Template · Starting up
One-page plan
Fit your whole charity on one page: the problem, the people, your approach, outcomes, team, money and first-year milestones.
The Word file opens in Microsoft Word, Google Docs, Pages and LibreOffice. Reviewed October 14, 2026.
A one-page plan is a short summary of what your charity will do and how. It is the document you hand to a possible board member, a fiscal sponsor, a first funder or a friend who asks "so what exactly are you starting?" If you can't fit your idea on one page yet, that is useful to know before you file any paperwork.
Write it before you incorporate, and update it every year. Many of the answers will also help you fill in the IRS exemption application, which asks you to describe your past, present and planned activities.
How to adapt it
- Use short sentences and plain words. Write as if to a smart friend who knows nothing about your field.
- Be honest about what you don't know yet. "We will test this with 20 families in the first six months" is stronger than a big promise.
- Outcomes are changes in people's lives, not just activities. "Forty children read at grade level by June" is an outcome. "We ran 30 reading sessions" is an activity. Track both.
- Money: list where it will come from as well as what it will pay for. Our first-year budget template can help.
Preview
[ORGANIZATION NAME]: one-page plan
Prepared by [NAME] on [DATE].
The problem
[TWO OR THREE SENTENCES: WHAT IS WRONG, WHERE, AND HOW YOU KNOW. NAME YOUR SOURCE FOR ANY NUMBER YOU USE.]
The people
- Who we serve: [WHO, WHERE, ROUGHLY HOW MANY]
- What they told us they need: [WHAT YOU LEARNED FROM TALKING TO THEM]
- Who else already helps them: [OTHER CHARITIES, AGENCIES OR GROUPS, AND HOW WE ARE DIFFERENT OR WILL WORK WITH THEM]
Our approach
[TWO OR THREE SENTENCES: WHAT WE WILL DO, HOW OFTEN, AND WHY WE BELIEVE IT WILL WORK.]
Outcomes
By the end of our first year we expect:
- [OUTCOME 1, FOR EXAMPLE: 40 CHILDREN IMPROVE BY ONE READING LEVEL]
- [OUTCOME 2]
- [OUTCOME 3]
We will measure this by: [HOW YOU WILL KNOW, FOR EXAMPLE A SHORT TEST AT THE START AND END]
Team
- Founder or lead: [NAME], [ONE LINE ON WHY THEY ARE RIGHT FOR THIS]
- Board members (or people who have agreed to serve): [NAMES AND ONE LINE EACH]
- Volunteers or partners: [WHO, AND WHAT THEY WILL DO]
- What we still need: [FOR EXAMPLE A TREASURER WITH BOOKKEEPING EXPERIENCE]
Money
- First-year budget: $[TOTAL]
- Biggest costs: [THE TWO OR THREE LARGEST ITEMS]
- Where the money will come from: [FOR EXAMPLE FOUNDERS AND BOARD $AMOUNT, INDIVIDUAL DONORS $AMOUNT, ONE LOCAL GRANT $AMOUNT]
- Money already promised: $[AMOUNT]
- How we will receive donations before we have 501(c)(3) status: [FOR EXAMPLE THROUGH A FISCAL SPONSOR, OR WE WILL WAIT]
Legal structure
[FOR EXAMPLE: WE WILL START UNDER A FISCAL SPONSOR, THEN INCORPORATE IN STATE AND APPLY FOR 501(C)(3) STATUS WHEN WE REACH A SET POINT.]
First-year milestones
- [MONTH]: [MILESTONE, FOR EXAMPLE BOARD OF THREE AGREED AND FIRST MEETING HELD]
- [MONTH]: [MILESTONE, FOR EXAMPLE INCORPORATED AND BANK ACCOUNT OPEN]
- [MONTH]: [MILESTONE, FOR EXAMPLE PILOT WITH 10 PARTICIPANTS]
- [MONTH]: [MILESTONE, FOR EXAMPLE FIRST RESULTS SHARED WITH DONORS]
- [MONTH]: [MILESTONE, FOR EXAMPLE PLAN AND BUDGET FOR YEAR TWO APPROVED]
The biggest risk, and what we will do about it
[ONE OR TWO SENTENCES.]
How to reach us
[ROLE-BASED CONTACT, FOR EXAMPLE A GENERAL INBOX OR WEBSITE]
General information. Not legal, tax or financial advice. Rules change and every situation is different, so check the official sources and talk to a qualified professional before you act. More about this.
Sources
Checked on October 14, 2026. Rules and fees change, so follow the links for the current version.