Starting a Nonprofit

You and others have come together to embrace an opportunity or address a challenge in your community. You are interested in advancing your efforts and joining Washington State’s thriving nonprofit sector. In Washington, there are more than 56,000 nonprofit corporations and approximately 12,000 registered charities. Across the U.S., there are over 1.5 million nonprofit organizations. With all these nonprofits — and the reality that many struggle to stay in existence — carefully consider if creating a new organization is the best approach to achieve your desired impact.

Starting a Nonprofit invites you and your group to think about the difference you seek to make and the ideal structure to move forward. The guide leads you through key decision-making points to assess whether a nonprofit is the best way to accomplish your goals. If you decide to move forward with starting a nonprofit, the guide, along with the Washington Nonprofit Handbook, provides information around compliance and practices that support becoming an operational organization.