I am interested in advocating for a social issue in my free time. I'll omit the details about the issue itself, since this is more of a process question.
Right now, there is no good information source or advocacy organization about the issue in my area, otherwise I would simply join those efforts. Consequently, I would like to create a relatively informal group or advocacy organization. I don't intend to take donations, since I will just use my own money for some minor expenses like website hosting.
I thought about incorporating as a nonprofit, but that would be quite a lot of work for my initial aims. I'm not sure if political action committees or something similar might be worth investigating, but those organizations seemed focused on donations as well and carry a significant paperwork burden.
Initially, my goal is to create a website and social media accounts to review relevant news about this topic, suggest policy proposals, and also provide guidance to others about how to get involved (e.g., who to contact, possible volunteer opportunities, and so forth). However, I would prefer to voice my thoughts as "Organization for X" or "Coalition for Y" instead of just "John Doe." It's also important that other members of the community be able to join the advocacy group and work with me in the future (potentially even taking it over one day).
What is the best path forward as a single advocate wanting to start a group? If I'm not accepting donations, can I simply invent a group name, call myself the founder, and put up a website? Should I create a charter or other guiding document initially?
Many thanks for the support!