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|  Nonprofit Nuts and Bolts The Art of Fundraising Recruiting Volunteers and Keeping Them Happy Marketing and Public Relations Leadership and the Board Good Neighbor Tool Kit Main Page Good Neighbor Home Page | Good Business Planning Woe be to those who approach nonprofits in an unbusinesslike way. Increasingly, good nonprofits are run just like good businesses. Benefactors ask for this assurance when considering support. Competition in the nonprofit marketplace demands it. A well-run nonprofit is run on a well-developed business plan. Without a business plan, your nonprofit enterprise will be like a ship without a rudder, on decent course in fair weather but heaving to and fro in heavier winds. A business plan should help keep the course. A nonprofit business plan isn't quite the same as a for-profit plan. In a for-profit plan, there’s really only one bottom line: profitability for the organization’s owners or stakeholders. In a nonprofit plan, there are essentially two bottom lines; one remains profitability, but the other takes into account the social or civic goals of the organization and whether they are being met. A strong business plan shouldn’t require your organization to “sell its soul” to achieve its greatest profitability. Rather, your business plan should take into account your organization’s purposes and values. It should make your organization as successful in its marketplace as possible within the context of its mission. Sometimes, an organization that just gets by can be fulfilling a critical role in its community. Your business plan should contain some basic bedrock elements: 1. A statement of the organization’s mission. The mission statement must be more than something to press between the pages of an old dictionary. A mission statement must, in short order, define what your organization stands for and how it will operate, as well as suggest avenues of projected growth. You’ll have developed a mission statement in order to incorporate, if you go that route, but the statement should be reviewed periodically. It shouldn’t be so restrictive as to inhibit creative growth or so broad as to allow the organization to lose its sense of purpose. TIP: Some organizations develop both a mission statement and a vision statement. The former focuses more directly on the current status of the organization and the latter concentrates on expected or targeted growth. 2. A definition of its target service population and market competition. Defining your market and your organization’s place within it is essential. Many an organization has collapsed because it was launched without a sense of market and target audience. Complicated, costly market research isn't needed. Just think seriously about whether there are people in your area who want the service you intend to offer, whether other organizations offer the same or similar services, and whether there are any prevailing conditions that will compromise your organization’s ability to succeed. 3. Define the specific services your organization offers or will develop. Part of your outline of services will delineate programs and services you're now offering. The other part will slate new programs and services you expect to initiate during the life of the business plan. Both should be well-defined, clearly stating the intended purpose, presentation, and audience for each service or program. TIP: Be sure to identify and specify programs. An effort to distribute holiday toys to needy children isn’t the same as one distributing gifts to the elderly. The ways these programs would be designed, operated, and supported could vary considerably. 4. An itinerary of milestones that will signify the accomplishment of these goals and objectives. Setting logical goals for your organization will let you know whether you are ahead of or behind the game. Ask yourself: How many people are going to be served by a particular program or initiative? If programs are supposed to grow, by how much? If new programs are to be launched, when? These answers will guide your further planning. 5. A projection of anticipated costs and necessary revenues needed to effect the plan. The business plan won’t work if you seriously underestimate or overestimate the resources needed to make it a reality. If the resources seem unobtainable, perhaps you’re overreaching. Besides identifying the resources you need, determine the kinds of revenues that will provide the resources. Make sure your anticipated revenues can actually be acquired. 6. Your business plan should cover a specific period of time. An organization that’s up and running may need a business plan that projects three to five years of operation and growth. A start-up organization may be better off with a business plan that covers only one or two years, since the organization may still be defining itself and undergoing significant, sometimes unpredictable change. Don’t be afraid to revisit your business plan and revise it against prevailing realities. Your plan shouldn't be static. Every organization deals with unforeseen circumstances that may have either a positive or negative impact. Don’t allow your business plan to become out of date or out of touch with reality. Seek buy-in from your organization’s major stakeholders. As much as possible, your organization’s board, administration, key benefactors, and key volunteers should all buy in to the business plan. No one document suits everyone, but as much consensus that can be built for your plan, the better off your organization will be. Developing a Compelling Case Statement > | |