non profit business plan

non profit business plan

Developing a Non-Profit Business Plan

1. Introduction

This challenge will happen from June 1st, 2017 to August 20th, 2017. Given the time restrict of this challenge, the plan will serve as a tough guideline over summer season, nevertheless after summer season we now have a proper to return again to it and it might be repeatedly revisited because the social well being enterprise begins to formulate. With the intention to create the very best plan, now we have used many sources. Our major focus was consulting with teacher Jane Wendel, an enormous help in offering us with the data and sources we want. We now have discovered in regards to the growth of a social enterprise and carried out comparability of various approaches and health club companies.

Creating this plan is a crucial course of and can assist them obtain a greater understanding of whether or not or not this social well being enterprise is possible. It should enable them to assessment the opportunity of the courses, the group’s entry to the courses, and the way properly this social enterprise aligns with what the group needs. With out the enterprise plan, they can be making selections blindly and making an attempt to place collectively scattered concepts. An outdated cliche that claims a failure to plan is a plan to fail. This enterprise is predicted to hit just a few obstacles alongside the way in which. Having a tough define or blueprint to assist them by way of onerous occasions will give them some stability to proceed shifting ahead.

Previous to the rest, they need to create a plan that outlines their imaginative and prescient for the social well being enterprise. The plan will clarify and uncover the feasibility of the well being heart group well being thought. At present, it’s simply an thought that might possibly be a future actuality. The plan appears to be on the numerous totally different angles and potential challenges, such because the potential difficulties of organizing the exercise courses on the native library.

There are a number of workers trying into beginning a social enterprise in an effort to assist the group. A social enterprise is a corporation that makes use of enterprise to extend the standard of life of individuals and/or the setting. They will be beginning a health club well being enterprise. It’s a group well being enterprise that makes use of coaching and well being to assist underprivileged folks lead a greater life.

2. Mission and Vision

Example Long Term Vision: “To have a mass impact on the issue of poverty. We hope to be fosterers of policy change, in order to increase minimum wages for all types of jobs in which the less fortunate are taking part. This will serve to make the definition of a sustainable job obsolete, as all jobs will make comfortable living wages. Given our success, this type of employment will in turn benefit the environment throughout the world.”

Example Short Term (3-5 year) Vision: “Our organization hopes to start programs that can aid refugees in finding jobs that suit their skill set in an effort to break them out of the cycle of requiring governmental assistance. We expect them to secure these jobs and obtain self-sufficiency within 2 years. Step one of this process will lead to a cleaner and more enjoyable environment for these families, and will lead to the creation of a program that places these people in environmentally conscious jobs. The net result is a minimum of $3 hourly wage increase for these families.

Vision: Described in the next 3-5 years at first, and expanding to encompass a long-range view, the vision is a vivid mental image of what you want your organization to look like in the future. What will the overall outcome be? What kind of an impact will your organization make on the targeted issue and the people it involves? Who will benefit, and how will it benefit them?

Example Mission: “To provide the less fortunate with sustainable living wage jobs so they can become a productive part of society, while preserving the environment for future generations.”

If you’ve ever watched a home improvement show, the host always trots the homeowners off on a field trip. This trip is to help them rally around a vision for their home and set out a plan to make that vision a reality. Similar to the home remodeling example, the mission and vision will serve as a guide for developing the plan for the non-profit. This should be a broad, basic and ideal outcome that captures what you would like to manifest once your non-profit is realized. This is a qualitative look at what the organization wishes to accomplish. This is not the activities/methods described in the logic model. A mission statement is a brief (one or two sentences) articulation of the basic purpose, while a mission or vision can be a paragraph or a page in length. Either way, this will serve as the heart of your organization; the guide of what you want to look like in the future.

Mission and Vision.

3. Organizational Structure

Committees and task forces can be instrumental in planning and executing programs and events. Committees should be headed by board members and be made up of volunteers while task forces are generally designed to be temporary and are used to accomplish a specific task.

The best boards are made up of members who will have a personal connection to the organization’s cause, and will be willing to contribute their time as well as monetary resources to the organization. Staff should be hired once the organization has secured long-term funding and should be people who are willing to go above and beyond the call of duty. Hiring should be prioritized as an area that should not be skimped on as price for performance can always yield more quality results. A staff member who is deeply committed to the organization’s cause is likely to be inspired to do something great for the organization.

A well structured organization is likely to attract and retain board members and volunteers who are critical to the success of the non-profit. Board Source provides useful resources on their website for instituting and developing an effective board of directors. One of the first decisions a non-profit will have to make is how to organize the board. A non-profit can have a managing board where members are responsible for operational tasks or can have a policy board that delegates tasks to paid staff. The best type of board should reflect the type of board designates to best suit the mission and the organization’s stage of development.

