business plans for a nonprofit

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A nonprofit business plan ensures your organization’s fundraising and activities align with your core mission.

Every nonprofit needs a mission statement that demonstrates how the organization will support a social cause and provide a public benefit. A nonprofit business plan fleshes out this mission statement in greater detail. These plans include many of the same elements as a for-profit business plan, with a focus on fundraising, creating a board of directors, raising awareness, and staying compliant with IRS regulations. A nonprofit business plan can be instrumental in getting your organization off the ground successfully.

Start with your mission statement

The mission statement is foundational for your nonprofit organization. The IRS will review your mission statement in determining whether to grant you tax-exempt status. This statement also helps you recruit volunteers and staff, fundraise, and plan activities for the year.

[Read more: Writing a Mission Statement: A Step-by-Step Guide ]

Therefore, you should start your business plan with a clear mission statement in the executive summary. The executive summary can also cover, at a high level, the goals, vision, and unique strengths of your nonprofit organization. Keep this section brief, since you will be going into greater detail in later sections.

Identify a board of directors

Many business plans include a section identifying the people behind the operation: your key leaders, volunteers, and full-time employees. For nonprofits, it’s also important to identify your board of directors. The board of directors is ultimately responsible for hiring and managing the CEO of your nonprofit.

“Board members are the fiduciaries who steer the organization towards a sustainable future by adopting sound, ethical, and legal governance and financial management policies, as well as by making sure the nonprofit has adequate resources to advance its mission,” wrote the Council of Nonprofits.

As such, identify members of your board in your business plan to give potential donors confidence in the management of your nonprofit.

Be as realistic as possible about the impact you can make with the funding you hope to gain.

Describe your organization’s activities

In this section, provide more information about what your nonprofit does on a day-to-day basis. What products, training, education, or other services do you provide? What does your organization do to benefit the constituents identified in your mission statement? Here’s an example from the American Red Cross, courtesy of DonorBox :

“The American Red Cross carries out their mission to prevent and relieve suffering with five key services: disaster relief, supporting America’s military families, lifesaving blood, health and safety services, and international service.”

This section should be detailed and get into the operational weeds of how your business delivers on its mission statement. Explain the strategies your team will take to service clients, including outreach and marketing, inventory and equipment needs, a hiring plan, and other key elements.

Write a fundraising plan

This part is the most important element of your business plan. In addition to providing required financial statements (e.g., the income statement, balance sheet, and cash flow statement), identify potential sources of funding for your nonprofit. These may include individual donors, corporate donors, grants, or in-kind support. If you are planning to host a fundraising event, put together a budget for that event and demonstrate the anticipated impact that event will have on your budget.

Create an impact plan

An impact plan ties everything together. It demonstrates how your fundraising and day-to-day activities will further your mission. For potential donors, it can make a very convincing case for why they should invest in your nonprofit.

“This section turns your purpose and motivation into concrete accomplishments your nonprofit wants to make and sets specific goals and objectives,” wrote DonorBox . “These define the real bottom line of your nonprofit, so they’re the key to unlocking support. Funders want to know for whom, in what way, and exactly how you’ll measure your impact.”

Be as realistic as possible about the impact you can make with the funding you hope to gain. Revisit your business plan as your organization grows to make sure the goals you’ve set both align with your mission and continue to be within reach.

[Read more: 8 Signs It's Time to Update Your Business Plan ]

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How to Write a Business Plan For a Nonprofit Organization + Template

Creating a business plan is essential for any business, but it can be especially helpful for nonprofits. A nonprofit business plan allows you to set goals and track progress over time. It can also help you secure funding from investors or grant-making organizations.

A well-crafted business plan not only outlines your vision for the organization but also provides a step-by-step process of how you are going to accomplish it. In order to create an effective business plan, you must first understand the components that are essential to its success.

This article will provide an overview of the key elements that every nonprofit founder should include in their business plan.

Download the Ultimate Nonprofit Business Plan Template

What is a Nonprofit Business Plan?

A nonprofit business plan is a formal written document that describes your organization’s purpose, structure, and operations. It is used to communicate your vision to potential investors or donors and convince them to support your cause.

The business plan should include information about your target market, financial projections, and marketing strategy. It should also outline the organization’s mission statement and goals.

Why Write a Nonprofit Business Plan?

A nonprofit business plan is required if you want to secure funding from grant-making organizations or investors.

A well-crafted business plan will help you:

• Define your organization’s purpose and goals
• Articulate your vision for the future
• Develop a step-by-step plan to achieve your goals
• Secure funding from investors or donors
• Convince potential supporters to invest in your cause

Entrepreneurs can also use this as a roadmap when starting your new nonprofit organization, especially if you are inexperienced in starting a nonprofit.

Writing an Effective Nonprofit Business Plan

The key is to tailor your business plan to the specific needs of your nonprofit. Here’s a quick overview of what to include:

Executive Summary

Organization overview, products, programs, and services, industry analysis, customer analysis, marketing plan, operations plan, management team.

• Financial Plan

The executive summary of a nonprofit business plan is a one-to-two page overview of your entire business plan. It should summarize the main points, which will be presented in full in the rest of your business plan.

• Start with a one-line description of your nonprofit organization
• Provide a short summary of the key points of each section of your business plan.
• Organize your thoughts in a logical sequence that is easy for the reader to follow.
• Include information about your organization’s management team, industry analysis, competitive analysis, and financial forecast.

This section should include a brief history of your nonprofit organization. Include a short description of how and why you started it and provide a timeline of milestones the organization has achieved.

If you are just starting your nonprofit, you may not have a long history. Instead, you can include information about your professional experience in the industry and how and why you conceived your new nonprofit idea. If you have worked for a similar organization before or have been involved in a nonprofit before starting your own, mention this.

You will also include information about your chosen n onprofit business model and how it is different from other nonprofits in your target market.

This section is all about what your nonprofit organization offers. Include information about your programs, services, and any products you may sell.

Describe the products or services you offer and how they benefit your target market. Examples might include:

• A food bank that provides healthy meals to low-income families
• A job training program that helps unemployed adults find jobs
• An after-school program that helps kids stay out of gangs
• An adult literacy program that helps adults learn to read and write

Include information about your pricing strategy and any discounts or promotions you offer. Examples might include membership benefits, free shipping, or volume discounts.

If you offer more than one product or service, describe each one in detail. Include information about who uses each product or service and how it helps them achieve their goals.

If you offer any programs, describe them in detail. Include information about how often they are offered and the eligibility requirements for participants. For example, if you offer a job training program, you might include information about how often the program is offered, how long it lasts, and what kinds of jobs participants can expect to find after completing the program.

The industry or market analysis is an important component of a nonprofit business plan. Conduct thorough market research to determine industry trends, identify your potential customers, and the potential size of this market. 

Questions to answer include:

• What part of the nonprofit industry are you targeting?
• Who are your competitors?
• How big is the market?
• What trends are happening in the industry right now?

You should also include information about your research methodology and sources of information, including company reports and expert opinions.

As an example, if you are starting a food bank, your industry analysis might include information about the number of people in your community who are considered “food insecure” (they don’t have regular access to enough nutritious food). You would also include information about other food banks in your area, how they are funded, and the services they offer.

For each of your competitors, you should include a brief description of their organization, their target market, and their competitive advantage. To do this, you should complete a SWOT analysis.

A SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats) analysis is a helpful tool to assess your nonprofit’s current position and identify areas where you can improve.

Some questions to consider when conducting a SWOT analysis include:

• Strengths : What does your nonprofit do well?
• Weaknesses : What areas could your nonprofit improve?
• Opportunities : What trends or changes in the industry could you take advantage of?
• Threats : What trends or changes in the industry could hurt your nonprofit’s chances of success?

After you have identified your nonprofit’s strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats, you can develop strategies to improve your organization.

For example, if you are starting a food bank, your SWOT analysis might reveal that there is a need for more food banks in your community. You could use this information to develop a marketing strategy to reach potential donors who might be interested in supporting your organization.

If you are starting a job training program, your SWOT analysis might reveal that there is a need for more programs like yours in the community. You could use this information to develop a business plan and marketing strategy to reach potential participants who might be interested in enrolling in your program.

This section should include a list of your target audience(s) with demographic and psychographic profiles (e.g., age, gender, income level, profession, job titles, interests). You will need to provide a profile of each customer segment separately, including their needs and wants.

For example, if you are starting a job training program for unemployed adults, your target audience might be low-income adults between the ages of 18 and 35. Your customer analysis would include information about their needs (e.g., transportation, childcare, job readiness skills) and wants (e.g., good pay, flexible hours, benefits).

If you have more than one target audience, you will need to provide a separate customer analysis for each one.

You can include information about how your customers make the decision to buy your product or use your service. For example, if you are starting an after-school program, you might include information about how parents research and compare programs before making a decision.

You should also include information about your marketing strategy and how you plan to reach your target market. For example, if you are starting a food bank, you might include information about how you will promote the food bank to the community and how you will get the word out about your services.

Develop a strategy for targeting those customers who are most likely to use your program, as well as those that might be influenced to buy your products or nonprofit services with the right marketing.

This part of the business plan is where you determine how you are going to reach your target market. This section of your nonprofit business plan should include information about your marketing goals, strategies, and tactics.

• What are your marketing goals? Include information about what you hope to achieve with your marketing efforts, as well as when and how you will achieve it.
• What marketing strategies will you use? Include information about public relations, advertising, social media, and other marketing tactics you will use to reach your target market.
• What tactics will you use? Include information about specific actions you will take to execute your marketing strategy. For example, if you are using social media to reach your target market, include information about which platforms you will use and how often you will post.

Your marketing strategy should be clearly laid out, including the following 4 Ps.

• Product/Service : Make sure your product, service, and/or program offering is clearly defined and differentiated from your competitors, including the benefits of using your service.
• Price : How do you determine the price for your product, services, and/or programs? You should also include a pricing strategy that takes into account what your target market will be willing to pay and how much the competition within your market charges.
• Place : Where will your target market find you? What channels of distribution will you use to reach them?
• Promotion : How will you reach your target market? You can use social media or write a blog, create an email marketing campaign, post flyers, pay for advertising, launch a direct mail campaign, etc.

For example, if you are starting a job training program for unemployed adults, your marketing strategy might include partnering with local job centers and adult education programs to reach potential participants. You might also promote the program through local media outlets and community organizations.

Your marketing plan should also include a sales strategy, which includes information about how you will generate leads and convert them into customers.

You should also include information about your paid advertising budget, including an estimate of expenses and sales projections.

