Pre-501(c)3 Onboarding Guide
Even while your 501(c)(3) is pending, apply to start getting help for your organization—including a free, professionally built website (a fast, secure GitHub Pages site built with AI), free domains, and Microsoft 365. You get instant access to many of our free products right away.
Before you apply: review the charity prerequisites and the full step-by-step onboarding on the FFC Admin portal.
Full step-by-step guide on FFC Admin(opens FFC Admin in a new tab)Help For Charities and Nonprofit Groups from an Unbiased Fellow Charity
Free For Charity is working every day to provide your charity, and you the charity or nonprofit director with the tools and techniques needed to thrive, FREE. Sign up today to get access to all of this for your nonprofit or charity group today even if you are still pending final 501c3 status.
Free For Charity Products and Services
–Establishment and Governance Support–
At Free For Charity, we understand the importance of Non Profit Establishment and Governance Support. We are here to provide help for charities by offering expertise in effective business and technology management. Our dedicated team of volunteers works to manage all aspects of your charity’s projects, we help you find the software and tools you need to thrive.
Looking to establish and govern your charity? We’ve got you covered. Our services include support for Charity Mission Plan “Pitch Deck” assistance, full plan development with budgeting and mission sections for IRS 1023 501c3 application, and consultation on initial board considerations. We also provide support for state and local nonprofit establishment, federal 501c3 nonprofit establishment, charity banking services, charity donation processing, and more. With Free For Charity, we connect students, professionals, and businesses with charities in need. Contact us today to get started on your charity’s mission!
–What Happens Next–
Ready to get your website live? Once you’re accepted, you’ll order your GitHub Pages website service and we’ll build your site — it goes live and is validated on its free GitHub Pages address first. After your site is validated, you’ll order your free domain name and we’ll point it at your proven site. At checkout you’ll see a small $1 verification charge — it simply confirms that each request comes from a real charity — and a discount code that brings your total down to $0 arrives in your onboarding acceptance email (we never post the code publicly). Charity email through Microsoft 365 or Google Workspace becomes available once your 501(c)(3) status is approved.
Are you a charity looking to create the perfect pitch deck for your mission? Look no further! At Free For Charity, we offer free one-on-one consulting sessions to help you craft a Charity Mission Plan “Pitch Deck” that will leave a lasting impression. Powered by Liveplan.com AI, our talented team of MBA’s will work closely with you to understand your goals, values, and impact. We’ll help you create a compelling narrative, captivating visuals, and persuasive language that effectively communicates your mission to potential donors, partners, and stakeholders. With our expertise and the power of artificial intelligence, your pitch deck will stand out from the crowd and inspire support for your cause.
Unlocking the full potential of your charity requires a comprehensive plan that aligns with your mission and goals. With our Full Charity Mission Plan (Powered by Liveplan.com AI), you gain the valuable tools and insights needed to drive impactful change. Partnering with Free For Charity and Live Plan AI, your organization receives strategic guidance, data-driven analysis, and innovative solutions tailored to your specific needs. Together, we empower your charity to make a lasting difference in the world.
Introducing Charity Board – your modern solution for effective board management. With our innovative features, we ensure seamless operations and empower your board to make a lasting impact. Enjoy the convenience of a single mandatory annual meeting, streamlining your board’s commitment. Embrace the digital age with our virtual meetings, facilitating collaboration and saving valuable time. Our online voting system empowers board members to participate and contribute, even from a distance. Enhance your board’s capabilities with specialized training, including QuickBooks review, enabling efficient ad hoc management. Seamlessly handle board member elections and removals for a smooth transition of leadership. Additionally, our structured board roles and mandatory officers ensure clear accountability and maximum efficiency. With dedicated committees such as Volunteer Management, Technology Management, and Fundraising, we facilitate targeted efforts for optimum results. Trust in our comprehensive conflict of interest policies to maintain transparency and uphold ethical standards. Join Charity Board today and revolutionize your board’s potential.
The State and Local Nonprofit Establishment Support Product, powered by Northwest Registered Agent. With our State Level C Corp setup, you can set up your initial company documents and register with the state of your founding. We also help with setting up your nonprofit’s charitable solicitation registration at the state level. We understand the unique needs of nonprofits and are dedicated to helping you navigate the complex process of establishment.
Setting up your first nonprofit bank account is an important step towards managing your organization’s finances. At Free For Charity we recommend both a Ground Bank, Wells Fargo and an online brokerage account, Edward Jones. We understand the unique needs of nonprofit organizations. With our expertise and dedicated support, we can help you navigate through the process and ensure that your funds are secure.
