Why Form a State Pet Groomers Association?

Laws requiring a trade license come from state governments, not the federal government. With the PPGSA Standards for Safety, Care, and Sanitation—crafted by industry leaders as a legislative guide for potential groomer licensing—a state association can effectively represent our voices in any regulatory proposals.

State trade associations must comply with state laws to register as recognized legal organizations and adhere to federal tax laws for forming a not-for-profit corporation. These trade associations are categorized as 501©(6). Therefore, state groomer associations need to comply with both state and federal trade association laws.

The good news for groomers is that WAGA is here to help! WAGA assists groomers in forming the legal associations needed to represent us. State associations also offer numerous benefits, including group rates for buying insurance (including health and benefits), regular educational events, sponsor discounts, legal or financial assistance in times of need, and coordinating groomer support following natural disasters, such as what CPPGA did in California after the wildfires.

State associations help educate us, foster meaningful new friendships with colleagues, and protect us so that we can continue doing the work we love.

How To Start a Non-Profit Organization

Congratulations on taking the giant leap forward in organizing professional groomers within your state. Good planning is crucial to the successful formation and management of an association. While many of these steps can be completed without the aid of an attorney, we recommend that you do have legal help with some of the technical aspects of the formation. 

While forming a state association may seem daunting and intimidating, the satisfaction you will feel and the benefits to the industry far outweigh the work you will put in. Just know that WAGA is here to help you and answer any questions you may have. 

wagaalliance@gmail.com

Download the Checklist for How to Start an Organization

Download Association Details Worksheet

Board of Directors

Download Board of Directors Worksheet

These people will be the foundation of your association. Everyone must be on the same page with the organization's mission and goals. While it is always nice to have everyone thinking alike, having a “devil's advocate” along the way doesn't hurt to help keep everyone thinking. 

Build your team

Fill board positions – This is your core group. Committees can be added later on.

President

Vice-President

Secretary (may be split between Recording and Corresponding)

Treasurer

Select your name 

Download Association Naming Worksheet

Make it easy to remember. 

Consider your state name followed by the Professional Pet Groomers. Association or something similar that says who you are and what you represent.  

Check with your state to be sure there is no other organization with that name.

Check with any Social Media platforms to ensure your chosen name has not been used elsewhere. 

Consider securing any additional names that closely resemble your chosen one in an effort to protect your identity. 

Get an email address

You will need a way for your board and others to contact you. 

Gmail addresses are easy to obtain.

Obtain a P.O. Box

Obtaining a P.O. Box is also a good idea, as you want to keep personal addresses out of the public eye. 

Define your mission

Download Resources for Creating a Mission Statement

Mission Statement – Who are you? What are your goals? How are you planning on achieving them?

By-Laws – These are simply the blueprints by which the organization will be run. 

Conflict of Interest Policy – this will help avoid a situation where one person or organization is involved in multiple interests, financial or otherwise, and serving one interest could involve working against another. 

Code of Ethics – This expands on your Mission Statement's expectations of its members and the professional standards they recommend adhering to.

Write a Business Plan

Download Resources for Creating a Business Plan

This will be your blueprint for the organization. The Small Business Association (www.sba.gov) has guidelines.

Set up regular meeting dates (including annual meeting)

Regular in-person or Zoom meetings are a good idea, especially in the start-up stage. 

Maintaining a schedule of regular meetings will help avoid long, overwhelming meetings later on. 

Official annual meetings are a must, according to your By-Laws, and are best when done in person.

Obtain an EIN Number 

You will need an Employer Identification Number (EIN) to conduct business. This is easy to do: Go to www.irs.gov. Be sure to give them the correct spelling of the organization's name.

Secure start-up funding

You are going to need money for start-up expenses. This can come from private donations or sponsorships. Your start-up team may have to personally contribute to the cause. (More on sponsorships below)

Bank account

It’s helpful to deal with a bank your officers already have a relationship with. 

You will need your bylaws and your EIN to start a checking account. 

Some banks ask for your Articles of Incorporation. These may not be finalized in time, so explain to the bank that you have applied. 

Legal incorporation

Legal incorporation within your state is registering your association as a non-profit organization. For this, you will need your bylaws and your EIN, as well as some other information.