This part of your nonprofit business plan should include the following information:

• How will you deliver your products, services and/or programs to your target market? For example, if you are starting a food bank, you will need to develop a system for collecting and storing food donations, as well as distributing them to the community.
• How will your nonprofit be structured? For example, will you have paid staff or volunteers? How many employees will you need? What skills and experience will they need to have?
• What kind of facilities and equipment will you need to operate your nonprofit? For example, if you are starting a job training program, you will need space to hold classes, as well as computers and other office equipment.
• What are the day-to-day operations of your nonprofit? For example, if you are starting a food bank, you will need to develop a system for accepting and sorting food donations, as well as distributing them to the community.
• Who will be responsible for each task? For example, if you are starting a job training program, you will need to identify who will be responsible for recruiting participants, teaching classes, and placing graduates in jobs.
• What are your policies and procedures? You will want to establish policies related to everything from employee conduct to how you will handle donations.
• What infrastructure, equipment, and resources are needed to operate successfully? How can you meet those requirements within budget constraints?

The operations plan is the section of the business plan where you elaborate on the day-to-day execution of your nonprofit. This is where you really get into the nitty-gritty of how your organization will function on a day-to-day basis.

This section of your nonprofit business plan should include information about the individuals who will be running your organization.

• Who is on your team? Include biographies of your executive director, board of directors, and key staff members.
• What are their qualifications? Include information about their education, work experience, and skills.
• What are their roles and responsibilities? Include information about what each team member will be responsible for, as well as their decision-making authority.
• What is their experience in the nonprofit sector? Include information about their work with other nonprofits, as well as their volunteer experiences.

This section of your plan is important because it shows that you have a team of qualified individuals who are committed to the success of your nonprofit.

Nonprofit Financial Plan

This section of your nonprofit business plan should include the following information:

• Your budget. Include information about your income and expenses, as well as your fundraising goals.
• Your sources of funding. Include information about your grants, donations, and other sources of income.
• Use of funds. Include information about how you will use your income to support your programs and operations.

This section of your business plan is important because it shows that you have a clear understanding of your organization’s finances. It also shows that you have a plan for raising and managing your funds.

Now, include a complete and detailed financial plan. This is where you will need to break down your expenses and revenue projections for the first 5 years of operation. This includes the following financial statements:

Income Statement

Your income statement should include:

• Revenue : how will you generate revenue?
• Cost of Goods Sold : These are your direct costs associated with generating revenue. This includes labor costs, as well as the cost of any equipment and supplies used to deliver the product/service offering.
• Net Income (or loss) : Once expenses and revenue are totaled and deducted from each other, what is the net income or loss? 

Sample Income Statement for a Startup Nonprofit Organization

Balance Sheet

Include a balance sheet that shows what you have in terms of assets, liabilities, and equity. Your balance sheet should include:

• Assets : All of the things you own (including cash).
• Liabilities : This is what you owe against your company’s assets, such as accounts payable or loans.
• Equity : The worth of your business after all liabilities and assets are totaled and deducted from each other.

Sample Balance Sheet for a Startup Nonprofit Organization

Cash Flow Statement

Include a cash flow statement showing how much cash comes in, how much cash goes out and a net cash flow for each year. The cash flow statement should include:

• Income : All of the revenue coming in from clients.
• Expenses : All of your monthly bills and expenses. Include operating, marketing and capital expenditures.
• Net Cash Flow : The difference between income and expenses for each month after they are totaled and deducted from each other. This number is the net cash flow for each month.

Using your total income and expenses, you can project an annual cash flow statement. Below is a sample of a projected cash flow statement for a startup nonprofit.

Sample Cash Flow Statement for a Startup Nonprofit Organization

Fundraising Plan

This section of your nonprofit business plan should include information about your fundraising goals, strategies, and tactics.

• What are your fundraising goals? Include information about how much money you hope to raise, as well as when and how you will raise it.
• What fundraising strategies will you use? Include information about special events, direct mail campaigns, online giving, and grant writing.
• What fundraising tactics will you use? Include information about volunteer recruitment, donor cultivation, and stewardship.

Now include specific fundraising goals, strategies, and tactics. These could be annual or multi-year goals. Below are some examples:

Goal : To raise $50,000 in the next 12 months.

Strategy : Direct mail campaign

• Create a mailing list of potential donors
• Develop a direct mail piece
• Mail the direct mail piece to potential donors

Goal : To raise $100,000 in the next 24 months.

Strategy : Special event

• Identify potential special event sponsors
• Recruit volunteers to help with the event
• Plan and execute the special event

Goal : To raise $250,000 in the next 36 months.

Strategy : Grant writing

• Research potential grant opportunities
• Write and submit grant proposals
• Follow up on submitted grants

This section of your business plan is important because it shows that you have a clear understanding of your fundraising goals and how you will achieve them.

You will also want to include an appendix section which may include:

• Your complete financial projections
• A complete list of your nonprofit’s policies and procedures related to the rest of the business plan (marketing, operations, etc.)
• A list of your hard assets and equipment with purchase dates, prices paid and any other relevant information
• A list of your soft assets with purchase dates, prices paid and any other relevant information
• Biographies and/or resumes of the key members of your organization
• Your nonprofit’s bylaws
• Your nonprofit’s articles of incorporation
• Your nonprofit’s most recent IRS Form 990
• Any other relevant information that may be helpful in understanding your organization

Writing a good business plan gives you the advantage of being fully prepared to launch and grow your nonprofit organization. It not only outlines your vision but also provides a step-by-step process of how you are going to accomplish it. Sometimes it may be difficult to get started, but once you get the hang of it, writing a business plan becomes easier and will give you a sense of direction and clarity about your nonprofit organization.  

Finish Your Nonprofit Business Plan in 1 Day!

Other helpful articles.

How to Write a Grant Proposal for Your Nonprofit Organization + Template & Examples

How To Create the Articles of Incorporation for Your Nonprofit Organization + Template

How to Develop a Nonprofit Communications Plan + Template

How to Write a Stand-Out Purpose Statement + Examples

3 Sample Nonprofit Business Plans For Inspiration

Download our Ultimate Nonprofit Business Plan Template here

Below are sample plans to help guide you in writing a nonprofit business plan.

• Example #1 – Kids Are Our First Priority (KAOFP) – a Nonprofit Youth Organization based in Chicago, IL
• Example #2 – Church of the Sacred Heart – a Nonprofit Church based in St. Louis, MO
• Example #3 – Finally Home – a Nonprofit Homeless Shelter in Los Angeles, CA

Sample Nonprofit Business Plan #1 – Kids Are Our First Priority (KAOFP) – a Nonprofit Youth Organization based in Chicago, IL

Executive summary.

Kids Are Our First Priority (KAOFP) is a 501(c)3 nonprofit youth organization that seeks to provide opportunities for students who might otherwise not have access to the arts and humanities. We believe all students should have the opportunity to discover and develop their interests and talents, regardless of socioeconomic status or geographic location. We offer completely free after-school programming in music production, digital photography, creative writing, and leadership development to 12-18-year-olds at risk of dropping out of high school.

Our organization has been active for over five years and has run highly successful programs at two schools in the city of Chicago. We have been awarded an active grant from a local foundation for this coming year, but we will need to cover all costs on our own after that point. Nonprofit administrators have seen a lot of turnovers, leaving the organization without a sustainable plan for reaching its goals.

Organization Overview

The Kids Are Our First Priority (KAOFP) is a 501(c)3 nonprofit youth organization with a mission to provide opportunities for development and self-expression to students who might otherwise not have access. Audiences include at-risk, low-income students from elementary through high school in the Chicago area.

Our programs are built around creative learning with two goals: firstly, creating a space for learning and growth; secondly, encouraging students to share their work with the world.

KAOFP runs three different programs in partnership with closely related nonprofit organizations, providing after-school programming for elementary, middle, and high school-aged children. Programs take place twice a week at different schools around Chicago. While each program is unique in its goals and activities, all programs focus on creative development in the arts and humanities.

Products, Programs, and Services

The three programs offered by KAOFP are Leadership Development (LD), Creative Writing (CW), and Music Production (MP). Students learn in small groups led by skilled instructors. All activities are designed to encourage student engagement, creativity, expression, and community building. Instructors encourage students to share their work with the world through presentations on- and off-site.

Leadership Development (LD)

The Leadership Development program is designed to provide leadership opportunities for high school students who might not otherwise have access to these experiences. Students learn about facilitation, collaboration, communication, and organizational skills as they plan and run projects of their own design. The program’s goal is to provide a structured environment that encourages students to become more confident and comfortable being leaders in their schools, communities, and future careers.

Creative Writing (CW)

Students learn how to use writing creatively as a tool for expression, discovery, and communication. In small groups led by skilled instructors, students write poetry, short stories, and essays of their own design. They also learn about the publishing industry, read each others’ work, and share their writing with the community.

Music Production (MP)

Students learn how to use digital media as a tool for expression, discovery, and communication. In weekly sessions led by skilled instructors, students explore music production through computer software and recording equipment. Students produce their own music and write about their experiences in weekly journals. Industry professionals in the community often volunteer to lead special workshops and seminars.

Industry Analysis

The youth arts and humanities field is extremely competitive. There are many different types of nonprofit organizations doing similar work, but few credible providers with long-term commitments to their communities. KAOFP’s greatest strengths and competitive advantages are our stable and qualified staff, a strong foundation of funding and community support, and a diverse set of programs.

Our biggest competitors include national non-profits with large budgets for advertising and marketing as well as commercial programs that offer music lessons and creative writing courses which may be more cost-effective than our programs. We feel that by focusing on specific areas of creative expression, KAOFP can better serve its communities and differentiate itself from other nonprofit organizations effectively.

Customer Analysis

KAOFP serves elementary, middle, and high school-aged students with programs that include both after-school and summer programming.

Our focus is on low-income neighborhoods with a high population of at-risk youth. In these areas, KAOFP fills a void in the education system by providing opportunities for creative expression and leadership development to students who would not otherwise have access to these resources.

The demographics of our current students are as follows:

• 91% African-American/Black
• 6% Hispanic/Latino
• 5% Multiracial
• 3.9% Low Income
• 4.9% Not Identified

Our main target is low-income African American and Latino youth in Chicago Public Schools. We would like to expand our outreach to include other communities in need of creative enrichment opportunities.

Marketing Plan

KAOFP’s marketing program is designed to support student, parent, and staff recruitment by promoting the organization’s goals and programs. Our main target audience consists of parents seeking after-school enrichment opportunities for their children that emphasize creativity and the arts.

To reach this audience, we advertise in public schools as well as on social networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter. We intend to begin marketing online through a company-sponsored blog, which will feature regular updates about KAOFP events and activities. We also intend to use word of mouth as a form of marketing.

Strategic partnerships with local schools and community centers will provide us with additional exposure as well as additional resources to secure funding.  

