® Thinking Through the Business Model
Mission: Why you exist & what you hope to achieve The business model is how an organization raises and spends money to fulfill its mission and strategic
goals. A sustainable business model that provides reliable revenue to cover the full cost of doing business
is crucial to a nonprofit’s ability to provide services effectively and grow to its potential. Use this worksheet
to help articulate components of your nonprofit’s business model —a useful step in helping to determine
whether your organization is fully covering costs and balancing mission, capacity, and capital.
Market Programs Revenue Expense Outreach
Who receives services? How do you work towards $ How do you make money $ How do you spend How do you reach your
Who pays for services? your mission? to achieve your goals? money, and on what? markets?
©2014, Nonprofit Finance Fund nff.org
® Business Planning Resources
Especially in times of recession, funding declines, and changes in the the
predictability and reliability of funding, it’s critical to step back and look at what
Business Model Resources drives your organization’s business model. But this can be difficult, especially if
• Nonprofits Assistance Fund: nonprofitsassistancefund.org your organization is already stretched thin. There are a variety of resources online
“Transforming Nonprofit Business Models,” at https://nonprofitsassistancefund.org/ to help you through the process. NFF can also help! Visit us at nff.org to get in
resources/item/transforming-nonprofit-business-models touch and learn more.
• Stanford Social Innovation Review: www.ssireview.org
“Ten Nonprofit Funding Models”: http://www.ssireview.org/articles/entry/ten_
nonprofit_funding_models
• “Finding Your Funding Model”: http://www.ssireview.org/articles/entry/finding_your_
funding_model Business Planning Resources
• MIT Sloan School of Management: ccs.mit.edu • Stanford Social Innovation Review: www.ssireview.org
“Do Some Business Models Perform Better than Others? A Study of the 1000 Largest “Ten Nonprofit Funding Models”: http://www.ssireview.org/articles/entry/ten_
US Firms”: http://ccs.mit.edu/papers/pdf/wp226.pdf nonprofit_funding_models
• The NonProfit Times: thenonprofittimes.com • National Council of Nonprofits: councilofnonprofits.org
“Your Nonprofit Business Model: Is It Really That Healthy?”: http://www. “Strategic and Business Planning for Nonprofits”: http://www.councilofnonprofits.org/
thenonprofittimes.com/news-articles/your-nonprofit-business-model-is-it-really-that- strategic-business-planning-for-nonprofits
healthy/ • Small Business Administration: sba.gov
• Blue Avocado: blueavocado.org “How to write a business plan”: http://www.sba.gov/category/navigation-structure/
Nonprofit Business Model Statements: “Your Nonprofit Business Model: Is It Really starting-managing-business/starting-business/how-write-business-plan
That Healthy?”: http://www.blueavocado.org/content/nonprofit-business-model- • Jossey Bass Publishing: josseybass.com
statements “Generating and Sustaining Nonprofit Earned Income”: Sample business plans: http://
• Google Business Templates: https://docs.google.com/templates?category=2& www.josseybass.com/WileyCDA/WileyAncillary/productCd-078797238X,typeCd-
sort=hottest&view=public DOWNLOAD.html
If you have a google account, you can use Google’s simple Business Model Canvas to • NorthSky Nonprofit Network: northskynonprofitnetwork.org
map out components of your business model in and share it with others: https://docs. “Nonprofit Business Plan - Template & Guidance”: http://www.
google.com/previewtemplate?id=102mOZQmMxs0CslmNsPZ5KCNQwAIh9rh4baYgT0V northskynonprofitnetwork.org/resource-center/nonprofit-business-plan-template-
WNAA&mode=public guidance
• Innovative Nonprofit Magazine: innovativenonprofit.com
“The Nonprofit Business Model Canvas”: http://www.innovativenonprofit.
com/2012/07/the-nonprofit-business-model-canvas/#.UC57vN1lQ1M
