Create a business plan that will turn mission-related activities into profitable earned income programs or enterprises that pay bills and subsidize other charitable work.  Find out if this promising new business strategy can help your nonprofit not just stay alive, but prosper! Organizations with health-related missions may be eligible to receive reimbursement of course fees. (click here for more information)

Course Description	Course Objectives	Prerequisites	Schedule
Fees	Participation	Text	Scholarship Information

Explore the Challenge…
Maintaining financial self-sufficiency is a huge issue for most nonprofits

Discover new tools and strategies…
Traditional fundraising is not the only option for achieving sustainability

Learn about innovative applications…
Social enterprise offers a new paradigm for earning the income needed to carry out a social mission

Build your plan to launch your venture…
Consider the REAL potential of earned income strategies to transform your organizations quest for sustainability and scale

Within the broad field of capacity building for nonprofits the concept of social enterprise development is seen as being on the cutting edge of nonprofit planning and operation. Nonprofits engaged in social enterprise are our heroes…stories about them are in our newspapers…they are creating sustainable sources of earned income for their organization, reducing dependency on unearned income, and minimizing organizational and financial uncertainty.

Course Description
In response to a growing demand for a practical training program in earned income strategies, this course has been designed to offer nonprofit staff and board members the opportunity to incubate ideas and turn them into a successful entrepreneurial venture or earned income project applying the “best-practices” in the field of social enterprise. 

Based with permission on Rolfe Larson’s Venture Forth, the course curriculum has been designed to coincide with seven steps out-lined in Larson’s work book to take the organization’s business planning process from pre-plan feasibility analysis to business conceptualization and implementation.  (There will also be opportunity for participants to present earned income ideas to groups of potential funders (angel investors))

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Course Objectives

• Review the pre-planning process and complete the organizational readiness assessment in order to identify strengths, weaknesses, opportunities as well as threats to launching a successful earned income project.
• Identify the critical elements of success factors to ensure best possible project outcomes.
• Provide a step-by-step overview and implementation of the “best-practices” in business planning process for nonprofit organizations.
• With a combination of peer-learning process and use of planning tools, evaluate the implementation activities developed by the participants.
• Provide an opportunity for participants to deliver a business plan presentation to peers and a panel of experts at the end of the course as a simulation for making similar “pitch” to internal and external stakeholders including but not limited to board members, staff, and funders.

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Prerequisites

• Social Enterprise Readiness Assessment:  Participants will be provided a set of documents to complete, gauging the readiness of the organization to incubate an earned income program or social enterprise project.
• Organizational Agreement Form:  Participants will be required to obtain written commitment from the Executive Director and Board President that supports the use of staff time and resources for this planning process including the creation of a social enterprise committee with board and staff representation.   It is hoped that members of the Social Enterprise Committee will participate in at least two of the training sessions along with the participant.
• Organizational Strategic Plan:  Participants representing the organization must provide a copy of the most recent strategic plan.  (Feasibility of a social enterprise project should be included as part of the strategic planning goal.)

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Schedule
Click here for a more detailed session description and course timeline.

Class will meet every other Tuesday beginning April 15 - July 22 from 8:30 am to Noon

Tuesday, April 15	Session 1. Intro & Orientation
Tuesday, April 29	Session 2. Earned Income Idea Audit
Tuesday, May 13	Session 3.  Brainstorming & Selecting Best Ideas
Tuesday, May 27	Session 4. Quick Market Tests
Tuesday, June 10	Session 5. Feasibility Studies
TBA	Lab 1. Coaching session on Market Research
Tuesday, June 24	Session 6.  Doing Financial Analysis
Tuesday, July 8	Session 7.  Writing the Business Plan for the Earned Income Idea
TBA	Lab 2. Coaching session on Financial Analysis
Tuesday, July 22	Session 8.  Presentations to Peers and Potential Investors

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Fees

Member Fee:  $550                           Non-Member Fee:  $750

Enrollment fees are to be paid prior to the first class session and will be returned in full after the final session to all participants qualified for a scholarship who fulfill the obligations of the course.

Click here for scholarship information relative to this course.

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Participation

In order to ensure the best possible out-come to the planning process, this course will require fulfillment of the prerequisite activities and documentation as well as full participation of the organizational representative as its chief project “champion” and members of the social enterprise committee. 

Learning Methodology:

• Required readings (prior to each of the sessions)
• In-class lecture & case studies
• Discussions, exercises, and activities
• Planning Worksheets (To be completed in class and between sessions)
• Two supplementary lab coaching sessions to offer additional instructor/peer support in developing the market research, financial analysis, and operational planning.

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Text

• Dare to Earn: Participant Packet. Hayashi, Tom -- Nonprofit Management Solutions 2007
  (provided)
• Your Nonprofit Organization. Larson, Rolfe -- Fieldstone Alliance Publisher 2002 (provided)
• Selling Social Change (Without Selling Out): Earned Income Strategies for Nonprofits. Robinson, Andy -- Josey Bass Publisher 2002 (recommended)

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Scholarship Information

Nonprofit organizations with health-related missions will qualify for full scholarship reimbursement of training fees for this course if they meet the following participant obligations of the training:

1. Pay the full amount (member or nonmember) prior to the first session     
2. Complete and submit the course PREREQUISITES
3. Make effort to complete assignments between sessions
4. Attend each of the 8 session (or if conflicts arise, ensure their organization is represented at each session when they cannot attend)

 Reimbursement will be made immediately following course completion.

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Registration

To register online, please click here and find the course on the registration page. Or to download a registration form, please click here.