I am im my early stages of research and could use a nudge or two in the right direction. I have developed some ideas(products) that could do a lot of good for our disabled community. I am a designer for the film industry but am looking to start a nonprofit organization to develop and make available my products to the hundreds of thousands of people that could benefit from them. My goal is to start a nonprofit organization that will use its excess income to reasearch new products and provide current products to the financially disadvantaged... My problem is that I can't afford to switch industries without maintaining my current annual income. I thought of starting the company part-time but I think an ideal scenario would involve dedicating all of my efforts to this cause. It has huge potential and I feel that it requires a team of full time employees to get the snowball rolling. So the question I have is this... I know my cause is grant worthy but with my situation I do need to get an income for my time... Is this a common scenario and are grant applications that involve paid founders less likely to be considered??? Is there a better better startup approach? Do I need to start with a loan, get the company self sufficient and then apply for grants that can help the organization expand outside of my local community? Any help will be very much appreciated... advice, links to good information sites, books, courses, etc