Update on Pepsi Refresh Everything

I just looked over the eligibility requirements, and we should wait to submit the application until after the 501(c)(3) application has been approved. The application was submitted in April 2009. It will be best to wait instead of putting in the request as an individual because of the amount of taxes that will be taken out of the grant. This is sad, but it's just the way the rules are.

Pepsi Refresh Everything

I filled out an application with Pepsi's Refresh Everything project. Hopefully, I'll have it submitted for June. The entry was made for the $50,000 dollar category. If it is successfully submitted then I'll post another entry about it. We will need your votes!

First Flyer Created

Finished creating a flyer for posting on bulletin boards in stores and organizations. To download the flyer please go to http://www.recyclingforfood.org/flyers/FullsizeFlyer1.pdf. Your support is greatly appreciated.

Creating a Flyer

I'm looking into creating a flyer for the organization, but I'm not the most artistic person around to do this. I'm more functional than artsy. If anyone has some creative ideas, I'll be glad to hear them. Please send me an e-mail at michael.marks@recyclingforfood.org. Thanks.

Grants

I've been going through the process applying for a federal government grant to see if they can provide us with start-up costs. The process is taking a lot longer than I expected, and it is far from complete. However, it is very nice that the government has a website for handling the applications. The site sends the user to a few other sites to handle parts of the process, but it's fine since the order or procedures is all in one place.

Post Office Box

Recycling for Food now has a new address for receiving donations:

Recycling for Food, Inc,
PO Box 45
West Bend, WI 53095-0045

The box I rented costs $22 for 6 months. We'll start out with the smaller box first before going to anything larger.

"Drive" Created at Gazelle.com

Gazelle has a neat program called "Gazelle for Good", where they will support non-profit causes by accepting recyclable gadgets and giving the money to the non-profit. I set up a website for us at http://recyclingforfood.gazelle.com. Please pass the word that this site is available.

The Environment Site

I was looking around for some forums in order to get more information and to spread the word about Recycling for Food. I found a place called "The Environment Site". It looks very promising, and I like it because I enjoy ideas about alternative energy production as well.

Issues with PayPal

I got a surprise from PayPal today. I had no idea that they needed extra verification of whether or not Recycling for Food really exists as a organization, and whether or not it is a tax-exmpt non-profit. Since the 501(c)(3) application has been sent, but has not yet been reviewed, I could only send them the information I had. They also wanted a copy of a bank statement for the organization, but we don't have one yet because the account was only opened this past Monday.

Hopefully the information and paperwork I did have will be good enough evidence for their needs. If not then there will be some restrictions placed on the account, but I am not sure what those restrictions are.

Donations

The ability to donate online has been added. It works pretty well. The donations get processed through PayPal, and the receipts generated from it are well designed. Donators may print the receipts for their records to show how much they have given for tax purposes.

I tested the online donations by charging $1.00 to my Discover card. The donation was taken successfully, and $0.67 was deposited into the organization's checking account. The processing fee seems pretty high, but this is normal with such small amounts. It won't be so bad with larger amounts donated.

Tweaked the Website

The website still needs more work, but I made some changes to help it look better. I added the Home, Mission, How to Help, Donate, and Links buttons. The background color is now a nice shade of blue as well. Now I just need to fill in the pages.

PayPal

I decided to use PayPal for processing online donations. It seems like it will work just fine for this. PayPal has a cool feature where it generates the html code for a "Donate" button. I copied the code, but it is not on the website yet. I might wait until the pretty version of the website is finished.

Bank Account Created

Stopped by M&I Bank today to set up a bank account. Everything went pretty well, and for non-profits there is no fee as long as there is a balance of $100 in the account. Pretty soon we'll be able to accept donations.

Facebook

Created a group called Recycling for Food on Facebook. Hopefully this will help with exposure of the organization, and the great part is that it's free.

Feel free to join up to show your support.

Advertisements

I decided to add Google AdSense to my blog. The advertisements will not be added to the Recycling for Food website because they are not related to our mission. I felt it was ok to include advertisements on the blog because it will potentially be a way to earn a little bit of money for myself, and hopefully help pay for my time blogging.

If it works out good then I'll let you know.

Website

Instead of having the web page showing that the domain name is reserved for Recycling for Food, I put up a simple page to replace it. The site is under construction, but feel free to visit www.RecyclingForFood.org periodically to see the progress. The logo displayed is my initial attempt at trying to create one for the organization.

Logos and Website

My artistic skills are not very good, so I contacted Jim Gottfried to see if he has some free time to make the logos better, or if he has better ideas. He's a graphic arts designer, so I'm sure the results will be great. Hopefully we will have new and improved logos and letter head after a few weeks.

I decided to create a very basic homepage to be put in place of the "this site is reserved..." page. It will not be anything fancy, but it will have some information on it.

Designing a database

I couldn't wait to start working. My original plan was to take around a month off to relax before working again, but that has changed. The quicker I start the better off the organization will be.

I've been creating a Microsoft SQL Express database. It will be used for keeping tract of foundations, businesses, and individuals so we know who we have contacted, and who has replied. It still requires more work, but it's a good start.

Welcome

Hello to everyone and welcome to this blog. I've recently left my Software Developer job at API Healthcare, and decided to pursue my dream of starting a non-profit organization. I'm already behind on updates since Recycling for Food, Inc. has already been incorporated, and the 501(c)(3) paperwork has been submitted, but I'll do my best to catch up.

Subscribe or check back for more updates. I'm always willing to listen to advice, and I hope my experiences can help you as well.