Setting up your Federal 501c3 Nonprofit Establishment is now easier than ever. At Free For Charity, we provide comprehensive assistance in obtaining your IRS Direct EIN Number and 501c3 Tax Exempt 1023 Application. Powered by Northwest Registered Agent, our team of talented professionals will guide you through the entire process, ensuring a seamless and successful application. Take advantage of our expertise and let us help you make a difference.
Are you ready to make a difference? Setting up your initial online donation systems is crucial for the success of your charity. With PayPal, Facebook, Stripe, and a bank direct Merchant Account, you can easily collect online and in-person donations to support your cause. At Free For Charity, we understand the importance of efficient donation processing, which is why we offer comprehensive assistance in setting up these systems. Don’t miss out on the opportunity to connect with donors and amplify your impact. Start your journey with us today.
- Initial LastPass Password Management Account
- Initial Microsoft yourcharityname@outlook.com organizational email address
- Initial Google yourcharityname@gmail.com organizational email address
- Free For Charity Domain Name Registration yourcharityname.org
- Initial Charity Email Routing info@yourcharityname.org
- Initial Charity GitHub Pages Website for IRS application (a fast, secure static site)
- Initial Facebook Page for volunteers / location / region management
- Initial LinkedIn Page for volunteers / location / region management
- Optional ‘non 501c3’ Microsoft 365 Account Setup
- Used if you are a sub chapter of a national charity or are not a ‘qualified organization’ for the main Microsoft Grant but are charitable in nature to receive ‘Free For Charity’ support
Ready to Get Started Now?
We are here to provide help for charities while testing people in real world skills.
We can’t test them without helping your charity or non profit.
Our main goal is to train people in the skills of effective business and technology management. We accomplish this goal of providing help for charities by producing in-house projects like:
- Research papers, case studies, and use cases from other industries and nonprofits.
- Guides for the charity or nonprofit manager in many best business practices.
- Unbiased technology directory focused on helping you find the software and tools you need.
- Unbiased service and consultant directory, free of overt marketing or gimmicks.
- Free charity website hosting with tons of for-profit paid products included free for charities.
Charity / Nonprofit Director FAQ
Yes, there is a need to provide help for charities in many ways! Free For Charity is not the only ‘charity for charities’ helping to lower your costs. Another great charity showing all the big name things you can get for free or at heavy discounts is TechSoup.org. Even with these other sites many charities and non profits still pay for profit companies to do work every day or buy products at full cost. Some do so without knowing that as a charity they qualify for lower rates or even free services from major companies. Others because it is hard to find the free products needed through the massive amount of paid marketing by well-funded for profit companies.
The Free For Charity services, consultant, and technology products directories seek to fix this problem with our motto: “Decisions should be made by metrics, not marketing.”
The Free For Charity services, consultant, and technology products directories seek to fix this problem with our motto: “Decisions should be made by metrics, not marketing.”
Free For Charity was started when the founder first became a board member on the local children’s museum’s board of directors. In just a few short weeks he uncovered many items the museum was paying for that were free to charities but the museum was paying for anyways.
In addition, for big projects the museum was not following any procurement management procedures at all. Items such as quoting from multiple vendors before a bid or cross-leveling the bids for price and quality were not being done.
Other issues found were the reliance on outdated technology because better alternatives were not known to the non IT-trained staff.
In addition, for big projects the museum was not following any procurement management procedures at all. Items such as quoting from multiple vendors before a bid or cross-leveling the bids for price and quality were not being done.
Other issues found were the reliance on outdated technology because better alternatives were not known to the non IT-trained staff.
The first reaction to uncovering these issues with the board was anger. The museum was losing or wasting thousands each year; money that could be used to keep admission prices lower and serve more children! After a deeper look it all came back to training and experience. Most charity founders and directors of small and medium charities are trained in the specialty of the charity’s mission, in this case child education and development. It is unreasonable to expect every charity director to be up to date on all procurement management methods and the technology that supports business while still running day-to-day operations. This is where Free For Charity helps charities’ projects to thrive.
Free For Charity will fill these vital roles for non profits and charities saving money for real program expenses. Most small to medium charities do not have the budget for full-time IT staff or business analysts like for profit companies and large charities. This is because grant managers and large donors want to see the lowest cost to “overhead” and don’t always look closely at the results that fall under program expenses.