Operations Plan

KAOFP’s day-to-day operation is structured around its programs on Tuesdays from 4 pm to 8 pm.

Administrative offices are located in the same space as each program, allowing instructors to closely monitor their students and provide support as needed. The administrative offices serve the essential function of fundraising, communications, record-keeping, and volunteer coordination. KAOFP’s Board of Directors meets bi-monthly to provide further leadership, guidance, and oversight to our board members and volunteers.

Customer service is conducted by phone and email during our regular business hours of Monday – Friday 9 am to 12 pm.  We are not open on weekends or holidays.

Management Team

KAOFP’s organizational structure includes a Board of Directors, an Executive Director, and Program Directors. The Board of Directors provides guidance and oversight to the organization, while the Executive Director manages day-to-day operations. The Program Directors oversee each of KAOFP’s programs.

KAOFP has a small but dedicated staff that is committed to our students and our mission. Our team has a wide range of experience in the arts, education, and nonprofit sector.

Executive Director

The Executive Director is responsible for the overall management of KAOFP. This includes supervising staff, developing and implementing programs, overseeing finances, and representing the organization to the public.

Our Executive Director, Susie Brown, has been with KAOFP since its inception in 2010. She has a B.A. in Fine Arts from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and an M.F.A. in Creative Writing from Columbia College Chicago. Susie is responsible for the overall management of KAOFP, including supervising staff, developing and implementing programs, overseeing finances, and representing the organization to the public.

Program Directors

Each of KAOFP’s programs is overseen by a Program Director. The Program Directors are responsible for developing and implementing the program curricula, recruiting and training program instructors, and evaluating student progress.

Art Program Director

The Art Program Director, Rachel Smith, has a B.A. in Fine Arts from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. She is responsible for developing and implementing the program curricula, recruiting and training program instructors, and evaluating student progress.

Music Program Director

The Music Program Director, John Jones, has a B.A. in Music Education from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. He is responsible for developing and implementing the program curricula, recruiting and training program instructors, and evaluating student progress.

Theatre Program Director

The Theatre Program Director, Jane Doe, has a B.A. in Theatre Arts from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. She is responsible for developing and implementing the program curricula, recruiting and training program instructors, and evaluating student progress.

Board of Directors

KAOFP’s Board of Directors provides guidance and oversight to the organization. The Board consists of community leaders, educators, artists, and parents. Board members serve three-year terms and can be renewed for one additional term.

Financial Plan

KAOFP’s annual operating budget is approximately $60,000 per year, with an additional one-time cost of about $10,000 for the purchase of equipment and materials. The agency makes very efficient use of its resources by maintaining low overhead costs. Our biggest expense is instructor salaries, which are approximately 75% of total expenses.

Pro Forma Income Statement

Pro Forma Balance Sheet

Pro Forma Cash Flow Statement

Nonprofit Business Plan Example #2 – Church of the Sacred Heart – a Nonprofit Church based in St. Louis, MO

The Church of Sacred Heart is a nonprofit organization located in St. Louis, Missouri that provides educational opportunities for low-income families. We provide the best quality of education for young children with tuition rates significantly lower than public schools. It has been voted Best Catholic Elementary School by the St Louis Post Dispatch for four years running, and it has maintained consistently high ratings of 4.5 out of 5 stars on Google Reviews since its opening in 1914.

The Church of Sacred Heart strives to build strong relationships with our community by making an impact locally but not forgetting that we operate on global principles. As such, our school commits 10% of its profits to charitable organizations throughout the world every year, while also conducting fundraisers throughout the year to keep tuition rates affordable.

We are currently transitioning from a safe, high-quality learning environment to an even more attractive facility with state-of-the-art technology and modern materials that will appeal to young students and their families. New facilities, such as additional classrooms and teachers’ lounges would allow us not only to accommodate new students but also attract current families by having more places within the school where they can spend time between classes.

By taking full advantage of available opportunities to invest in our teachers, students, and facilities, we will be able to achieve steady revenue growth at 4% per year until 20XX.

The Church of Sacred Heart provides a safe learning environment with an emphasis on strong academics and a nurturing environment that meets the needs of its young students and their families. Investing in new facilities will allow us to provide even better care for our children as we continue to grow as a school.

Mission Statement: “We will strive diligently to create a safe, respectful environment where students are encouraged and inspired to learn through faith.”

Vision Statement: “Sacred Heart believes education gives every child the opportunity to achieve their full potential.”

The Church of the Sacred Heart was built in 1914 and is located in the Old North St. Louis neighborhood, an area with a high concentration of poverty, crime, unemployment, and abandoned buildings.

The church houses the only Catholic school for low-income families in the north city; together they formed Sacred Heart’s educational center (SCE). SCE has strived to provide academic excellence to children from low-income families by providing a small, nurturing environment as well as high academic standards.

The facility is in need of renovations and new equipment to continue its mission.

The Church of the Sacred Heart is a small nonprofit organization that provides a variety of educational and community services.

The services provided by Sacred Heart represent a $5 billion industry, with nonprofit organizations accounting for $258.8 billion of that total.

The health care and social assistance sector is the largest among nonprofits, representing 32 percent of revenues, followed by educational services (18 percent), and human and other social service providers (16 percent).

The key customers for the Church of the Sacred Heart are families in need of affordable education. The number of students in the school has increased from 500 when it opened in 1914 to 1,100 at its peak during 20XX-20XX but has since declined due to various reasons.

The children at Sacred Heart are from low-income families and 91 percent qualify for free or reduced lunches. Most parents work or have a family member who works full-time, while others don’t work due to child care restraints. The number of children enrolled in Sacred Heart is stable at 1,075 students because there is a lack of affordable alternatives to Catholic education in the area.

SCE offers K-5th grade students a unique learning experience in small groups with individualized instruction.

Sacred Heart has an established brand and is well known for its high standards of academic excellence, which include a 100 percent graduation rate.

Sacred Heart attracts prospective students through promotional materials such as weekly bulletins, mailers to homes that are located in the area served, and local churches.

Parents and guardians of children enrolled in Sacred Heart are mainly referrals from current families, word-of-mouth, and parishioners who learn about the school by attending Mass at Sacred Heart.

The Church of Sacred Heart does not currently advertise; however, it is one of the few Catholic schools that serve low-income families in St. Louis, MO, and therefore uses word of mouth to attract new students to its school.

The Church of Sacred Heart has an established brand awareness within the target audience despite not having direct marketing plans or materials.

The operations section for the Church of the Sacred Heart consists of expanding its after-school program as well as revamping its facility to meet the growing demand for affordable educational services.

Sacred Heart is located in an area where more than one-third of children live below the poverty line, which helps Sacred Heart stand out among other schools that are more upscale. Expansion into after-school programs will allow it to capture a larger market share by providing additional services to its target audience.

In order to expand, Sacred Heart will have to hire additional personnel as well as invest in new equipment and supplies for both the school and the after-school program.

The Church of Sacred Heart’s financial plan includes a fundraising plan that would help renovate the building as well as acquire new equipment and supplies for the school.

According to the National Center for Education Statistics, Catholic elementary schools across all grade levels spend an average of $6,910 per pupil on operating expenses. A fundraising initiative would help Sacred Heart acquire additional revenue while expanding its services to low-income families in St Louis, MO.

Financial Overview

The Church of the Sacred Heart expects to generate revenues of about $1.2 million in fiscal year 20XX, representing a growth rate of 2 percent from its 20XX revenue level. For 20XX, the church expects revenues to decrease by 4 percent due to a decline in enrollment and the lack of new students. The Church of Sacred Heart has experienced steady revenue growth since its opening in 1914.

• Revenue stream 1: Tuition – 22%
• Revenue stream 2: Investment income – 1%

Despite being located in a poverty-stricken area, the Church of Sacred Heart has a stable revenue growth at 4 percent per year. Therefore, Sacred Heart should be able to attain its 20XX revenue goal of $1.2 million by investing in new facilities and increasing tuition fees for students enrolled in its after-school program.

Income Statement f or the fiscal year ending December 31, 20XX

Revenue: $1.2 million

Total Expenses: $910,000

Net Income Before Taxes: $302,000

Statement of Financial Position as of December 31, 20XX 

Cash and Cash Equivalents: $25,000

Receivables: $335,000

Property and Equipment: $1.2 million

Intangible Assets: $0

Total Assets: $1.5 million

Balance Statement

The board of directors has approved the 20XX fiscal year budget for Sacred Heart Catholic Church, which is estimated at $1.3 million in revenues and $920,000 in expenditures.

Cash Flow Statement f or the Fiscal Year Ending December 31, 20XX

Operating Activities: Income Before Taxes -$302,000

Investing Activities: New equipment and supplies -$100,000

Financing Activities: Fundraising campaign $200,000

Net Change in Cash: $25,000

According to the 20XX fiscal year financial statements for Sacred Heart Catholic Church, it expects its investments to decrease by 4 percent and expects to generate $1.3 million in revenues. Its total assets are valued at $1.5 million, which consists of equipment and property worth approximately 1.2 million dollars.

The Church of Sacred Heart’s financial statements demonstrate its long-term potential for strong revenue growth due to its steady market share held with low-income families in St. Louis, MO.

Nonprofit Business Plan Example #3 – Finally Home – a Nonprofit Homeless Shelter in Los Angeles, CA

Finally Home is a nonprofit organization that aims to provide low-income single-parent families with affordable housing. The management team has a strong background in the social service industry and deep ties in the communities they plan to serve. In addition, Finally Home’s CEO has a background in real estate development, which will help the organization as they begin developing its operations.

Finally Home’s mission is to reinvent affordable housing for low-income single-parent families and make it more sustainable and accessible. They will accomplish this by buying homes from families and renting them out at an affordable price. Finally Home expects its model of affordable housing to become more sustainable and accessible than any other model currently available on the market today. Finally Home’s competitive advantage over similar organizations is that it will purchase land and buildings from which to build affordable housing. This gives them a greater amount of ownership over their communities and the properties in which the homes are located, as well as freedom when financing these projects.

Finally Home plans on accomplishing this by buying real estate in areas with high concentrations of low-income families who are ready to become homeowners. These homes will be used as affordable housing units until they are purchased by Finally Home’s target demographic, at which point the organizations will begin renting them out at a base rate of 30% of the family’s monthly household income.

Finally Home plans on financing its operations through both private donations and contributions from foundations, corporations, and government organizations.

Finally Home’s management team has strong backgrounds in the social service industry, with deep ties to families that will be prepared to take advantage of Finally Home’s affordable housing opportunities. The CEO of Finally Home also brings extensive real estate development experience to the organization, an asset that will be especially helpful as Finally Home begins its operations.

