Creating a petition, knocking on doors, soliciting donations, or contacting your representative are all examples of how you can take action for the causes you care about. No matter what cause is closest to your heart, you’re almost sure to find others in your area who share your interests and passion. Here are some ideas from The Fredericksburg Guidebook for connecting with your fellow community members and effecting the change you wish to see.

How to take action for the causes you care about!

Become a Teacher

One of the best ways to ensure lasting change in your community is to connect with its youngest members. Becoming a teacher allows you to work with children in your local area and gives you the opportunity to impart your values to them as a trusted role model.

To become a teacher, you need to obtain a bachelor’s degree from an accredited institution and complete an educator preparation program. Online teaching degrees let you continue to fulfill your professional and personal obligations while you pursue your career in education. Completing an online teaching degree also helps you prepare for your state licensure exam, which you need to pass before you can work as a teacher in most school settings. You need to submit transcripts, complete a background check, pay fees, and have student teaching experience to obtain a teaching license.

Start a Nonprofit Corporation

There’s strength in numbers, and this especially applies to advocating for social causes. Whether it’s tackling poverty, protecting the environment, or increasing voter participation, nonprofits exist to bring like-minded individuals together around a shared mission. There are many other benefits to starting a nonprofit, including that nonprofits are often eligible for grants and public funding. A formation service can help walk you through the process of getting one started.

As part of the necessary legal process for registering your nonprofit organization with the state, you need to create bylaws to govern your nonprofit. These bylaws establish important things, such as board member election, statement of purpose, and how your organization will handle conflicts of interest. Contact your Chamber of Commerce for resources and support for starting a nonprofit in your community.

Once your nonprofit is established, you can begin advocating for issues in your community. For example, you may want your organization to advocate for improving community walkability by building sidewalks and implementing traffic calming measures. You can organize within your community to try to bring about these changes.

If you’re working with immigrants, you should consider using a translator to maximize the benefit you can provide for a given community.

Invest in nonprofit accounting software

Few things are more important to a nonprofit’s health than its finances. Not only do nonprofits give out funding, but they receive funds from public and private entities to carry out their missions. Nonprofits are also subject to more intense financial transparency regulations and tax laws than other entities, so accurate accounting is essential to your organization. Use nonprofit accounting software that enables you to track donations, send invoices, and manage expenditures. The ability to create custom, detailed reports is also important, so your individual donors can have an accurate account of how their money is being used.

Take Action Today

Once you make the commitment to advance the causes that matter to you, you’re on your way to seeing positive change in your community. Becoming a local educator or starting a nonprofit are just several of many avenues you can take to stand up for what you believe in.

The Fredericksburg Guidebook is Fredericksburg, Virginia’s best city guide for finding local history, arts, entertainment and businesses. Call 540-226-0988.