Turning Ideas into Action
From brainstorming to execution, learn how to funnel inspiration into nonprofit organizations.

By Kathy LaTour

Sherri Romanoski was inspired. In 2001 she attended the Life Beyond Cancer retreat at Miraval Life in Balance Resort & Spa near Tucson, Arizona, with her friend Maureen “Mo” Hatten. Life Beyond Cancer (see CURE, Summer 2003), a three-day retreat sponsored by US Oncology and a number of pharmaceutical companies, inspires women to go home and become an advocate for those going through cancer.

Romanoski, diagnosed with breast cancer in 2000, knew immediately what she wanted to do.

"When I was diagnosed, I spent time gathering information from all these different places. I didn’t know where to start. I researched on the Internet, but I didn’t know what to believe or what was good information. It hit me that it would have been such a gift to have someone hand me a bag with all the best information in it.”

Romanoski remembered that someone at Life Beyond Cancer said participants should go back to their own communities and see what was missing. Romanoski knew immediately that providing good information to every person diagnosed with cancer on the day of diagnosis was what she wanted to tackle.

"I knew we were going to have to be a nonprofit to raise money, so I put together a board and applied for nonprofit status at the beginning,” Romanoski says.

Understanding the Nonprofit

Every day across the country people have good ideas about how they can assist their community in some way. Most of these programs require money, and in order to raise money that can be tax deductible, the organization must hold a tax-exempt status from the Internal Revenue Service. But before applying for nonprofit status, there will need to be a mission and board of directors in place.

Hatten and Romanoski, a first-grade teacher and mother to three boys, knew they could make a difference in the lives of those diagnosed with cancer, so they wrote their mission statement: Support newly diagnosed individuals with cancer and their families with front-line information and resources.

As a start-up, boards don’t need to be large. Romanoski recruited Donald Brooks, MD, a Tucson oncologist who supported her work, as well as Hatten and a friend, Anne Hendricks, who was a CPA to handle the crucial financial issues attached to beginning a nonprofit.

The volunteer board oversees all aspects of the operation of the nonprofit and functions in the same way the board of a company operates. Perhaps the greatest myth is that nonprofits don’t make money. Indeed, they often have budgets that match those of major companies with the difference being that the funds go into the programming and there are no stockholders who gain from any excess funds raised.

After the mission statement is written, start looking around the community to see if any other organization includes the same goal. If so, volunteer for them or approach their board about adding the programming you envision. Don’t duplicate programs or stretch donor dollars any thinner by adding a similar nonprofit to your community.

An important thing to understand when starting a nonprofit organization is that if you feel you have to do this because it’s your idea and you are emotionally tied to it, consider that a big red flag. This should not be about the person but the mission.

Beginning the Program

With the nonprofit in place, Hatten and Romanoski gathered all the free material they could find and created focus groups of survivors, oncology nurses and physicians to narrow down the information to the best publications.

Next came the system for delivery. Clearly there needed to be a way to distribute the information, and Romanoski decided a canvas bag would hold it all, working with four surgeons, nine oncology offices and two radiation oncology practices to distribute them. A friend offered to do the logo and Bag It! was born.

The first bag was delivered in July 2002, and since then, more than 2,000 people have been given a Bag It! containing the National Coalition for Cancer Survivorship Toolbox and Teamwork publications, information from the National Cancer Institute and brochures on local support organizations. In addition, each bag contains a notebook with dividers to help the patient keep records and maintain information.

So far, it has been a volunteer effort of Romanoski, the board and 30 people who help put the bags together in her kitchen, including her three twentysomething sons, husband, mother, father, sister, aunt, nieces, nephews and sister-in-law. “Volunteers are crucial to a nonprofit organization,” she says. “If they feel needed, they will work very hard to help you achieve your mission.” There is no paid staff and all funds raised go to producing Bag It!.

Board and Business

A start-up board should include people with the legal, financial, organizational, programming and fundraising skills to function as staff until money can be raised to hire staff. Finding the right mix of people who are willing to voluntarily give of their time and talents is key to a successful start-up.

While the goals of the organization may be worthy and needed in the community, a nonprofit will not succeed without a strategic plan to raise money. Be sure to have funds to begin the process and then grow slowly as funds are raised. All board members should know that fundraising is part of their job description on a start-up board.

Romanoski remained inspired when Hatten died in fall 2003, seeing the program as her legacy. But now she has to look at ways to grow the fledgling nonprofit as requests grow and calls come in from those who have heard about the program and want to duplicate it in their communities.

"We will expand to more physicians offices in Tucson and southern Arizona and may have to consider hiring some staff down the road,” Romanoski says. “This has taken off quickly and we want to be able to keep up.”

A group of Romanoski’s friends planned a fundraiser in 2004 called Take A Hike for Bag It!. Participants paid $75 for lunch and a hike in the Santa Catalina Mountains near Tucson. The final amount raised was $40,000.

Get Help

Nonprofit organizations have flourished in the United States, and there are numerous organizations, books and consultants to help you understand the complexities of a start-up. It is also a good idea to serve on the boards of other nonprofits if you are considering starting one.


Sherri Romanoski and other community activists from around the country will share ideas they put into action during a Sunday morning breakout session at the CURE Patient & Survivor Forum in Dallas this April. For more information, go to www.curetoday.com/patientmeeting.