Finally Home is a nonprofit organization, incorporated in the State of California, whose mission is to help homeless families by providing them with housing and support services. The centerpiece of our program, which will be replicated nationwide if successful, is an apartment complex that offers supportive living for single parents and their children.

The apartments are fully furnished, and all utilities are paid.

All the single parents have jobs, but they don’t earn enough to pay market-rate rent while still paying for other necessities such as food and transportation.

The organization was founded in 20XX by Henry Cisneros, a former U.S. Secretary of Housing and Urban Development who served under President Bill Clinton. Cisneros is the chairman of Finally Home’s board of directors, which includes leaders with experience in banking, nonprofit management, and housing professions.

The core values are family unity, compassion for the poor, and respect for our clients. They are the values that guide our employees and volunteers at Finally Home from start to finish.

According to the United States Conference of Mayors’ Task Force on Hunger and Homelessness 20XX Report, “Hunger & Homelessness Survey: A Status Report on Hunger & Homelessness in America’s Cities,” almost half (48%) of all homeless people are members of families with children. Of this number, over one quarter (26%) are under the age of 18.

In 20XX, there were 9.5 million poor adults living in poverty in a family with children and no spouse present. The majority of these families (63%) have only one earner, while 44% have zero earners because the person is not old enough or does not work for other reasons.

The total number of people in poverty in 20XX was 46.5 million, the largest number since Census began publishing these statistics 52 years ago.

Finally Home’s goal is to help single parents escape this cycle of poverty through providing affordable housing and case management services to support them long term.

Unique Market Position

Finally Home creates unique value for its potential customers by creating housing where it does not yet exist.

By helping single parents escape poverty and become self-sufficient, Finally Home will drive demand among low-income families nationwide who are experiencing homelessness. The high level of need among this demographic is significant nationwide. However, there are no other organizations with the same market position as Finally Home.

Finally Home’s target customers are low-income families who are experiencing homelessness in the Los Angeles area. The organization will actively seek out these families through national networks of other social service providers to whom they refer their clients regularly.

Finally Home expects to have a waiting list of families that are interested in the program before they even open their doors.

This customer analysis is based on the assumption that these particular demographic groups are already active users of other social service programs, so referrals will be natural and easy for Finally Home.

Industry Capacity

This information is based on the assumption that these particular demographic groups are already active users of other social service programs, so referrals will be natural and easy for Finally Home.

There is a growing demand for low-income single-parent housing nationwide, yet there is no one organization currently providing these services on a national level like Finally Home.

Thus, Finally Home has a competitive advantage and market niche here because it will be the only nonprofit organization of its kind in the country.

Finally Home’s marketing strategies will focus on attracting potential customers through national networks of other social service providers. They will advertise to their referral sources using materials developed by the organization.  Finally Home will also advertise its services online, targeting low-income families using Google AdWords.

Finally Home will be reinventing affordable housing to make it more accessible and sustainable for low-income single parents. In this new model, Finally Home will own the land and buildings on which its housing units are built, as well as the properties in which they are located.

When a family is ready to move into an affordable housing unit, Finally Home will buy the home they currently live in. This way, families can take advantage of homeownership services like property tax assistance and financial literacy courses that help them manage their newfound wealth.

Finally Home has already partnered with local real estate agents to identify properties for purchase. The organization expects this to result in homes that are at least 30% cheaper than market value.

Finally Home will finance its operational plan through the use of private contributions and donations from public and private foundations, as well as corporate sponsorships.

Finally Home’s management team consists of:

• Veronica Jones, CEO, and Founder
• Mark MacDonald, COO
• Scott Bader, CFO

Management Summary

The management team has a strong history of social service advocacy and deep ties in the communities they plan to serve. In addition, the organization’s CEO has a background in real estate development that will be helpful as Finally Home begins operations.

• Year 1: Operation startup costs to launch first five houses ($621,865)
• Year 2: Deliver on market offer and complete first capital raise ($4,753,000)
• Year 3: Deliver on market offer and complete $5 million capital raise ($7,950,000)
• Year 4+: Continue to grow market share with a national network of social services providers ($15,350,000).

This nonprofit business plan will serve as an effective road map for Finally Home in its efforts to create a new model for affordable housing.

Nonprofit Business Plan Example PDF

Download our non-profit business plan pdf here. This is a free nonprofit business plan example to help you get started on your own nonprofit plan.

How to Finish Your Nonprofit Business Plan in 1 Day!

Don’t you wish there was a faster, easier way to finish your nonprofit business plan?

With Growthink’s Ultimate Nonprofit Business Plan Template you can finish your plan in just 8 hours or less!

Other Helpful Nonprofit Business Planning Articles

• Non-Profit Business Plan
• How to Write a Nonprofit Business Plan
• 10 Tips to Make Your Nonprofit’s Business Plan Stand Out
• How to Write a Mission Statement for Your Nonprofit Organization
• Strategic Planning for a Nonprofit Organization
• How to Write a Marketing Plan for Your Nonprofit Business
• 4 Top Funding Sources for a Nonprofit Organization
• What is a Nonprofit Organization?
• 20 Nonprofit Organization Ideas For Your Community

Free Nonprofit Business Plan Templates

By Joe Weller | September 18, 2020

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In this article, we’ve rounded up the most useful list of nonprofit business plan templates, all free to download in Word, PDF, and Excel formats.

Included on this page, you’ll find a one-page nonprofit business plan template , a fill-in-the-blank nonprofit business plan template , a startup nonprofit business planning timeline template , and more. Plus, we provide helpful tips for creating your nonprofit business plan .

Nonprofit Business Plan Template

Use this customizable nonprofit business plan template to organize your nonprofit organization’s mission and goals and convey them to stakeholders. This template includes space for information about your nonprofit’s background, objectives, management team, program offerings, market analysis, promotional activities, funding sources, fundraising methods, and much more. 

Download Nonprofit Business Plan Template

One-Page Business Plan for Nonprofit Template

This one-page nonprofit business plan template has a simple and scannable design to outline the key details of your organization’s strategy. This template includes space to detail your mission, vision, and purpose statements, as well as the problems you aim to solve in your community, the people who benefit from your program offerings, your key marketing activities, your financial goals, and more.

Download One-Page Business Plan for Nonprofit Template

Excel | Word | PDF

For additional resources, including an example of a one-page business plan , visit “ One-Page Business Plan Templates with a Quick How-To Guide .”

Fill-In-the-Blank Nonprofit Business Plan Template

Use this fill-in-the-blank template as the basis for building a thorough business plan for a nonprofit organization. This template includes space to describe your organization’s background, purpose, and main objectives, as well as key personnel, program and service offerings, market analysis, promotional activities, fundraising methods, and more. 

Download Fill-In-the-Blank Nonprofit Business Plan Template

For additional resources that cater to a wide variety of organizations, visit “ Free Fill-In-the-Blank Business Plan Templates .”

Startup Nonprofit Business Planning Template with Timeline

Use this business planning template to organize and schedule key activities for your business. Fill in the cells according to the due dates, and color-code the cells by phase, owner, or category to provide a visual timeline of progress.

Download Startup Nonprofit Business Planning Template with Timeline

Excel | Smartsheet

Nonprofit Business Plan Template for Youth Program

Use this template as a foundation for building a powerful and attractive nonprofit business plan for youth programs and services. This template has all the core components of a nonprofit business plan. It includes room to detail the organization’s background, management team key personnel, current and future youth program offerings, promotional activities, operations plan, financial statements, and much more.

Download Nonprofit Business Plan Template for Youth Program

Word | PDF  | Google Doc

Sample Nonprofit Business Plan Outline Template

You can customize this sample nonprofit business plan outline to fit the specific needs of your organization. To ensure that you don’t miss any essential details, use this outline to help you prepare and organize the elements of your plan before filling in each section.

Download Sample Nonprofit Business Plan Outline Template

Nonprofit Startup Business Planning Checklist Template

Use this customizable business planning checklist as the basis for outlining the necessary steps to get your nonprofit organization up and running. You can customize this checklist to fit your individual needs. It includes essential steps, such as conducting a SWOT analysis , fulfilling the research requirements specific to your state, conducting a risk assessment , defining roles and responsibilities, creating a portal for board members, and other tasks to keep your plan on track.

Download Nonprofit Startup Business Planning Checklist Template

Tips to Create Your Nonprofit Business Plan

Your nonprofit business plan should provide your donors, volunteers, and other key stakeholders with a clear picture of your overarching mission and objectives. Below, we share our top tips for ensuring that your plan is attractive and thorough.

• Develop a Strategy First: You must aim before you fire if you want to be effective. In other words, develop a strategic plan for your nonprofit in order to provide your team with direction and a roadmap before you build your business plan.
• Save Time with a Template: No need to start from scratch when you can use a customizable nonprofit business plan template to get started. (Download one of the options above.)
• Start with What You Have: With the exception of completing the executive summary, which you must do last, you aren’t obligated to fill in each section of the plan in order. Use the information you have on hand to begin filling in the various parts of your business plan, then conduct additional research to fill in the gaps.
• Ensure Your Information Is Credible: Back up all the details in your plan with reputable sources that stakeholders can easily reference.
• Be Realistic: Use realistic assumptions and numbers in your financial statements and forecasts. Avoid the use of overly lofty or low-lying projections, so stakeholders feel more confident about your plan. 
• Strive for Scannability: Keep each section clear and concise. Use bullet points where appropriate, and avoid large walls of text. 
• Use Visuals: Add tables, charts, and other graphics to draw the eye and support key points in the plan.
• Be Consistent: Keep the voice and formatting (e.g., font style and size) consistent throughout the plan to maintain a sense of continuity.
• Stay True to Your Brand: Make sure that the tone, colors, and overall style of the business plan are a true reflection of your organization’s brand.
• Proofread Before Distribution: Prior to distributing the plan to stakeholders, have a colleague proofread the rough version to check for errors and ensure that the plan is polished.
• Don’t Set It and Forget It: You should treat your nonprofit business plan as a living document that you need to review and update on a regular basis — as objectives change and your organization grows.
• Use an Effective Collaboration Tool: Use an online tool to accomplish the following: collaborate with key personnel on all components of the business plan; enable version control for all documents; and keep resources in one accessible place.

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The Ultimate Guide to Writing a Nonprofit Business Plan

https://home.simplyk.io/blog/nonprofit-business-plan

What is a nonprofit business plan?

In simple terms, a nonprofit business plan is your organization’s roadmap to success. It’s a comprehensive document that outlines your nonprofit’s goals, strategies, and action plans for achieving its mission. Just like a GPS guides you to your destination, a well-crafted business plan guides your nonprofit toward its vision of a better world.

Do I need a nonprofit business plan?