The organizational structure of a non-profit is crucial to its success. The non-profit can have a simple structure such as a sole director or board member and can go as far as having a complex structure with an executive director, board of directors, staff, committees, and task forces. While one is not necessarily better than the other, an organizational structure that is well thought out and executes its efforts effectively will inevitably lead to a more successful program.

4. Fundraising and Resource Development

It is still unknown whether our hypothetical non-profit has the ability to set up a fee-for-service program. In a case where there are no programs or resource-specific programs, the best funding source is a general operating grant. These are difficult to secure, but if the non-profit can prove to the funding organization that it can build and deliver a successful program with the money, then it has program money and general operating money. Once the program is developed, there will be leftover cost specific to the program and cost that exists because it is recursive. It is important to segregate this money and simulate a break-even cost analysis so the program is not under or overfunded.

One of the best solutions for developing a revenue base is a fee-for-service program. This could be a training program in which people pay to attend, or consulting work for other organizations. Fee-for-service programs are excellent revenue sources because they are often related to the non-profit’s purpose and can be easily expanded or scaled down. Private donations are also a great revenue source, but they are unlikely to sustain the non-profit without some diversity. Major donations and gifts are a very unstable revenue source. They are unlikely and unreliable unless the non-profit has a special resource request such as a capital campaign. Small donations and gifts are reliable, but usually do not create large revenue. An excellent diverse funding solution is government funding through contracts and grants. This can be a reliable and sizable source of revenue, but it is generally a difficult task. Creating a program that is reliant on a grant is risky if the grant is not renewed, but if the grant successfully funds a specific program, it will free up other resources to be used elsewhere.

Resource and Revenue Assessment First and foremost, it is crucial for the non-profit to understand what resources it has at its disposal. Resources can be broken down into three categories: physical, human, and financial. The non-profit will need to know exactly what resources it has and put them to use. For example, if a non-profit has an office, physical resources such as office furniture, and two paid employees, human resources, and a total revenue of $50,000, then it has a good foundation to develop programs. This is critical for program development because the best way to get a grant is to find one that is already funding something you are doing. In this case, our hypothetical non-profit would look for grants that fund health-related programs. Finally, upon understanding its resources, a non-profit must consider its current and future cost and liquidity by creating a simple budget.

Introduction If the non-profit is to be sustainable, it must develop several strategies to keep its resources and revenues stable. Being that the non-profit will not have equity through ownership and profits, it will have to rely on its resources and revenues. The following are key components to developing a fundraising and resource plan.

5. Implementation and Evaluation

The implementation section should be highly detailed, specific, and broken down into manageable bites. A well thought out procedure will increase the probability of project continuity in the event of staff turnover. Consideration should be given to project planning tools and project management software. Utilize your information from the previous sections. Start by looking at your program plan and identifying the steps required to fulfill the objectives. These steps can be incorporated into an implementation table which lists the activities, their start and finish dates, and the staff responsible. Alter the plan until all activities fit within the project timeframe. Activity duration and staff time can be further illustrated using Gantt charts. This is an example of a simple chart with specific activities allocated to certain program functions. These tools provide a clear map for staff to follow and enable the program manager to monitor and reassess the progress of the project. All implementation activities should be allocated to specific staff positions. This provides clear direction for staff and ensures that everyone knows their respective duties and when they are required. Task lists can be utilized by staff to further break down their duties into specific actions and monitor progress. Staff can be encouraged to allocate timesheets to their duties in order to assess whether the project is on target. This method provides a clear indication of staff input and can be very useful when preparing future project budgets. Activity progress can be regularly assessed using monitoring and evaluation tools. These assess the inputs, outputs, and impact of specific activities. Any discrepancy between planned and actual outcomes can be dealt with using contingency plans. An effective implementation procedure may be the difference between success and failure for your project. Evaluation should be ongoing and conducted by all staff involved in the project. Regular feedback between staff can highlight any potential problems and provide solutions before they escalate. A formal assessment of the program implementation compares the actual outcome of each activity to the intended outcome. A realistic assessment will allow staff to identify both successful and unsuccessful initiatives. Problem areas can be dealt with using the aforementioned contingency plans. The final project evaluation looks at the bigger picture and assesses the impact of the entire project on the target population. If your project has been successful, this will confirm that the objectives have been fulfilled. If the evaluation is not positive, it may be an indication to revisit the program plan and re-implement strategies from this section. Successful implementation takes time and patience, but the tools provided in this chapter can guide even the most complex projects to success.