Why I Wrote My Book After Starting My Nonprofit

My goal for writing my book was simple. I learned the importance of starting your nonprofit the right way after I learned the hard way. If you want to read more about why I, Audrey Chisholm, wrote my book, continue reading my blog. 

Since I started my nonprofit and made mistakes, I’ve dedicated my professional life to educating people on avoiding the pitfalls. I want to encourage everyone to create a sustainable charity that can benefit the community and society.

Here is my story.

Starting My Nonprofit

When I was a sophomore in college at the age of 17, I felt inspired by God to do something to make a difference. My sincere desire was to teach high school students the things that high school didn’t teach me. 

My goal was to start a nonprofit that would host an annual leadership conference and events that would teach students how to start a business, graduate from college debt-free, manage their money, and be a leader on campus and in their community. 

I had faith in the difference this organization would make, and I decided to step out on faith and do it!

Mistakes I Made

There were a lot of common pitfalls that I didn’t know about when starting my nonprofit, so I made many mistakes. 

Here is what I went through:

  1. Struggles with fundraising, primarily because I waited too long to file our paperwork.
  2. Issues with my board of directors because I didn’t get professional advice.
  3. I almost lost my nonprofit’s name to three other organizations because I thought we already owned the name since we had registered with the state.
  4. I missed out on grants and funding opportunities early on.
  5. And more!

While I struggled with starting and structuring my own nonprofit, my story doesn’t end there. The good news is that I then dedicated years to learning the right way to start and run nonprofits. 

Growing Past Mistakes in Starting my Nonprofit

I served on the board of a large nonprofit organization for eight years, along with the former president of the New York Stock Exchange, university presidents, and other professionals. Here, I learned best practices for how successful nonprofits are run.

In that time, I also went to law school, studied nonprofit law, and learned the strategies that some of the largest law firms use when forming successful nonprofits.

After law school, I then chose to start and grow my own law firm committed to helping 1 million people create their own 501c3 nonprofits and avoid the mistakes I made and others have made over the years.

My Law Firm

My law practice, Chisholm Law Firm, LLC, has successfully formed 501c3 tax-exempt nonprofit organizations for clients throughout the United States, ranging from startups to Fortune 500 companies. 

We have successfully established the following types of nonprofits with a 100% success rate for 501c3 nonprofit approvals by the IRS: 

  • Youth organizations
  • Schools
  • Churches 
  • Ministries 
  • Healthcare organizations 
  • Drug rehabilitation programs 
  • Animal rights organizations
  • Homelessness prevention centers 
  • Cancer patient services
  • Athletic services 
  • Women’s issues 
  • Marriage enrichment organizations
  • And more! 

*Disclaimer: past results do not determine future outcomes.

Our clients range from college students to professionals and professional athletes (NFL players, Major League Baseball players, professional basketball players, and more!)

Restructuring My Nonprofit

I also restructured my own nonprofit, Revolution Leadership, INC®, so that we could take advantage of significant funding opportunities. 

Since then, my nonprofit has obtained 501c3 tax-exempt status. It has grown into an organization that has served 1,633 students and awarded 30 college scholarships.

Revolution Leadership® has received significant grants from Wells Fargo®, Enterprise®, as well as corporate sponsorships from Wal-Mart®, Olive Garden®, and Chick-fil-A®, to name a few.

My Goal

While representing all of those clients and helping them start their nonprofits – I have witnessed firsthand the costly mistakes that good-intentioned founders, board members, and volunteers make.

My hope is that my book will share many of the ways that you can avoid costly mistakes when starting and structuring your 501c3 nonprofit.

I believe that anyone can start and grow a sustainable nonprofit if given the correct information – and I would like to provide you with everything I wish I had known when I started mine.

Find a free copy of my book here and on Amazon by searching “Start a 501c3 Nonprofit that Doesn’t Ruin Your Life”.

You can rest assured that your nonprofit is in the best hands and that we’ll get everything done right the first time. Call us today to schedule your free consultation.

It shouldn’t be this hard to be a superhero.