A nonprofit business plan is more than just an additional tool—it’s an essential part of any nonprofit. A business plan: 

Guides your organization: A nonprofit business plan serves as your organization’s compass, guiding you toward your goals. It provides clarity on what you want to achieve and how you’ll get there. Without a plan, you’re like a ship adrift at sea—directionless and vulnerable to the whims of the waves.

Facilitates strategy: A well-crafted plan helps you make informed decisions about resource allocation, program development, fundraising strategies, and more.

Promotes accountability: When donors, volunteers, and community members invest their time, money, and trust in your organization, they want to know their efforts aren’t going to waste. A nonprofit business plan demonstrates your commitment to achieving results and holds you accountable to stakeholders. It’s your promise to deliver on your mission and make a meaningful impact in the world.

Supports sustainability:  Economic downturns, shifts in public opinion, and evolving community needs can all impact your organization’s ability to thrive. A nonprofit business plan helps you anticipate and navigate these challenges, ensuring your organization remains resilient and sustainable for the long haul.

The 10-Step guide on writing a business plan for nonprofits

Crafting a business plan for your nonprofit organization is a crucial step toward success. This comprehensive guide will walk you through each step, providing actionable insights and tips to help you create a robust plan that sets your nonprofit up for success.

Step 1: Clarify your mission 

Your mission and vision are the heart and soul of your nonprofit. Start by defining your mission statement—what you do and why it matters. Then, articulate your vision statement, outlining the future you aspire to create. Be concise, compelling, and specific.

Gather your team and brainstorm ideas to refine your mission and vision statements. Consider what sets your organization apart and how you envision making a difference.

Step 2: Conduct a needs assessment

Understanding the needs of your community or target audience is essential for designing effective programs and services. Conduct thorough research, engage with stakeholders, and gather data to identify the most pressing issues you aim to address.

To do this, create a needs assessment survey or conduct interviews with community members, partners, and experts. Analyze the data to prioritize the most significant needs your organization can address.

Step 3: Define your goals 

Set clear, measurable goals that align with your mission and address the identified needs. Break down each goal into specific objectives, outlining the steps you’ll take to achieve them. Use the SMART criteria—Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound—to ensure your goals are realistic and actionable.

Host a goal-setting workshop with your team to brainstorm and prioritize objectives. Use a goal-setting framework like OKRs (Objectives and Key Results) to ensure alignment and accountability.

Step 4: Outline your programs 

Describe the programs and services your nonprofit will offer to address the identified needs. Define the goals, activities, target audience, and expected outcomes of each program. Consider how your programs will complement each other and work together to achieve your overall mission.

Step 5: Develop a marketing and outreach plan

Create a marketing and outreach plan to raise awareness about your organization and attract supporters, volunteers, and beneficiaries. Define your target audience, messaging, channels, and tactics for reaching and engaging key stakeholders.

To do this, conduct a SWOT analysis (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats) to assess your organization’s marketing and outreach capabilities. Develop a marketing calendar with key milestones and campaigns to guide your efforts.

Step 6: Create a financial plan

Develop a detailed budget and financial projections for your nonprofit. Identify potential revenue streams, such as grants, donations, fundraising events, membership fees, and earned income. Estimate expenses for staffing, programs, operations, and overhead costs.

Step 7: Establish governance and management structure

Define your nonprofit's organizational structure, including leadership roles, board of directors, staff positions, and volunteer management. Clarify responsibilities, decision-making processes, and lines of authority to ensure effective governance and management.

Action: Review and update your bylaws, policies, and procedures to reflect your organization’s current needs and goals. Provide board orientation and training to ensure board members understand their roles and responsibilities.

Step 8: Consider risks 

Identify potential risks and challenges that could impact your organization’s ability to achieve its goals. Develop strategies to mitigate these risks and ensure the sustainability of your nonprofit. Consider risks related to funding, operations, legal compliance, reputation, and external factors.

Step 9: Monitor and evaluate 

Establish systems for monitoring and evaluating the effectiveness of your programs and operations. Define key performance indicators (KPIs) and metrics to track progress towards your goals. Regularly review and update your business plan based on feedback and results.

Step 10: Communicate your plan 

Share your business plan with stakeholders, including board members, staff, volunteers, donors, partners, and the community. Solicit feedback, build buy-in, and encourage collaboration toward achieving your nonprofit’s mission and vision. Use various communication channels and platforms to keep stakeholders informed and engaged.

To do this, you might host a launch event or town hall meeting to present your business plan to stakeholders and answer questions. Develop a communications plan to ensure consistent messaging and updates across all channels.

Essential nonprofit business plan elements

• Mission and vision : Clearly define the nonprofit's purpose and long-term goals.
• Needs assessment : Identify the needs of the community or target audience your nonprofit serves.
• Programs and services : Describe the programs and services your nonprofit offers to address identified needs.
• Marketing and outreach : Develop strategies to raise awareness and attract supporters, volunteers, and beneficiaries.
• Financial plan : Create a budget and financial projections, outlining revenue sources and expenses.
• Governance and management : Establish the organizational structure and define roles and responsibilities.
• Risk management : Identify potential risks and develop strategies to mitigate them.
• Monitoring and evaluation : Set up systems to track progress and evaluate program effectiveness.
• Communication and engagement : Share your business plan with stakeholders and engage them in your nonprofit's work.
• Executive summary : Provide a concise overview of the nonprofit and its key objectives.

Nonprofit business plan template

1. executive summary.

• Mission Statement: [Briefly describe your nonprofit's mission and vision.]
• Objectives: [List the key objectives your nonprofit aims to achieve.]
• Strategies: [Summarize the strategies and tactics your nonprofit will use to achieve its objectives.]
• Financial Overview: [Provide an overview of your nonprofit's financial projections and funding needs.]

2. Organization Description

• Mission Statement: [State your nonprofit's mission.]
• Vision Statement: [Outline your nonprofit's vision for the future.]
• History: [Briefly describe the history and background of your nonprofit.]
• Legal Structure: [Specify the legal structure of your nonprofit (e.g., 501(c)(3) status).]
• Governance: [Describe the governance structure of your nonprofit, including the board of directors and leadership team.]

3. Needs Assessment

• Community Needs: [Identify the needs of the community or target audience your nonprofit serves.]
• Data and Research: [Provide data and research supporting the identified needs.]
• Program Impact: [Explain how your nonprofit addresses the identified needs and the impact of its programs.]

4. Programs and Services

• Program Descriptions: [Describe the programs and services your nonprofit offers, including goals, objectives, and outcomes.]
• Logic Models: [Include logic models or theory of change diagrams for each program.]

5. Marketing and Outreach Plan

• Target Audience: [Define your nonprofit's target audience.]
• Messaging: [Outline the messaging and branding strategies for your nonprofit.]
• Marketing Channels: [List the marketing channels and tactics you will use to reach your target audience.]

6. Financial Plan

• Budget: [Provide a detailed budget for your nonprofit, including income and expenses.]
• Financial Projections: [Include financial projections for the next three to five years.]
• Revenue Streams: [Identify potential revenue streams, such as grants, donations, and fundraising events.]

7. Governance and Management

• Organizational Structure: [Describe the organizational structure of your nonprofit, including the board of directors, staff positions, and volunteer management.]
• Roles and Responsibilities: [Clarify the roles and responsibilities of board members, staff, and volunteers.]

8. Risk Management

• Risk Identification: [Identify potential risks and challenges that could impact your nonprofit's operations.]
• Risk Mitigation: [Develop strategies to mitigate the identified risks and ensure the sustainability of your nonprofit.]

9. Monitoring and Evaluation

• Key Performance Indicators: [Define key performance indicators (KPIs) and metrics to track progress toward your nonprofit's objectives.]
• Evaluation Framework: [Establish an evaluation framework for assessing program effectiveness and impact.]

10. Communication and Engagement

• Stakeholder Communication: [Develop a stakeholder communication plan to keep stakeholders informed and engaged.]
• Engagement Strategies: [Outline strategies for engaging board members, staff, volunteers, donors, and the community in your nonprofit's work.]

Add free fundraising to your nonprofit business plan

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From event tracking and management to marketing and engagement tools, custom donation forms, and even the ability to create an online shop or nonprofit membership association, Zeffy offers everything you need without charging a single fee.

Simple and powerful — and packed with free support whenever you need it — Zeffy ensures that your donor’s gifts are going right to the cause, and nowhere else.

Nonprofit Business Plan FAQS

Starting a nonprofit organization with no money requires strategic planning. To cut down on costs, consider: 

• Using volunteers: Leverage volunteers for administrative, fundraising, or program work, to reduce the need for paid staff.
• Seeking out in-kind donations and grants: Ask for donations of goods and services from businesses, individuals, or other organizations to support your nonprofit's activities (think office space or equipment). And, research grant opportunities to generate free financial support for your nonprofit's mission.
• Leveraging partnerships: Look for potential partners, such as other nonprofits or community organizations, who might want to collaborate on shared goals.
• Taking advantage of free tools and platforms: Be sure to use fundraising and donor engagement tools that are completely free to use, like Zeffy. That way, you’ll never have to worry about hidden fees and can get started making an impact right away — without paying a cent.

Start fundraising with Zeffy for free

Here are some ways nonprofit founders can pay themselves:

• Salary or wages: Nonprofit founders can receive a salary or hourly wages for their services, similar to employees of the organization.
• Reimbursement for expenses: Nonprofit founders can be reimbursed for reasonable and necessary expenses incurred in the course of their duties, such as travel expenses, office supplies, and professional development costs.
• Consulting or contractual arrangements: Nonprofit founders may enter into consulting or contractual agreements with the organization to provide specific services or expertise on a project basis. 

Donor management and fundraising software can support strategic planning in a few ways:

• Data centralization: Donor management software centralizes donor information for analysis and insights.
• Targeted engagement: Software enables personalized communication and engagement strategies.
• Campaign management: Facilitates planning, execution, and tracking of fundraising campaigns.
• Donor retention: Supports cultivation and stewardship efforts to retain donors.

More articles

How to start a school in 10 steps: a guide for nonprofits, the essential nonprofit capacity building guide for growth, keep reading :.

Everything you need to know about creating a nonprofit annual report. Learn what to include, best practices, and annual report examples.

Learn how to start a nonprofit with our comprehensive guide. Ready to make a difference ? Discover the 9 steps to transform your passion into action.

Maximize your nonprofit's impact with our 7-step guide to creating an effective strategic plan. Learn how to set SMART goals, engage stakeholders, and align your fundraising efforts.

Nonprofit Business Plan Template

Written by Dave Lavinsky

Business Plan Outline

• Nonprofit Business Plan Home
• 1. Executive Summary
• 2. Company Overview
• 3. Industry Analysis
• 4. Customer Analysis
• 5. Competitive Analysis
• 6. Marketing Plan
• 7. Operations Plan
• 8. Management Team
• 9. Financial Plan

Nonprofit Business Plan

You’ve come to the right place to write a nonprofit business plan.

