Episode Details

If you're ready to stop running your grant writing business like a freelancer and start leading it like a CEO, now is the time to join the Grant Professional Mentorship. Over the next 12 months, you'll build the systems, team, pricing, scalable offers, and AI-powered operations needed to double your revenue while working fewer hours and creating a business that doesn't depend on you doing everything yourself.

Enrollment is now open, but doors close Friday, August 14, at 11:59 PM ET. Don't miss your opportunity to join this year's cohort and get the coaching, accountability, and proven frameworks to scale your grant writing business with more peace, profit, and freedom. Secure your spot before enrollment closes.

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Is your nonprofit ready to earn income?

“What?? But we’re a nonprofit. We can’t earn income!”

Oh, yes you can! Just because you are a nonprofit organization does not mean that you cannot earn income. Nonprofit doesn’t mean ‘no’ profit. It simply means you take the profit and put it back into the organization.

However, you do have to make sure that anything you do to earn income directly relates to the mission of your nonprofit. For example, if your nonprofit is an animal shelter and you start raising revenue by providing human resource services for solo entrepreneurs, it may not be a good fit. Offering pet rentals for connecting with senior citizens may be a better way of raising revenue.

Of course, if you do find something that is a great income generator and isn’t related to your mission, your nonprofit may still be able to do it, but it might not be ‘tax-exempt’ income; i.e. you may have to pay taxes on it.

Before we get into earned income, if you would like more information about other types of revenue for nonprofits be sure to check out episode 90! There is an amazing FREE downloadable included! www.grantwritingandfunding.com/90.

As with anyone wanting to get income for offering services or products, first the nonprofit needs to develop a business plan! 

Eek! Even a nonprofit needs a business plan?

Yes! Actually, you should’ve developed one before you became incorporated, but it might not have happened or maybe your nonprofit has changed a lot since that amazing day!

So what do you need to know?

Well, what your nonprofit can provide and what the market will pay for. This is the basic supply/demand model.

We aren’t going to go into a crazy business plan, but I am going to give you some examples so you can get some ideas for your nonprofit!  Try to keep in mind the idea of supply and demand as you read through these.

I might share something that sounds amazing and you think would work for your nonprofit, but first test it on a small-scale before you invest crazy time and money into it!

General Services

According to MissionBox, a fee-for-service approach for nonprofits is defined as “nonprofit uses its earnings to support its mission and prioritizes benefit to the community over profits. Your organization can grow financial sustainability with a fee-for-service model.”

Case Study: YMCA

They are a hybrid as they offer Membership programs (see below) for their services. These services include workout classes, community classes, a gym, etc.

Examples:

• Classes on gardening (or other specialized skill! Painting, etc)
• Consulting
• Counseling
• Management
• Marketing
• Huma