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Starting a Nonprofit

Thinking about starting a nonprofit?

Similar to starting any business, establishing a successful and impactful nonprofit takes planning, research, time, money, and an incredible amount of fortitude.

At Spokes, we strongly believe that the decision to start a nonprofit should not be taken lightly. There are roughly 1,600 nonprofits in San Luis Obispo County — too many for them all to be effective. Often, there are other ways to achieve your goals with greater efficiency.

We’d love to discuss your ideas before you get started to help save you time and money. Before scheduling a consultation, we recommend that you review this document, which includes some key resources as you weigh your options.

Additionally, Spokes periodically offers learning sessions for those interested in starting a new nonprofit. Watch our most recent, live session here:

Finally, we ask that you fill out this short intake form to start the consultation process.

We look forward to hearing from you.

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Member Testimonial

In a few moments, FDO can provide more funder and grantor information that any person could assemble in a whole work week. The depth and breadth of information provided in FDO is simply not available through any other resources. I appreciate being able to access it as a Spokes member.

June Eastham
Grant Manager
People's Self-Help Housing
San Luis Obispo, CA

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