Because of this common practice by large donors and grant institutions it is actually better for a small charity to waste money due to mismanagement such as by paying for something they could get for free because the item is put on the books as a ‘program expense’ and not questioned. Program expenses do not count against the charity like “overhead” does.
Paying someone on the non-program admin staff or the director of the charity to research and call companies for discounts is a labor cost that counts as “overhead” because it helps more than one program. With Free For Charity doing the work the target charity does not have to claim costs for overhead. Your nonprofit or charity group will gain access to professionals that have more expertise with the common business tasks like researching products to meet the charities needs. Free For Charity will also show you recommended technology and business practices that can save thousands each year.
Because of this common practice by large donors and grant institutions it is actually better for a small charity to waste money due to mismanagement such as by paying for something they could get for free because the item is put on the books as a ‘program expense’ and not questioned. Program expenses do not count against the charity like “overhead” does.
Paying someone on the non-program admin staff or the director of the charity to research and call companies for discounts is a labor cost that counts as “overhead” because it helps more than one program. With Free For Charity doing the work the target charity does not have to claim costs for overhead. Your nonprofit or charity group will gain access to professionals that have more expertise with the common business tasks like researching products to meet the charities needs. Free For Charity will also show you recommended technology and business practices that can save thousands each year.
Free For Charity is all about efficiency. Many charities ‘fix’ this overhead problem by treating all staff as working on / in the programs or pro-rating between them all and hoping they will not get audited. While on paper you show very low overhead the functional effect is still the same. You have high paid staff like a director doing work that should be done by skilled volunteers or technology. Items such as your nonprofit or charity group bookkeeping data entry, or a full-time employee who updates the charity website or nonprofit Facebook page occasionally between front desk tasks.
If you have ever seen a charity with lower than 5% overhead, this is mostly what is going on. If you have low recorded overhead then your charity is most likely not using experts for tasks and all staff are wearing many hats; most of which they were never trained in.
If you have ever seen a charity with lower than 5% overhead, this is mostly what is going on. If you have low recorded overhead then your charity is most likely not using experts for tasks and all staff are wearing many hats; most of which they were never trained in.
We provide help for charities with efficiency. One element of efficiency is getting the best product at the lowest price. For charities and non profits much more labor can be provided for free by volunteers. Free for Charity does not make your full-time staff take on more and more roles we can fully take over many of these tasks with expert volunteer labor. Business and IT professionals are always seeking to advance their skills while helping out charities. We capture this labor pool (or create it with training programs) and then manage the volunteers for your charities tasks and projects. We can do this at extremely low if not zero cost because of economies of scale, and because most of this work is process or research based and does not have ‘hard’ costs like equipment.
Not exactly. That type of charity matches workers with charities but then leaves the management of the work to the individual nonprofit or charity group. Many small and medium charities do not have the time to manage a volunteer or group of volunteers. Even charities with a volunteer coordinator who works with entry level volunteers may not have the skills to manage highly technical or high level business volunteers such as those with MBAs or decades in high level information technology. This can result in your best volunteers leaving before a project is completed.
Free For Charity will manage both the work and the results of the projects in-house. All you have to do as a charity is to work with your project manager to set expectations and define results at each stage of the project.
We also provide many physical services like nonprofit websites and hosting that are functionally like a product to your charity. We manage all the functions in the background with volunteers. With these other sites you get one person assigned to work your web project and you have no management support once it is done unless that one person stays on as a volunteer permanently. With Free For Charity if your initial volunteer leaves another from the web team still works on your project and keeps your websites running and maintained. This is just one example.
Free For Charity will manage both the work and the results of the projects in-house. All you have to do as a charity is to work with your project manager to set expectations and define results at each stage of the project.
We also provide many physical services like nonprofit websites and hosting that are functionally like a product to your charity. We manage all the functions in the background with volunteers. With these other sites you get one person assigned to work your web project and you have no management support once it is done unless that one person stays on as a volunteer permanently. With Free For Charity if your initial volunteer leaves another from the web team still works on your project and keeps your websites running and maintained. This is just one example.
All you need to do to get Free For Charity to provide help for your charity’s mission today is to contact us with some basic information about your charity. We need to know what type of projects you would like us to look at or undertake. Please fill out the form below and we will be in touch shortly.
Ready to Get Started Now?
Have questions about consultation or hosting? Want to know more about nonprofits? Looking to chat? Give a real person a call:
Clarke Moyer (520) 222-8104