We have helped over 10,000 entrepreneurs and business owners create nonprofit business plans and many have used them to start or grow their nonprofit organizations.

Sample Business Plan for a Nonprofit Organization

Below are links to the essential sections of our sample nonprofit business plan template to help you with the business planning process for your organization:

• Executive Summary – The Executive Summary of your nonprofit business plan explains your overall strategic plan to achieve success as a nonprofit business. It will include your nonprofit mission statement, goals, and objectives. This section will also include information on your target market, competition, and marketing strategy.
• Company Overview – Also called the Organization Overview, you will include the mission statement and history of your nonprofit including the organization’s goals and any significant milestones achieved to date.
• Industry Analysis – Sometimes referred to as the Market Analysis, this section will provide an overview of the nonprofit industry, trends, and the competitive landscape.
• Customer Analysis – The Customer Analysis section details the demographics and psychographics of your target audience and how you plan to reach them.
• Competitive Analysis – In your Competitive Analysis, you will identify and describe the competition, both direct and indirect, including other nonprofits with the same mission. You will also include your strategic plan for competing in the market.
• Marketing Plan – The Marketing Plan will detail your products, programs and services, your overall marketing strategies and tactics, and how you will measure success. It should include information on your target market, positioning, branding, communications, and lead generation.
• Operations Plan – Your operational plan will outline your day-to-day operations as well as the specific objectives needed to achieve your long-term business goals and how you will measure success.
• Management Team – In the Management Team section of your business plan, you should include the organizational structure of your nonprofit business as well as bios of your executive team and each board member.
• Financial Plan – The Financial Plan is one of the most important sections of your nonprofit business plan. You will establish your financial goals and include financial statements such as the income statement, balance sheet and cash flow statement to show how your nonprofit will be sustainable. This section should also include your fundraising plan including potential donors, fundraising goals, and other funding sources for your organization.

Next Section: Executive Summary >

Nonprofit Business Plan FAQs

What is a nonprofit business plan.

A nonprofit business plan is a roadmap to start a nonprofit organization or as the organization grows. Among other things, it outlines your charitable concept, identifies your target customers, presents your marketing plan and details your financial projections. Your non profit business plan should be a living document that is updated frequently as your nonprofit grows.

You can  easily complete your nonprofit business plan using our Nonprofit Business Plan Template here .

What Are the Main Types of Nonprofit Organizations?

There are many types of nonprofits, but each has a charitable mission to help an underserved segment of society. For example, there are nonprofits that serve the underserved youth, abused or abandoned animals, homeless, veterans and impoverished. There are also many nonprofits that support social awareness and global issues such as the environment, education and equality.

What Are the Main Sources of Revenue and Expenses for a Nonprofit Business?

The primary source of revenue for nonprofit organizations are monetary donations from sponsors, government grants and funding, and tax incentives through 501c3 designations.

The key expenses for a nonprofit business are staffing, supplies, rent, utilities, program costs and working capital to ensure the sustainability of the non profit. Proper business planning will help your nonprofit thrive financially.

This differs from a for profit business plan because you do not have to show profitability.  Nonprofits focus away from profit and instead center on accountability.

How Do You Secure Funding For Your Nonprofit Organization?

Most nonprofit organizations are likely to receive funding from banks, grants, and donors. As the majority of the funding will come from government grants and funds, grant proposals will need to be compiled and proposed to the necessary funding organization.

A solid business plan is key to showing investors you are well-prepared to start your own business.  A nonprofit business plan template is key to proper business planning and getting started quickly.

Where Can I Download a Nonprofit Business Plan PDF?

You can download our free nonprofit business plan template PDF . This nonprofit business plan outlines the key elements that should be used when drafting a business plan for a nonprofit organization.

Create A Strong Business Plan for Your Nonprofit

Download this outline to keep your business plan on track – and make sure you don’t miss any key info..

Like any for-profit business, a business plan helps nonprofits demonstrate their goals, values, and key programs. Whether you need a business plan for internal reasons or you want to share with external sources, a solid plan ensures you have all the information you need – and acts as a foundation you can grow on! Download this Nonprofit Business Plan Outline to learn what you should include in your plan, including what key details you must outline. Plus, get some tips on how to explain crucial parts of your mission.

Tips to Build the Perfect Business Plan

Setting up your nonprofit can feel like a Sisyphean task – one thing after another, with always more to do. The good news is that many of the materials you create in the early days of building your organization can be reused and will serve as a solid base for years to come. 

To build a nonprofit business plan, you’ll need a few things: 

• A solid mission and vision statement. These statements are crucial to helping the public (meaning donors, too!) understand why you do what you do. We have a handy worksheet to help you write these core statements! 
• An up-to-date listing of people in your org. You’ll need your board members, your key staff, and any volunteers who have a daily role in managing your organization. Creating a nonprofit organizational chart is also handy at this stage. It will both help everyone understand their roles internally, while showing how your organization runs to external viewers. 
• Download this Nonprofit Business Plan Outline . This helpful resource is great to have on hand to ensure you leave nothing out. If you’re not sure how to structure your business plan or what all needs to be included, be sure to download this outline for guidance. 
• Get a handle on your programming . You’ll need to be able to succinctly and effectively describe your programming, so you should know what it will look like and how it will help. The more details you know, the stronger your plan will feel to outside readers. 
• Gather any strategic plans. You’ll need to include this plan (or an idea of what the plan’s goals might be) in your business plan. Use our strategic plan template if you need any help! 

Most importantly, remember to take your time crafting such an important document. This will be a great guidepost as your organization continues to change and grow, so be sure to create something you’ll want to revisit often

About Donorbox

Donorbox aims to provide nonprofits with simple, effective tools to manage their fundraising activities, form better relationships with their donors, and build sustainable growth for their organization.

As one of the industry’s top fundraising platforms, Donorbox offers a variety of products, including donate buttons, embedded fundraising forms, custom fundraising pages, Text-to-Give, Peer-to-Peer, crowdfunding campaigns & more.

Donorbox is free to sign up, with no contracts and no montly fees. Along with the lowest processing fees in the industry, we have all the tools you'll ever need to get your mission from start to sustainability to success!

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Raise More & Grow Your Nonprofit.

The complete guide to writing a nonprofit business plan.

August 14, 2019

Leadership & Management

July 7, 2022

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Statistics from the National Center for Charitable Statistics (NCCS) show that there are over 1.5 million nonprofit organizations currently operating in the U.S. alone. Many of these organizations are hard at work helping people in need and addressing the great issues of our time. However, doing good work doesn’t necessarily translate into long-term success and financial stability. Other information has shown that around 12% of non-profits don’t make it past the 5-year mark, and this number expands to 17% at the 10-year mark.

12% of non-profits don’t make it past the 5-year mark and 17% at the 10-year mark

There are a variety of challenges behind these sobering statistics. In many cases, a nonprofit can be sunk before it starts due to a lack of a strong nonprofit business plan. Below is a complete guide to understanding why a nonprofit needs a business plan in place, and how to construct one, piece by piece.

The purpose of a nonprofit business plan

A business plan for a nonprofit is similar to that of a for-profit business plan, in that you want it to serve as a clear, complete roadmap for your organization. When your plan is complete, questions such as "what goals are we trying to accomplish?" or "what is the true purpose of our organization?" should be clear and simple to answer.

Your nonprofit business plan should provide answers to the following questions:

1. What activities do you plan to pursue in order to meet the organization’s high level goals?

2. What's your plan on getting revenue to fund these activities?

3. What are your operating costs and specifically how do these break down?

Note that there’s a difference between a business plan and a strategic plan, though there may be some overlap. A strategic plan is more conceptual, with different ideas you have in place to try and meet the organization’s greater vision (such as fighting homelessness or raising climate change awareness). A business plan serves as an action plan because it provides, in as much detail as possible, the specifics on how you’re going to execute your strategy.

More Reading

• What is the Difference Between a Business Plan and a Strategic Plan?
• Business Planning for Nonprofits

Creating a nonprofit business plan

With this in mind, it’s important to discuss the individual sections of a nonprofit business plan. Having a proper plan in a recognizable format is essential for a variety of reasons. On your business’s end, it makes sure that as many issues or questions you may encounter are addressed up front. For outside entities, such as potential volunteers or donors, it shows that their time and energy will be managed well and put to good use. So, how do you go from conceptual to concrete?

Step 1: Write a mission statement

‍ Having a mission statement is essential for any company, but even more so for nonprofits. Your markers of success are not just how the organization performs financially, but the impact it makes for your cause.

One of the easiest ways to do this is by creating a mission statement. A strong mission statement clarifies why your organization exists and determines the direction of activities.

At the head of their ethics page , NPR has a mission statement that clearly and concisely explains why they exist. From this you learn:

• The key point of their mission: creating a more informed public that understands new ideas and cultures
• Their mechanism of executing that vision: providing and reporting news/info that meets top journalistic standards
• Other essential details: their partnership with their membership statement

You should aim for the same level of clarity and brevity in your own mission statement.

The goal of a mission statement isn’t just about being able to showcase things externally, but also giving your internal team something to realign them if they get off track.

For example, if you're considering a new program or services, you can always check the idea against the mission statement. Does it align with your higher level goal and what your organization is ultimately trying to achieve? A mission statement is a compass to guide your team and keep the organization aligned and focused.

Step 2: Collect the data

‍ You can’t prepare for the future without some data from the past and present. This can range from financial data if you’re already in operation to secured funding if you’re getting ready to start.

Data related to operations and finances (such as revenue, expenses, taxes, etc.) is crucial for budgeting and organizational decisions.

You'll also want to collect data about your target donor. Who are they in terms of their income, demographics, location, etc. and what is the best way to reach them? Every business needs to market, and answering these demographic questions are crucial to targeting the right audience in a marketing campaign. You'll also need data about marketing costs collected from your fundraising, marketing, and CRM software and tools. This data can be extremely important for demonstrating the effectiveness of a given fundraising campaign or the organization as a whole.  

Then there is data that nonprofits collect from third-party sources as to how to effectively address their cause, such as shared data from other nonprofits and data from governments.

By properly collecting and interpreting the above data, you can build your nonprofit to not only make an impact, but also ensure the organization is financially sustainable.

Step 3: Create an outline

Before you begin writing your plan, it’s important to have an outline of the  sections of your plan. Just like an academic essay, it’s easier to make sure all the points are addressed by taking inventory of high level topics first. If you create an outline and find you don’t have all the materials you need to fill it, you may need to go back to the data collection stage.

