The Beginning

It is 12:34 am and I was laying in bed thinking and planning about the nonprofit I want to create.  The vision is very clear in my head and I can picture the exact layout of how I want our future building to look. This has been happening for a few weeks now- laying in bed and thinking about creating a community education center for refugees and immigrants. Of course my dream building and location will take some time, but I believe my dream will become a reality. I am following the advice I tell my students- dream big and you can make it happen. I am living by those words.
My vision to create an Education Center for Refugees and Immigrants developed over the past six months. I casually thought about ideas and would mention what refugees and immigrants want and need to succeed in the United States, but I did not seriously think  about starting a non profit until I finish graduate school this fall. It wasn't until I was talking to an acquaintance about my background in business and my current passion- education for refugees and immigrants/ESL. I told her my ideas about what the refugee population in Albany needs and how I could help. I also said I might think about starting a non profit in the future. Her response was something along the lines, "why not now?" I thought about the idea for a couple of days and decided that the time is right.  Refugees and immigrants need my help now and there is no reason to wait. I have written out my mission, values and vision, started on my budget, talked to different people in the community and conducted a needs analysis.
My first and most important goal is to incorporate and actually become a nonprofit. Without becoming a nonprofit I cannot obtain grants or funding. This is where my fundraising page comes in. I need to raise money in order to pay a tax attorney to file and complete the paperwork. I am confident I will be able to achieve this goal, but on nights like this, I stay up wondering if I will really be able to do this.
I am going to  blog daily and tell you what I am doing to make my dream a reality. You will hopefully be following along on this journey reading about how an ESL teacher is improving the lives of refugees by creating an innovative education center.