there, for up to a few districts at a time. Probably to keep it simple, looking at keeping it in-state.
I’ve started to do some preliminary looking online but I know Dkos has a deep bench when it comes to knowledge of a LOT of different subjects, from science to finance to military matters to...well, just about anything. And hence my outreach to ask, as I’m sure there are people out there who have set up small nonprofits here on Dkos and know the tricks and pitfalls of doing such.