A phrase I have heard a lot over the years:
"My friend told me I can start a nonprofit, pay myself a salary and get grants to pay for everything."
Really? Let's look at the different issues in that statement.
My friend told me
Does your friend run a nonprofit? Is he or she a corporate attorney? Otherwise, how is he or she a valid source of information?
I can start a nonprofit
You can, but legally, you need a board of directors to start a nonprofit in most States. You can't just do it alone.
The board manages the nonprofit. It's not a one-man show.
pay myself a salary
If you are on the board, you can't vote on your own salary, it's a conflict of interest. It would be best if you were not on the board if you are on salary. (The board are usually volunteers.)
You would probably be the Executive Director, if you were on salary. That is the highest staff position. It is not a board position. The board appoints the Executive Director. You can't name yourself Executive Director.
The board determines the salaries for the senior staff. You don't set your own salary, even if you are the founder.
If you are on salary as Executive Director, the board could remove you if they decide you were the wrong person to run the organization.
In order to pay anyone a salary, your organization must have enough revenue to cover the costs. Money does not just appear out of nothingness.
Funders will look at the percentage of money spent on salaries vs money spent on programs (i.e. actual work.)
get grants to pay for everything
First question on many grant applications - "please provide two years of financial information." You are probably not going to get grants to pay for everything before you have done some actual work and achieved actual results.
Another popular question on an application - "What other organizations are you partnering with?" You probably can't just go it alone - and did you check before you started to see who else was doing the same thing?
Grants are not "money for anything." Most grants fund programs which are time-limited, defined activities that further the mission of the organization. The grant is applied to a budget for the program. Your organization uses the grant to pay for items in the program's budget.