Writing an outline gives you something simple to read that can easily be circulated to your team for input. Maybe some of your partners will want to emphasize an area that you missed or an area that needs more substance.

Having an outline makes it easier for you to create an organized, well-flowing piece. Each section needs to be clear on its own, but you also don’t want to be overly repetitive. 

As a side-note, one area where a lot of business novices  stall in terms of getting their plans off the ground is not knowing what format to choose or start with. The good news is there are a lot of resources available online for you to draw templates for from your plan, or just inspire one of your own.

Using a business plan template

You may want to use a template as a starting point for your business plan. The major benefit here is that a lot of the outlining work that we mentioned is already done for you. However, you may not want to follow the template word for word. A nonprofit business plan may require additional sections or parts that aren’t included in a conventional business plan template.

The best way to go about this is to try and focus less on copying the template, and more about copying the spirit of the template. For example, if you see a template that you like, you can keep the outline, but you may want to change the color scheme and font to better reflect your brand. And of course, all your text should be unique.

When it comes to adding a new section to a business plan template, for the most part, you can use your judgment. We will get into specific sections in a bit, but generally, you just want to pair your new section with the existing section that makes the most sense. For example, if your non-profit has retail sales as a part of a financial plan, you can include that along with the products, services and programs section.

• Free Nonprofit Sample Business Plans - Bplans
• Non-Profit Business Plan Template - Growthink
• Sample Nonprofit Business Plans - Bridgespan
• Nonprofit Business Plan Template - Slidebean
• 23+ Non Profit Business Plan Templates - Template.net

Nonprofit business plan sections

The exact content is going to vary based on the size, purpose, and nature of your nonprofit. However, there are certain sections that every business plan will need to have for investors, donors, and lenders to take you seriously. Generally, your outline will be built around the following main sections:

1. Executive summary

Many people write this last, even though it comes first in a business plan. This is because the executive summary is designed to be a general summary of the business plan as a whole. Naturally, it may be easier to write this after the rest of the business plan has been completed.

After reading your executive summary a person should ideally have a general idea of what the entire plan covers. Sometimes, a person may be interested in learning about your non-profit, but doesn’t have time to read a 20+ page document. In this case, the executive summary could be the difference between whether or not you land a major donor. 

As a start, you want to cover the basic need your nonprofit services, why that need exists, and the way you plan to address that need. The goal here is to tell the story as clearly and and concisely as possible. If the person is sold and wants more details, they can read through the rest of your business plan. 

2. Products/Services/Programs

This is the space where you can clarify exactly what your non-profit does. Think of it as explaining the way your nonprofit addresses that base need you laid out earlier. This can vary a lot based on what type of non-profit you’re running. 

This page gives us some insight into the mechanisms Bucks County Historical Society uses to further their mission, which is “to educate and engage its many audiences in appreciating the past and to help people find stories and meanings relevant to their lives—both today and in the future.”

They accomplish this goal through putting together both permanent exhibits as well as regular events at their primary museum. However, in a non-profit business plan, you need to go further. 

It’s important here not only to clearly explain who benefits from your services, but also the specific details how those services are provided. For example, saying you “help inner-city school children” isn’t specific enough. Are you providing education or material support? Your non-profit business plan readers need as much detail as possible using simple and clear language. 

3. Marketing

For a non-profit to succeed, it needs to have a steady stream of both donors and volunteers. Marketing plays a key role here as it does in a conventional business. This section should outline who your target audience is, and what you’ve already done/plan on doing to reach this audience. How you explain this is going to vary based on what stage your non-profit is in. We’ll split this section to make it more clear.

Nonprofits not in operation

‍ Obviously, it’s difficult to market an idea effectively if you’re not in operation, but you still need to have a marketing plan in place. People who want to support your non-profit need to understand your marketing plan to attract donors. You need to profile all the data you have about your target market and outline how you plan to reach this audience.

Nonprofits already in operation

‍ Marketing plans differ greatly for nonprofits already in operation. If your nonprofit is off the ground, you want to include data about your target market as well, along with other key details.  Describe all your current marketing efforts, from events to general outreach, to conventional types of marketing like advertisements and email plans. Specific details are important. By the end of this, the reader should know:

• What type of marketing methods your organization prefers
• Why you’ve chosen these methods
• The track record of success using these methods
• What the costs and ROI of a marketing campaign

4. Operations

This is designed to serve as the “how” of your Products/Services/Programs section.

For example, if your goal is to provide school supplies for inner-city schoolchildren, you’ll need to explain how you will procure the supplies and distribute them to kids in need. Again, detail is essential. A reader should be able to understand not only how your non-profit operates on a daily basis, but also how it executes any task in the rest of the plan.

If your marketing plan says that you hold community events monthly to drum up interest. Who is in charge of the event? How are they run? How much do they cost?  What personnel or volunteers are needed for each event?  Where are the venues?

This is also a good place to cover additional certifications or insurance that your non-profit needs in order to execute these operations, and your current progress towards obtaining them. 

Your operations section should also have a space dedicated to your team. The reason for this is, just like any other business plan, is that the strength of an organization lies in the people running it.

For example, let’s look at this profile from The Nature Conservancy . The main points of the biography are to showcase Chief Development Officer Jim Asp’s work history as it is relevant to his job. You’ll want to do something similar in your business plan’s team section.

Equally important is making sure that you cover any staff changes that you plan to implement in the near future in your business plan. The reason for this is that investors/partners may not want to sign on assuming that one leadership team is in place, only for it to change when the business reaches a certain stage. 

The sections we’ve been talking about would also be in a traditional for profit business plan. We start to deviate a bit at this point. The impact section is designed to outline the social change you plan to make with your organization, and how your choices factor into those goals.

Remember the thoughts that go into that mission statement we mentioned before? This is your chance to show how you plan to address that mission with your actions, and how you plan to track your progress.

Let’s revisit the idea of helping inner-city school children by providing school supplies. What exactly is the metric you’re going to use to determine your success? For-profit businesses can have their finances as their primary KPI, but it’s not that easy for non-profits. Let’s say that your mission is to provide 1,000 schoolchildren in an underserved school district supplies for their classes. Your impact plan could cover two metrics:

• How many supplies are distributed
• Secondary impact (improved grades, classwork completed, etc).

The primary goal of this section is to transform that vision into concrete, measurable goals and objectives. A great acronym to help you create these are S.M.A.R.T. goals which stands for: specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, and timely. ‍

Vitamin Angels does a good job of showing how their action supports the mission. Their goal of providing vitamins to mothers and children in developing countries has a concrete impact when we look at the numbers of how many children they service as well as how many countries they deliver to. As a non-profit business plan, it’s a good idea to include statistics like these to show exactly how close you are to your planned goals. 

6. Finances

Every non-profit needs funding to operate, and this all-important section details exactly how you plan to cover these financial needs. Your business plan can be strong in every other section, but if your financial planning is flimsy, it’s going to prove difficult to gather believers to your cause.

It's important to paint a complete, positive picture of your fundraising plans and ambitions. Generally, this entails the following parts:

• Current financial status, such as current assets, cash on hand, liabilities
• Projections based off of your existing financial data and forms
• Key financial documents, such as a balance sheet, income statements, and cash flow sheet
• Any grants or major contributions received
• Your plan for fundraising (this may overlap with your marketing section which is okay)
• Potential issues and hurdles to your funding plan
• Your plans to address those issues
• How you'll utilize surplus donations
• Startup costs (if your non-profit is not established yet)

In general, if you see something else that isn’t accounted for here, it’s better to be safe than sorry, and put the relevant information in. It’s better to have too much information than too little when it comes to finances, especially since there is usually a clear preference for transparent business culture.

• ‍ How to Make a Five-Year Budget Plan for a Nonprofit ‍
• Financial Transparency - National Council of Nonprofits

7. Appendix

Generally, this serves as a space to attach additional documents and elements that you may find useful for your business plan. This can include things like supplementary charts or a list of your board of directors. 

This is also a good place to put text or technical information that you think may be relevant to your business plan, but might be long-winded or difficult to read. A lot of the flow and structure concerns you have for a plan don’t really apply with an appendix.

In summary, while a non-profit may have very different goals than your average business, the ways that they reach those goals do have a lot of similarities with for-profit businesses. The best way to ensure your success is to have a clear, concrete vision and path to different milestones along the way. A solid, in-depth business plan also gives you something to refer back to when you are struggling and not sure where to turn.

Alongside your business plan, you also want to use tools and resources that promote efficiency at all levels. For example, every non-profit needs a consistent stream of donations to survive, so consider using a program like GiveForms that creates simple, accessible forms for your donors to easily make donations. Accounting and budgeting for these in your plans can pay dividends later on.

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How to Write a Nonprofit Business Plan in 12 Steps (+ Free Template!)

The first step in starting a nonprofit is figuring out how to bring your vision into reality. If there’s any tool that can really help you hit the ground running, it’s a nonprofit business plan!

With a plan in place, you not only have a clear direction for growth, but you can also access valuable funding opportunities. 

Here, we’ll explore:

• Why a business plan is so important
• The components of a business plan
• How to write a business plan for a nonprofit specifically

We also have a few great examples, as well as a free nonprofit business plan template.

Let’s get planning!

What Is a Nonprofit Business Plan?

A nonprofit business plan is the roadmap to your organization’s future. It lays out where your nonprofit currently stands in terms of organizational structure, finances and programs. Most importantly, it highlights your goals and how you aim to achieve them!

These goals should be reachable within the next 3-5 years—and flexible! Your nonprofit business plan is a living document, and should be regularly updated as priorities shift. The point of your plan is to remind you and your supporters what your organization is all about.

This document can be as short as one page if you’re just starting out, or much longer as your organization grows. As long as you have all the core elements of a business plan (which we’ll get into below!), you’re golden.

Why Your Nonprofit Needs a Business Plan

While some people might argue that a nonprofit business plan isn’t strictly necessary, it’s well worth your time to make!

Here are 5 benefits of writing a business plan:

Secure funding and grants

Did you know that businesses with a plan are far more likely to get funding than those that don’t have a plan? It’s true!

When donors, investors, foundations, granting bodies and volunteers see you have a clear plan, they’re more likely to trust you with their time and money. Plus, as you achieve the goals laid out in your plan, that trust will only grow.

Solidify your mission

In order to sell your mission, you have to know what it is. That might sound simple, but when you have big dreams and ideas, it’s easy to get lost in all of the possibilities!

Writing your business plan pushes you to express your mission in the most straightforward way possible. As the years go on and new opportunities and ideas arise, your business plan will guide you back to your original mission.

From there, you can figure out if you’ve lost the plot—or if it’s time to change the mission itself!

