How can I grow my non-profit and make an impact?
Hi! I recently founded this non-profit called ARNA Project and our mission is to provided healthcare literacy, support and inform student who are interested in medicine or science about opportunities (scholarship, research opportunities, basic knowledge like chemistry, what is neuro disease etc) through educational content posted on social media, and lastly care package send to hospital and mental health insitution as I notice many patients experience loneliness during their worst time so a small care package would remind them that they’re value, seen and support!
Currently I’m working on social media and recruitment as we’re newly founded.
Some future project I hope to accomplish by 2029 is
1. Care package send to hospital/ mental health insitution
2. A penpal program where kid struggles with mental/physical health can make friend through letter (volunteer)
3. Course/ workshop ( topic is still not decided yet)
4. health care literacy (Medicaid, insurance etc) through flyer in hospital, school, community in different languages
5. A proposed bill making basic healthcare literacy mandatory in high school or elementary ( I think this would be important since hs student is going into early adulthood and it would be great for them to understand their insurance etc)
6. Outreach and maintain sponsorship/partner ship with hospital/ non-profit/ education board etc (policy maker etc)
There is more but those are what on our timeline right now.
If anyone have any tips like how to build a website, finance, people we can collab with, anyone we can outreach too, etc would be really helpful!
As said I am a junior in high school and is really new to this stuff. Any information is worth reading to me!:)
1 answer
Sarah’s Answer
One piece of advice I'd offer is to avoid trying to build everything at once. Right now, you have several excellent ideas, and each one could become its own organization. The greatest challenge for many new nonprofits isn't a lack of passion. It's trying to do too much before the organization has the capacity to sustain it.
I would recommend choosing one flagship initiative and becoming known for doing that exceptionally well. Once you have volunteers, partnerships, and funding in place, you can thoughtfully expand into the other programs on your roadmap.
Here are a few practical suggestions:
Develop a strategic plan. Even a simple three-year plan can help you prioritize initiatives, identify milestones, estimate costs, and define what success looks like.
Build a board of advisors. Recruit a small group of people with different expertise, such as healthcare, education, nonprofit management, marketing, finance, law, and fundraising. They don't all have to serve formally at first, but experienced mentors can help you avoid common pitfalls.
Measure your impact from day one. Think about how you'll answer questions like: How many students did we reach? How many care packages were delivered? What changed because of our work? Strong data will help you attract grants, donors, and partners.
Look for collaboration before creating something new. There may already be hospitals, schools, nonprofits, or community organizations doing work similar to parts of your vision. Partnering with them can help you expand your impact much faster than starting every program from scratch.
For your questions about specific resources:
Website: Start with platforms like Wix, Squarespace, or WordPress. They offer nonprofit-friendly templates that don't require coding.
Fundraising: Begin with individual donors, local business sponsorships, community fundraisers, and grants designed for youth-led organizations.
Partnerships: Reach out to local hospitals, public health departments, universities, school districts, community foundations, mental health organizations, and civic groups. Many organizations enjoy partnering with student-led initiatives when there's a clear mission and plan.
Marketing: Continue using social media, but also tell stories about the people you're helping. Stories often connect with people more deeply than statistics alone.
One thought about your proposed healthcare literacy legislation: that's an ambitious and worthwhile long-term goal. Before pursuing legislation, consider building evidence that your educational materials improve students' understanding of healthcare topics. Piloting your program in a few schools and measuring the results will make your case much stronger if you eventually approach school boards or legislators.
Finally, remember that relationships are one of your greatest assets. Spend time getting to know people in healthcare, education, and the nonprofit sector, not just because they may become donors or partners, but because they have experience you can learn from. Some of the best opportunities come from people who believe in you long before they write a check.
You have time on your side. Focus on building one excellent program, measure its impact, learn from the experience, and allow the organization to grow intentionally. That's how many successful nonprofits begin.