Strategies for Bootstrapping
Putting this organization together has been an exercise in parallel role-playing. I’m playing the part of the project manager, the scientist and the developer, all while trying to do the actual management of the organization.
Building our first program - the Short Courses - has been extremely fun! Our first two courses involve complimentary perspectives on quantum mechanics. One course is easy to digest: ideas with simple calculations with arrows and angles. Simple but direct demonstrations of everyday physics based in quantum mechanics. The other course dives into the intricacies of atomic spin by way of elementary chemistry and some calculations with matrices. My hope is that some folks will take both, using the general audience course - “QED: A Reader’s Guide” - as background material before beginning the more technical one - “A Short Course in Quantum Mechanics”.
The technical jump between the courses is “merely” freshman calculus and linear algebra. “Merely” here is a loaded word. If you haven’t played with high school algebra in a few years, calculus might seem like some sort of dark magic. Even if you have seen calculus before, trying to relearn that material while digesting the weirdness that is the Quantum Theory might be a tall order. Of course, it might also be fun!
I mention this “jump” in difficultly because I’m staring down a similar split right now in an operational context.
My friend Craig - a bona fide expert in nonprofit strategy - presented me with two options for bootstrapping the Pasayten Institute. The first is operationally easy: I can find an organization to act as a fiscal sponsor, which means they handle the donations and ensure their tax-exempt status. I don’t have to worry about the IRS 1023 paperwork to get the 501(c)(3) status and I don’t have to file the regular 990 paperwork. The downside of this is cost. Typically fiscal sponsors take a small percentage of the donations to manage the funds.
The second option means filing all the paperwork to be an independent, 501(c)(3) organization alone. In addition to paperwork, this means putting together a good size board of directors. Bootstrapping with a board is a little tenuous since they’re ultimately financially responsible for any debts incurred by the organization. Of course, my intention is to run things without taking on debt, but without an institutional track record it’s still a potential concern to prospective directors. Also: selecting a board who has a vision compatible with ours is critically important to me. That process itself - while affording more resources - is quite a task. The good news is that you can fundraise as tax-exempt before the application is processed. So there’s no real roadblock.
In any case, I get the sense that this is all going to come together pretty fast, which is exciting, but also terrifying. Managing that while putting together the courses and starting up a fundraising effort is going to take a few more cups of coffee. I’ll keep you posted on how it goes.
