Building Unrestricted Funds From Earned Income

TURN YOUR ORGANISATION’S REVENUE CHALLENGES INTO OPPORTUNITIES BY VALUING YOUR ORGANISATION’S EXPERTISE

• The challenge is (1) how to think about and create possible earned-income opportunities, and then (2) to evaluate whether they fit or conflict with your organisation’s mission and capacity.

• Think about your activities from different angles. Analyze your assets. If you ‘package’ or ‘spin’ your capacities differently, can you identify potential buyers?

• Earned income, from the sale of goods or services, is not right for every organisation, but you should at least take the time to analyze whether it is a potential opportunity and to record your thinking as part of your organisation’s financial sustainability planning.

Questions to ask:

• Does your organization have any special procedures, capabilities or expertise it has developed to do what it does that may be marketable? Examples: research and documentation skills, media and publishing capabilities, campaigning and advocacy techniques, unique training, specialized skills or knowledge.

• What special or unique networks, contacts and relationships does your organization have in place for getting your skills, processes and products to your beneficiaries? Examples: collaborations with other not-for-profits in your field, linkages with distributors or printers. How can you leverage them to generate some earned revenues?

• Does your organization own or have access to special equipment or facilities that is not being used to capacity?

• Do you have access to a pool of available labour in the form of under-utilized staff or clients/beneficiaries?

• Can you think of ways you can spin off ideas from your organisational mission? Brainstorm with your Board and other staff members.

• Once you have generated the ideas, you need to screen them for their fit with the organisation and their strength as a business idea:
  • Fit with organisation: Can your organisation realistically implement this idea successfully in the current market? i.e., Do you have the capacity currently?
• • Strength of the idea: Is there a market (i.e., customers that will pay) for the idea? Will the idea support or advance your mission, by generating lots of revenue and/or by strengthening and expanding your current services?

• Once you have screened the potential revenue generating ideas, and assessed the idea(s) for feasibility, there will likely be some business planning to do. See the Resource section at the end for some ideas and assistance