Contrary to what many believe, a non-profit organization has a lot in common with a regular business. The managers do need to follow similar practices and there is a necessity to build a great business plan. This includes:
- Products – Services – What will be sold, what the market is and related facts.
- Executive Summery – An explanation of the entire business.
- Strategy – How the service or product is going to be marketed, sold and promoted together with keeping track of customers/clients.
- Operations – Location of the business, manufacturing process, HR and much more.
- Financials – Where money is obtained to start the business, salaries for you and employees, income and costs.
The business plan that you set up for a non-profit organization will need to be set up by considering the following:
- Executive Summary – This includes mission statement, number of necessary employees, types of employees, location of the services provided, service description, board of directors, funding sources, market research.
- Products – Services – A description of what problems are addressed by the products and services offered together with their objectives.
- Needs Analysis Results – A clear documentation of what the service offers in terms of needs covered. At the same time, there should be an analysis of similar companies and an analysis of the clients that are being helped.
- Management – How is the company organized? An organizational chart is necessary. Try to develop staff profiles. This is especially necessary for important people in the non-profit organization like the program manager and the CEO.
- Sales And Marketing Strategies – How will business be communicated with the target audience, together with a PR plan and an advertising plan.
- Financials – How will you get money for your non-profit organization? Loans, fees, grants? An annual budget that shows expenses and revenue is needed.
As you can easily notice, the plan is quite similar to that of a regular business. The business plan for the non-profit organization will show foundations and donors, together with board members, many things about the organization. This business plan is a document that basically changes and grows just like the organization does, eventually becoming more complex. However, for starters, what was mentioned above is enough for the business plan of a non-profit organization.