(Forbes) -- The glow had long since faded off her Senior VP of Marketing job that she held at Stearns Bank in 2007. Jan Hanson was in her early 50s and wanted to make a significant difference in the world.
With that in mind, she retired only to face the, "What now?" question.
An idea started to form that would become her mission. She wanted to help orphans.
"I knew I could only touch a few of the 150 million orphans in the world, but I had to try," says Hanson. "So many of those children have been abandoned and rejected around the world. My goal was to ensure they had a roof over their heads, clean, accessible water, and maybe even a security wall to keep evildoers out."
Hanson immediately incorporated 200 Orphanages Worldwide and applied for nonprofit status.
"It was a glorious day when the nonprofit status came through. It was such a thrill because I could now get to the hard work of helping more orphans," proclaimed Hanson.
The Beginning
Hanson had early experiences connecting with orphans in her world travels. She recalls cutting out paper dolls with the girls and holding the hand of a small boy while reading to him.
Her organization helped complete construction of a security wall around the playground of an impoverished elementary school.
"I knew then, that even though I would never meet these school children, I could imagine the smiles on their faces while they enjoyed the safety of playing on that playground," she said.
Hanson soon learned that there are a staggering 153 million orphans in the world.
That's about half of the population of the US, and those numbers do not include street children or even child soldiers. The plight of children in developing countries is overwhelming.
"My newfound purpose in life is to work with those who are already providing daily care for orphans," Hanson said.
"I decided it was best to help other organizations do their work. My mission would be to tell the story of the orphans, and hopefully inspire and facilitate others to give money to our orphans projects," she said.
Starting 200 Orphanages Worldwide, her nonprofit, was not a simple task, especially since in 2007 the Great Recession was underway. "I catapulted myself into a life of helping orphans. My aspirations to build a nonprofit using my life experiences, talents, and skills came true as I set out to provide safe shelter for orphans around the world," she said.
Raising money
"I find in my new world of fundraising that there is a vast population also seeking ways to help those in need. Our supporters often have some relationship with adoption or orphans," reports Hanson.
Many people have the heart to help orphans, but many don't know how. There are professionals, corporations, and retirees seeking a legacy, and sense of significance, as well as Millennials seeking a purpose, helping the disadvantaged in big and small ways.
In 2018, 77.34 million adults volunteered in the U.S., working nearly 6.9 billion hours, according to the Corporation for National Community Service.
"As the Baby Boomer generation continues to enter retirement," says Hanson "it is time for retirees to develop a legacy on serving others. Many seek a clear path to either lead a work of their own, or donate to causes with which they have an affinity."
Many organizations, individuals, and churches already have sponsorship programs where donors can sponsor children to help meet their daily care and education needs, but often, there are not enough resources for capital improvements.
Hanson's vision is that those same children will have a safe place to call home and she set out to have 200 Orphanages Worldwide to fill that need.
Everyone begins somewhere.
"I started by inviting some banking colleagues and friends over to my home in central Minnesota, and I shared my heart about the orphans. I asked two people who were from Rwanda and Cameron to come and talk as they had organizations that would be my first partners. These people educated the guests on what we hoped to do.
"Even though I'd been in sales, I didn't know how to fundraise. I quickly learned you must share your story first, then ask them to a fundraiser once they have a passion for what you are doing," recommends Hanson.
Hansen offered her tips on how to create your legacy.
- Choose passion. You will work on this for the next dozen or more years of your life. It has to be something that you genuinely care about. It would be best if you are fully committed to making a difference in the lives of the people, or the planet, that you chose to serve.
- Partner with someone else who is doing the work. Find organizations that are already servicing the group you want to help. It takes time to identify these organizations, but once you do it, it's a lot easier because you can support them. You won't have to do as much work yourself creating everything from the ground up because the organizations you found are already involved with the cause.
- Learn how to raise money. You must be able to ask people for money. That is the key to getting your nonprofit to grow. Hanson doesn't take any salary, so no dollars are spent on administration. Every cent that someone donates goes to help the orphans and the specific project that the people are giving to. This makes a massive difference with donors and resonates with a lot with individuals who worry about too much money is being wasted on administrative costs.
- Think small, not big. Hansen would tell herself, "I know I can raise a little bit of money," and that would be motivation enough. If you set too lofty of goals, you'll find that it's easy to get frustrated and you might quit. Instead, if you can ask individuals and small groups of people to donate a little bit of money and if the goal is not too high for the project, then you will find it is easier for people to commit their dollars and your projects get done.
- Grow into doing events. There are many ways to raise money. You can have a party and asked people to write a check after you told them your story and maybe had a guest speaker. No need to go to halls, have the party in your home or other people's homes. You can also organize events such as 5K runs, silent auctions, golf tournaments, and raffles. Caution! You can get burned out on the planning of significant events. Instead, consider looking to seek ambassadors to help support your cause and plan events. This has proved to be a more powerful way for Hanson to raise money. She asks someone to host a party and have it at their home. Hanson gives her speech, and then they asked people if they would donate to the cause. She has done parties by Skype and has a persuasive video that tells the charity's story.
