THIS GOAL HAS BEEN ACCOMPLISHED

Autobiography

My name is Soumya. I am 16 years old. I was born in the Atlas Mountains of Morocco. I was adopted at the age of 12 to continue my education. I enjoy reading, playing piano, hiking, biking, and learning languages. Most girls in the rural part of Morocco do not have easy access to education. Most girls in My village get pulled out of school after 6th grade, and get married off at a very young age. I almost had the same thing happen to me. I have always loved learning. My parents in Morocco were unusual, they wanted me to continue my education. My adopted mother, who I met at the age of five while she was hiking up the Atlas Mountains also did not want me to get married off. So she brought me to the United States to continue my education. My goal is to bring school to the girls of my village, by building an all girl high school. These girls have great minds they deserve the right to go to school. 

Timeline

Since the project is a life time project. Here is a timeline of what I am hoping to accomplish this year. 

My over all goal for this year is to get a 501c3, and become an official nonprofit.

  • September

    Start gathering information about where I could receive help.

  • October >>> March

  1. How will we advertise the the exchange program 

  2. How many girls will be allowed to attend 

  3. What will the girls do 

  4. How much will it cost 

  5. What will the trips look like 

  6. Ideas for fundraisers. 

  7. Companies and 

  • “50% by February!”

  • April

  1. Have all the questions answered. 

  2. Start reaching out to companies in Morocco and in the US that are willing to help.

  3. Have an idea of where to publish this info. 

October update # 1:

I am very excited to see how this is going to end up looking. Right now my goal is to gather my thoughts and information,so I could have a clear plan on what I want this program to look like. Some questions that I have thinking about are: 

What do we want the girls to get out of this? 

What kind of activities do we want to do? 

How many girls should participate every year? 

How can we get people interested?

October update #2:

I am having a difficult time organizing my thoughts. I am not really sure where I want this project to be in five year from now. I don’t think starting a summer program without being an official non-profit is a good idea. I am going to write down my thoughts and see what I come up with. 

 

November Update #1:

This week I had  a BREAKTHROUGH. I was working on my project then I decided to stop and just think about where I am going. I decided that it will be very difficult to work on my project if I do not become a non-profit. I have made a decision that the project will focus on getting my 501c3 and become an official non-profit. I am very excited to see where this decision will be taking me. 

My next step is to do research on how to become a non-profit, and the legal side of it.

November Update #2: Non Profit Steps

After having the breakthrough. I spent time doing research on Nonprofits. I found this step very interesting and fun because I finally felt that what I have been working on for years has finally started becoming more realistic. Here is the research I did and made it into a step by step process. I still have more to learn and more research to do. Specifically learning more about nonprofits in Massachusetts since it’s where the non profit will be registered. 

1) registering a name for the non profit

  • Check the secretary of state's office.

  • Will cost $25

2).  appointing board of directors

  • Find a board with an odd number that are not family related

  • You have to list out their names and addresses.

  • Help you create the bylaws

You can find volunteers on Volunteer Match.com

3) Creating Bylaws

  • Legal document between organization and their owners.

  • Purpose, public membership or no public membership. By n

  • Annual meeting date

  • Calendar year vs Fiscal year

  • Board of directions

  • Conflicts of interest

  • What happens in the event of a disputes

  • Date your bylaws come into effect.

To write template use NonprofitAlly.com

4) filling your Articles of incorporation with the state office. 

with the state office.

  • Your corporation's name

  • Your corporation's Address

  • Name and Address of your Registered Agent

  • Statement of purpose

  • Members or no members

Type of nonprofit  (501c3)

  • Duration

  • Name and address of the person(s) incorporating

  • Filling articles is from $100 to $250

  • Reschedule more what Massachusetts non profit laws are.

5) Employee Identification Number (EIN). Apply for EIN on the IRS website.

 

6) Applying for tax Exempt Status: form 1023 is the application number and also 1023-EZ. $600

need to raise $875.

December Update:

For the past couple of weeks I have been working on finding enough people who would like to join the board of trustees. It will take me a while to find people who are dedicated to this cause. For the board of trustees we are looking for people who have some kind of background in nonprofits or can add something to the group. For example If you have experience with social media or good at coming up with ideas for fundraisers etc. I am looking for women with different backgrounds and ages. 

boutin, soumya (2).png

January update #1: I have not made big progress at this moment. I am still connecting more people to join the board and holding interviews to find people who are passionate about the cause.

January update #2: The first board meeting will be held in the third week of February. I have found some very amazing people who are very excited about the work we will do together. I can not wait to see all the work we will do together.

 

February update

I am more than halfway done with my goal for this year. Everything seems to have to fall in place. Everything is planned out. I think I am following my timeline as I had planned out. I am very excited to see where it ends. 

March update #1

I didn't expect obtaining a 501(c)(3) would be so difficult. The work is proceeding at a snail's pace, and I have no control over it. I've been working on it on my own, though. However, I believe it is best to seek assistance from someone. I'm discovering that documentation necessitates a huge amount of effort that can only be performed by an accountant or a lawyer. I am one step away from my goal this year and I am going to do as much as I can to reach it on time. 

March update #2

Success for my project as a whole means that I will construct a school in Morocco and, hopefully, continue my aim of constructing schools around the world. This year's success for this project would be if all of the paperwork to receive the 501c3 by the end of the school year and become an office non-profit by the beginning of the next school year was completed by the end of the school year.