How to Start a Community Center

Co-authored by Allison Broennimann, PhD

Last Updated: July 18, 2024 Approved

Community centers are typically non-profit organizations that provide communities with a safe place to assemble and address their needs. Starting a community center can be a long process that involves years of planning, fundraising, and advertising. With a little determination, however, you can create a safe space where your community can gather for years to come.

Part 1

Part 1 of 4:

Mapping Out Your Community Center

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1
Write down your goals. It is helpful to create a list of concrete and realistic goals. You may even want to draft a mission statement for your organization. Make a list of ten goals for your community center. If your community center is targeting a certain population (such as the local LGBT community or single mothers), you should include that information in your goals. Some examples of goals include:
- Create a safe space for the community to gather while providing a venue for the improvement of the community.
- Provide support and resources to unemployed members of the community through classes, workshops, and job fairs.
- Give legal aid to the local immigrant community.
2
Determine your community’s needs. A community center should help fulfill certain needs and demands of the community. To do this, you will first need to identify what those needs are. Create a list of areas that need improvement in your local area. Some common problems that communities face include:
- High unemployment
- Pollution
- Obesity
- Lack of green space
- Safety issues
- Low literacy rates
- High rates of alcoholism or drug abuse
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3
Identify your community’s strengths. Even if your community suffers from certain prevalent problems, it undoubtedly has certain strengths as well. For your community center to be successful, you should try to determine what those strengths are so that you can build upon them. You might consider:
- How well does your community rally around a common cause?
- Does your community have certain traditions that bring them together?
- What kinds of networks exist in your community? This includes religious groups, sports teams, businesses, non-profit organizations, and clubs.
- What types of skills do the members of your community have? Who can you rely upon during the process of starting your community center?
4
Decide what services you want to offer. You will need to decide what specific services you want to offer your community. These services should appeal to both the goals you have set for your center as well as the needs and strengths of the community. Some types of services you might consider include:
- Adult education classes
- Legal aid
- Exercise programs
- Community events such as movie screenings, festivals, or dances
- Support groups
5
Think about location and other practical matters. While you do not need to decide on a specific location yet, you should begin brainstorming sites where you might potentially operate your community center. You will also want to think about what kind of facilities or positions you will need. Some questions you should consider:
- Will the community center require staff? If so, what positions might be required?
- What kind of building will it need? Will it need an outdoor area for a garden or sports?
- What kind of equipment will it need?
- How will the center support itself financially? Will it depend solely on donations? Will it charge for classes and events?

Part 2

Part 2 of 4:

Raising Money

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1
Create a budget. You will need to have a rough estimate of how much the community center will cost. This includes start-up costs, building costs, the cost of services (such as classes), and running costs. To form your budget, contact other non-profits in your area to ask about how much their services cost per month. Compare that with what you want to offer to the community. Consider:
- What is the average property cost in your area? How much will it cost to buy or rent a building?
- How much will it cost to offer certain services, such as classes, to the public?
- How much will it cost to fundraise? This includes the cost of events, mailing campaigns, and advertising fees.
- What kind of equipment will you need? Is there any special type of technology that you will need to invest in?
2
Meet with potential donors. Early in your planning process, you should identify who in your community might be willing to donate money. ^{[1]
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Research source} Call these groups on the phone, and ask if someone would be willing to meet to discuss your community center. You can contact:
- Local businesses
- Sports leagues
- Corporate foundations
- Religious groups
- Charities
- Media organizations
- Professional networks
- Philanthropists
3
Apply for government funding. You may be eligible for funding from the government. Typically, you will have to prove that you are providing an essential service to the community. You can search for funding opportunities on your government's website. You may also contact your local government to ask them about what kinds of resources might be available to you.
- In the US, you can search for funding on the Catalog for Federal Domestic Assistance. If you are offering services to a certain population, you may qualify for different types of funding.
- The USDA offers loans to help rural areas develop community facilities under their Community Facilities Direct Loan & Grant Program. ^{[2]
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- In the UK, you should contact your local council for information on community funding schemes. Gov.uk offers a tool to help you locate nearby resources. ^{[3]
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  Official website for the public sector of the UK government
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- In Australia, your community center may qualify for government funding under the Community Development Grants Programme.
- The Canadian government offers a listing of funding options on their website.
4
Try direct marketing. You can get donations from the public by sending out mass solicitations that ask for small amounts from each donor. This will help you rally public support while building a strong financial base. There are many ways that you can do this. They include:
- Mailing solicitations for donations
- Telephone campaigns
- Media coverage on the news, radio, or in newspapers
- Door to door fundraising ^{[4]
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5
Hold a fundraising event. A good way to get larger donations is to host an event where people pay to enter. The profit would go towards your community center. Fundraisers should be budgeted very carefully to make sure that you are earning money from the venture. Form a committee for this event. You might even want to find a corporate sponsor to help defray the costs. ^{[5]
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Research source} Some ideas for events include:
- Gala dinner where participants pay by the plate
- Music event with ticket sales benefiting the community center
- Outdoor movie screening
- Wine or beer tasting event

Part 3

Part 3 of 4:

