How do i start my own non-profit organization?

ok my firend ttold me about this idea she had. she wanted to start a group that informs people about their impact on the earth and we want to actually kinda save the world(i know it sounds dumb but i thinnk we could do it) we did research and i learned that if the pollution levels arent lowered by 81% then gloal warming is gonna suck. we want to plant 487,00 trees in a 42 year period, but we need sponsors and to get sponsors we need to be an official group. i heard of this thing called the legal aid organizatrion. how do i get in touch with them to fill out to become an official group

It's a bit of a process to start. What we did was go through the Foundation group. www.501c3.org The Foundation group took care of helping us set up, get started and all dealings with the IRS.
Next your going to have to work on funding. Their's a lot of competition nationwide for getting this through coorporations. Especially in large funding amounts. I can show you a funding resource for your organization.
You can succeed in creating any type of non-profit to serve anything you want, if you pur some effort into it.
If you have any more questions, feel free to email me any time.

Tiffany

I have found a website that compiles various resources on starting a non profit. I especially like the Minnesota Council of NonProfits because the site gives information on governance, developing strategic alliances, fund raising and other ingredients of successfully running a non profit.

http://www.lib.msu.edu/harris23/grants/z...

As for funding your non profit, I suggest you check out Foundation Center to help you gain ideas on how to properly establish your organization and get support from private foundations. They have the most extensive database of private donors, and they publish a magazine that can be very helpful to your new non profit.

http://fdncenter.org/getstarted/tutorial...

I was previously involved in the setup of a non profit, and we were able to get a pro-bono lawyer who set up everything for us, including getting the 501c3 tax status. Contact other non profits in your area and check if there are lawyers willing to work for free to get you started.

For detailed information on how to start a non profit, I suggest you read the following books:

- Starting and Running a Nonprofit Organization -- by Joan M. Hummel
- Starting and Running a Non-Profit Made Easy by Entrepreneur Press, David H. Bangs
- Starting & Building A Nonprofit: A Practical Guide by Peri Pakroo

For all the paperwork, you can try to look for a pro-bono lawyer who can help you setup your non profit for free. I'm not sure if that is what this legal aid organization does, but check them out if they can give you help for free