Nonprofit business plans are effectively the tools for implementing an organization's strategic planning goals. This tool can be very effective in understanding how to effective reach a specific audience with an offer (service or product) that is desired. A business plan also helps clarify exactly how and organization will want to structure and manage its staff and resources to deliver an offering; the source of resources and income to continue to deliver and offering; and, the risks and a mitigation plan to address "issues".
Take for example the Community Farm described in the Sept-Oct 2012 Utne Reader and originally published in the Grist (July 5, 2012). Corbin Hill Farm wanted to make "sustainably grown local produce" accessible to low income communities (in New York). A market assessment indicated that folks living in Harlem and South Bronx didn't have much access "good fresh food". The farmer's first plan was to create a CSA (community supported agriculture) program in which "members" buy-in or get shares and during the season get food. But the target communities didn't have the monies to participate in advance while a weekly program made participation, even with food stamps, possible.
With further thought and a desire to provide food to a whole lot more folks than he was able to serve, the farmer determined that demand really called for more farms to be engaged and he formed a co-op selling weekly shares and providing a wide and deep access to quality and variety. One last piece of the puzzle was to create multiple pick-up sites recognizing that residents needed much more physical access than just one locale for food delivery.
The current plan recognizes a need for 1200 share-holders to break-even in the operation with a current demand of 750.
So let's review what the business plan looked like:
Market: residents in Harlem and South Bronx desiring good, fresh, affordable and locally grown and delivered food
Offering: fresh, locally sustainable food
Pricing: within the budgets of the buyers
Distribution: multiple-local community sites (like churches)
Communications: word-of mouth
Operations and Management: a network of farmers linked together and supported by the initiating farm.
Financing: 1200 shareholders paying weekly; eleven investors providing start-up capital.
Risks: bad growth seasons -- just won't have any thing to sell nor will spend the money on delivery and the like
After reading this blog, I must say that you have included a lot of great and rewarding information. I have suffered several times in the past when creating a business plan, regarding: What to include, how to set it out etc. However, whilst researching online I came across a great online planning tool. It was free so I thought “What the hell” and gave it a go.
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