Gathering Support From Your Community

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1
Gain signatures from supporters. You should have your supporters sign a petition supporting your community center. On this petition, they should include their names and email addresses. You can present this petition to potential donors and politicians to demonstrate the interest in your project. You can also use it to form a mailing list to inform members about your progress.
- You can have volunteers stand outside of shopping centers to ask pedestrians to sign.
- You can also take names and email addresses from any mailing campaigns that you might have started.
- You may be able to pass around a petition at a community meeting, such as a town hall meeting, PTA meeting, or a local society meeting.
You should try to gather some support from your local government. Contact local city councilors, managers, and the mayor. Let them know about your plans to start a new community center, and ask them if they could provide any support. They might be able to designate some funding to help with your center, or they might be able to help you advertise the center to the community at large. ^{[6]
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3
Hold a town meeting. Once you have found a few supporters, you can bring your idea to the town. Host a public meeting in a central space where community members can come and listen to your pitch. You may invite donors, policymakers, and the local media to attend. During this meeting, you should present your mission. At the end, allow members of the audience to provide their own ideas and suggestions.
- Good places to hold meetings include schools, houses of worship, or a government building such as the town hall. Call ahead to reserve a room.
- At the beginning of the meeting, clearly outline your goals for the evening. Have multiple speakers present the different aspects of the community center, such as financial backing, potential services to the public, and government support.
- You can use this meeting to solicit donations from the public.

Part 4

Part 4 of 4:

Establishing Your Center

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1
Write bylaws. Your community center needs a set of bylaws that will list the rules and procedures of your organization. These bylaws must follow state and federal laws regarding nonprofit organizations. The bylaws should clarify how your organization’s internal structure will operate. ^{[7]
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Research source} Your charter of bylaws should be broken up into different articles that include:
- Name: What name is your organization known as legally?
- Purpose: What does your center do? What is its aim? What types of services does it provide? This is where you should list your center’s tax status.
- Board of Directors: Who runs the community center? What powers does the board of directors have? How are directors elected or appointed to their position? How can directors be removed from their position?
- Finances: How do you manage the finances of your community center? Who has access to its funds?
- You may also want to include policies on how the center will share information with the public, how records are stored and kept, and how meetings will be conducted. ^{[8]
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2
Find a location. You will need a physical location to house your community center. This should be in a place that is easily accessible to the community members that you want to reach. While you can buy your own building, it may be cheaper to rent a place while you get off the ground.
- If you are providing one on one support to your community members, you may want a building with smaller offices where consultants can meet privately with people.
- If you are looking to host events, you will need at least one large room to hold people.
3
Register the center as a non-profit. You can gain tax-exempt status if your community center is a non-profit organization that fulfills a local community need. Depending on the services you offer, you might be classified as either a private foundation or public charity. You should consult a tax attorney for help throughout this process.
- If you are in the United States, you will need to submit Form 1023 to the IRS. ^{[9]
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  Internal Revenue Service
  U.S. government agency in charge of managing the Federal Tax Code
  Go to source} You should request an Employer Identification Number for your center through Form SS-4. ^{[10]
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  Internal Revenue Service
  U.S. government agency in charge of managing the Federal Tax Code
  Go to source} As a non-profit, you will be obligated to disclose your tax records to the public if requested.
- In the UK, you must register with the Charity Commission and with HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC). You can register with the HMRC online. ^{[11]
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  Official UK government website
  Official website for the public sector of the UK government
  Go to source}
- In Australia, you should register with the Australian Tax Office, where you will need to apply for an Australian Business Number (ABN). You may need to pay certain taxes such as the goods and services tax or the fringe benefits tax.
4
Advertise your services to the community. Once you have started your community center, you just need to make sure that people come. You may even decide to have an opening event, such as a big dinner, to welcome members of the community to their new home. You can advertise by:
- Posting an announcement in a newspaper
- Contacting the local TV station
- Putting up flyers
- Mailing announcements

Community Q&A

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Question

Could I open a community center that is for profit? What would it be considered as?

LibArtsPremed18

Top Answerer

For-profit models tend not to work for community centers, if they're even legal, as there is no real source of profit that would not involve ethically questionable practices. Community centers tend to offer services either for free or at a cost below market rate for those who can't afford to pay for those services. To make a profit, you would have to charge market rate for services and programs which contradicts the mission of helping marginalized communities. It also would violate social work ethics. Nonprofit status allows you to compete for government contracts, achieve tax exempt status, and solicit donations for funding. You should not be trying to profit off a community center.

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Question

Is there a way to apply for and accept grants for community resources without being legally established as a non-profit?

LibArtsPremed18

Top Answerer

Whether you are eligible depends on state and federal laws and whether it is a grant from a private grantmaking organization or the government. Both types will give preference to organizations that have non-profit status even if they don't require it because those organizations are subject to federal and state laws about how to use the money donated to them and must use that money for their mission or other related expenses. If you are not recognized as a tax-exempt organization, you will also have to pay taxes on any grants you do get and cannot make tax-exempt purchases.

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Question

Can a business be for profit and have a non-profit attached to it?

vince

Community Answer

Yes. This is often referred to as a social enterprise or hybrid model, where the two entities share resources and goals. The for-profit business may donate to the non-profit, operate with a social mission, or be structured as a Benefit Corporation. Careful planning and professional advice are recommended for legal compliance.

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Tips

Do not try to do this alone. Form a group of people with similar interests to help get the center off the ground.

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Take the public’s suggestions into account. Remember this community center is for them.

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Warnings

It can take years to start a community center. Do not give up.

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You may have to pay for attorneys, contractors, employees, and accountants to help with the process.

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How to Start a Community Center

Steps

Mapping Out Your Community Center

Raising Money

Gathering Support From Your Community

Establishing Your Center

Community Q&A

Tips

Warnings

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