Insurance

You will need a liability policy and a Directors and Officers policy. These will protect the organization and its associated individuals. The Director and Officer coverage also protects the organization from any damage caused by a board member. 

Apply for 501(c)6 Status (Business league)

After you become incorporated as a non-profit organization within your state, you can apply for Federal 501(c)6 non-profit tax-exempt status.

Like other associations within our industry, they are usually registered as 501(c)6 organizations.This is defined as a “Business league, " which is how you will want to apply. 

Understand the compliance of a Non-profit Tax Exempt organization. 

Contributions to your association are NOT tax deductible. 

Members can deduct their annual membership fee as it is directly related to their business. 

Contributions made by sponsors can be written off as advertising, as you will be highlighting them.  

Ongoing Compliance

The organization's Secretary or Treasurer will ensure that annual forms are filled out per your state's requirements.

Utilize a bookkeeping program, such as QuickBooks or Quicken. These programs make accounting easy and effortless. 

Seek the help of a professional accountant or CPA who specializes in non-profit organizations for annual tax filing. 

Prepare for growth

Now that you have completed some initial business organizing, it’s time to start spreading the word and attracting attention. 

Business management

Website

Obtain a domain that closely reflects your association's name. You can choose from several formats, such as .org, .com, and/or .pet. Or get them all to protect your name.

A good website is a must. Start with a good format early so you don’t have to correct it later. 

Facebook Page & Group

Facebook pages can promote the organization and set up events.

 A group can be used as a forum for members to post. 

It’s a good idea to have a Group listed as “private” and appoint a committee to oversee and approve posts.

Social media

Social media posting will do nothing but help your association grow by attracting new members and keeping regular members informed. 

Membership Management

This is one of the most important aspects of your organization. Membership management can and will burn out even the most dedicated volunteer. Setting up a system early on will save you from later transitioning to a different method. 

Membership Management Program or Database

While you may have an individual member volunteer to manage membership, you will need a method of processing new members and notifying members or sponsors of renewal. This can be a daunting task. 

There are several online membership management programs to choose from. While there are fees associated with these, it is money well spent. 

Some programs can handle membership application processing, help renew members, develop your website, process finances, and send newsletters and mailings. 

Membership plans and pricing

Pricing and processing new memberships can take time and can be costly.

Who can join?

Set up criteria for new members. 

Are you taking just individual or group/salon memberships? 

Is your membership open to non-groomers?

Are you giving a simple certificate or a plaque? 

Are you charging one price for initial membership and a lesser fee for annual renewals?

Do they get a new certificate each year or a sticker that will be placed on the plaque when they renew?

Renewals

Renewing has always been an issue for nonprofit organizations. People will sign up at first, then lose interest and drop off. 

Some membership management programs have auto-renewal built-in, making renewals much easier. 

Members-only benefits and perks

What are your members getting for their membership fee? 

Just a plaque or certificate? 

Some examples of membership benefits are 

Plaque or certificate

Membership pin

Listing on your Membership Management page

Discounts from your sponsors

Discounts to association-sponsored events

Newsletters

Ongoing projects and Fundraising

Your organization will actively recruit members and want to give them their money’s worth. Fundraising projects will keep you busy, and you will want to gain the support of other businesses that will benefit from their partnership. 

Sponsorships

Sponsorships can be a huge benefit to the organization. 

One of the best ways to recruit sponsorships is from businesses in your field. 

Solicit companies that are located in your state or that do business there.

Compose a “Benefits of Sponsorship” list to help sell your association. For example, you can list them on your website with a link to their website. 

Newsletters

These help keep your membership interested and engaged. 

Here, you can easily report past association activities and promote upcoming ones. 

It’s also a good place to promote your sponsors. 

Events

Groomers love events, and they can come in many forms.

Continued Educational events are popular and beneficial to the industry.

CPR and First Aid classes should be encouraged. Having instructors within your membership ranks will help book these events.

Groomer Meet & Greet events are fun and can be done locally or regionally. 

Online events can be fun and relatively easy to do.

Publishing a list of upcoming events can be done in some of the Membership Management programs.

Congratulations on taking the steps to organize professional pet groomers in your area. These efforts will benefit the pets, their owners, and the groomers who serve them.