Set goals and milestones 

The first step in achieving your goals is knowing exactly what they are. By highlighting your goals for the next 3-5 years—and naming their key milestones!—you can consistently check if you’re on track.

Nonprofit work is tough, and there will be points along the way where you wonder if you’re actually making a difference. With a nonprofit business plan in place, you can actually see how much you’ve achieved over the years.

Attract a board and volunteers

Getting volunteers and filling nonprofit board positions is essential to building out your organization’s team. Like we said before, a business plan builds trust and shows that your organization is legitimate. In fact, some boards of directors actually require a business plan in order for an organization to run!

An unfortunate truth is that many volunteers get taken advantage of . With a business plan in place, you can show that you’re coming from a place of professionalism.

Research and find opportunities

Writing a business plan requires some research!

Along the way, you’ll likely dig into information like:

• Who your ideal donor might be
• Where to find potential partners
• What your competitors are up to
• Which mentorships or grants are available for your organization
• What is the best business model for a nonprofit like yours

With this information in place, not only will you have a better nonprofit business model created—you’ll also have a more stable organization!

Free Nonprofit Business Plan Template

If you’re feeling uncertain about building a business plan from scratch, we’ve got you covered!

Here is a quick and simple free nonprofit business plan template.

Basic Format and Parts of a Business Plan

Now that you know what a business plan can do for your organization, let’s talk about what it actually contains!

Here are some key elements of a business plan:

First of all, you want to make sure your business plan follows best practices for formatting. After all, it’ll be available to your team, donors, board of directors, funding bodies and more!

Your nonprofit business plan should:

• Be consistent formatted
• Have standard margins
• Use a good sized font
• Keep the document to-the-point
• Include a page break after each section
• Be proofread

Curious about what each section of the document should look like?

Here are the essential parts of a business plan:

• Executive Summary: This is your nonprofit’s story—it’ll include your goals, as well as your mission, vision and values.
• Products, programs and services: This is where you show exactly what it is you’re doing. Highlight the programs and services you offer, and how they will benefit your community.
• Operations: This section describes your team, partnerships and all activities and requirements your day-to-day operations will include.
• Marketing : Your marketing plan will cover your market, market analyses and specific plans for how you will carry out your business plan with the public.
• Finances: This section covers an overview of your financial operations. It will include documents like your financial projections, fundraising plan , grants and more
• Appendix: Any additional useful information will be attached here.

We’ll get into these sections in more detail below!

How to Write a Nonprofit Business Plan in 12 Steps

Feeling ready to put your plan into action? Here’s how to write a business plan for a nonprofit in 12 simple steps!

1. Research the market

Take a look at what’s going on in your corner of the nonprofit sector. After all, you’re not the first organization to write a business plan!

• How your competitors’ business plans are structured
• What your beneficiaries are asking for
• Potential partners you’d like to reach
• Your target donors
• What information granting bodies and loan providers require

All of this information will show you what parts of your business plan should be given extra care. Sending out donor surveys, contacting financial institutions and connecting with your beneficiaries are a few tips to get your research going.

If you’re just getting started out, this can help guide you in naming your nonprofit something relevant, eye-catching and unique!

2. Write to your audience

Your business plan will be available for a whole bunch of people, including:

• Granting bodies
• Loan providers
• Prospective and current board members

Each of these audiences will be coming from different backgrounds, and looking at your business plan for different reasons. If you keep your nonprofit business plan accessible (minimal acronyms and industry jargon), you’ll be more likely to reach everyone.

If you’d like, it’s always possible to create a one page business plan AND a more detailed one. Then, you can provide the one that feels most useful to each audience!

3. Write your mission statement

Your mission statement defines how your organization aims to make a difference in the world. In one sentence, lay out why your nonprofit exists.

Here are a few examples of nonprofit mission statements:

• Watts of Love is a global solar lighting nonprofit bringing people the power to raise themselves out of the darkness of poverty.
• CoachArt creates a transformative arts and athletics community for families impacted by childhood chronic illness.
• The Trevor Project fights to end suicide among lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, and questioning young people.

In a single sentence, each of these nonprofits defines exactly what it is their organization is doing, and who their work reaches. Offering this information at a glance is how you immediately hook your readers!

4. Describe your nonprofit 

Now that your mission is laid out, show a little bit more about who you are and how you aim to carry out your mission. Expanding your mission statement to include your vision and values is a great way to kick this off!

Use this section to highlight:

• Your ideal vision for your community 
• The guiding philosophy and values of your organization
• The purpose you were established to achieve

Don’t worry too much about the specifics here—we’ll get into those below! This description is simply meant to demonstrate the heart of your organization.

5. Outline management and organization

When you put together your business plan, you’ll want to describe the structure of your organization in the Operations section.

This will include information like:

• Team members (staff, board of directors , etc.)
• The specific type of nonprofit you’re running

If you’re already established, make a section for how you got started! This includes your origin story, your growth and the impressive nonprofit talent you’ve brought on over the years.

6. Describe programs, products and services

This information will have its own section in your nonprofit business plan—and for good reason!

It gives readers vital information about how you operate, including:

• The specifics of the work you do
• How that work helps your beneficiaries
• The resources that support the work (partnerships, facilities, volunteers, etc!)
• If you have a membership base or a subscription business model

Above all, highlight what needs your nonprofit meets and how it plans to continue meeting those needs. Really get into the details here! Emphasize the work of each and every program, and if you’re already established, note the real impact you’ve made. 

Try including pictures and graphic design elements so people can feel your impact even if they’re simply skimming.

7. Create an Executive Summary

Your Executive Summary will sit right at the top of your business plan—in many ways, it’s the shining star of the document! This section serves as a concise and compelling telling of your nonprofit’s story. If it can capture your readers’ attention, they’re more likely to read through the rest of the plan.

Your Executive Summary should include:

• Your mission, vision and values
• Your goals (and their timelines!)
• Your organization’s history
• Your primary programs, products and services
• Your financing plan
• How you intend on using your funding

This section will summarize the basics of everything else in your plan. While it comes first part of your plan, we suggest writing it last! That way, you’ll already have the information on hand.

You can also edit your Executive Summary depending on your audience. For example, if you’re sending your nonprofit business plan to a loan provider, you can really focus on where the money will be going. If you’re trying to recruit a new board member, you might want to highlight goals and impact, instead.

8. Write a marketing plan

Having a nonprofit marketing plan is essential to making sure your mission reaches people—and that’s especially true for your business plan.

If your nonprofit is already up and running, detail the work you’re currently doing, as well as the specific results you’ve seen so far. If you’re new, you’ll mostly be working with projections—so make sure your data is sound!

No matter what, your Marketing Plan section should market research such as:

• Beneficiary information
• Information on your target audience/donor base
• Information on your competitors
• Names of potential partners

Data is your friend here! Make note of market analyses and tests you’ve run. Be sure to also document any outreach and campaigns you’ve previously done, as well as your outcomes.

Finally, be sure to list all past and future marketing strategies you’re planning for. This can include promotion, advertising, online marketing plans and more.

9. Create a logistics and operations plan

The Operations section of your business plan will take the organizational information you’ve gathered so far and expand the details! Highlight what the day-to-day will look like for your nonprofit, and how your funds and resources will make it possible.

Be sure to make note of:

• The titles and responsibilities of your core team
• The partners and suppliers you work with
• Insurance you will need
• Necessary licenses or certifications you’ll maintain
• The cost of services and programs

This is the what and how of your business plan. Lean into those details, and show exactly how you’ll accomplish those goals you’ve been talking about!

10. Write an Impact Plan

Your Impact Plan is a deep dive into your organization’s goals. It grounds your dreams in reality, which brings both idealists and more practically-minded folks into your corner!

Where your Executive Summary lays out your ambitions on a broader level, this plan:

• Clarifies your goals in detail
• Highlights specific objectives and their timelines
• Breaks down how you will achieve them
• Shows how you will measure your success

Your Impact Plan will have quite a few goals in it, so be sure to emphasize which ones are the most impactful on your cause. After all, social impact is just as important as financial impact!

Speaking of…

11. Outline the Financial Plan

One of the main reasons people want to know how to write a nonprofit business plan is because of how essential it is to receiving funding. Loan providers, donors and granting bodies will want to see your numbers—and that’s where your Financial Plan comes in.

This plan should clearly lay out where your money is coming from and where it will go. If you’re just getting started, check out what similar nonprofits are doing in order to get realistic numbers. Even if you’re starting a nonprofit on a tight budget , every bit of financial information counts!

First, map out your projected (or actual) nonprofit revenue streams , such as:

• Expected membership contributions
• Significant donations
• In-kind support
• Fundraising plan

Then, do the same with your expenses:

• Startup costs
• Typical bills
• Web hosting
• Membership management software
• Subscription
• Costs of programs

If your nonprofit is already up and running, include your past accounting information. Otherwise, keep working with those grounded projections!

To make sure you have all of your information set, include documents like:

• Income statement
• Cash flow statement
• Balance sheet

This information comes together to show that your nonprofit can stay above water financially. Highlighting that you can comfortably cover your operational costs is essential. Plus, building this plan might help your team find funding gaps or opportunities!

12. Include an Appendix

Your appendix is for any extra pieces of useful information for your readers.

This could be documents such as:

• Academic papers about your beneficiaries
• Publications on your nonprofit’s previous success
• Board member bios
• Organizational flow chart
• Your IRS status letter

Make sure your additions contribute to your nonprofit’s story!

Examples of Business Plans for Nonprofits

Here are two great examples of nonprofit business plans. Notice how they’re different depending on the size of the organization!

Nonprofit Recording Co-op Business Plan

This sample nonprofit business plan shows what a basic plan could look like for a hobbyists’ co-op. If your nonprofit is on the smaller, more local side, this is a great reference!

What we like:

• Details on running a basic membership model
• Emphasis on what it means to specifically be a sustainable cooperative
• A list of early milestones, such as hitting their 100th member
• Clarification that all recordings will be legal

Nonprofit Youth Services Business Plan

This sample nonprofit business plan is for a much larger organization. Instead of focusing on the details of a membership model, it gets deeper into programs and services provided.

What we like

• The mission is broken down by values
• A detailed look at what each program provides
• A thorough sales plan
• Key assumptions are included for the financial plan

How to Create a Nonprofit Business Plan With Confidence

We hope this sheds some light on how creating a nonprofit business plan can help your organization moving forward! Remember: you know what you want for your organization. A business plan is simply a tool for making those dreams a reality.

Is a membership program part of your business plan? Check out WildApricot ’s award-winning membership management software!

With our 60-day free trial , you’ll have all the time you need to fall in love with what we have to offer.

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The Membership Growth Report:

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Write Your Nonprofit Business Plan in 9 Sections

Unfortunately, many founders or leaders skip creating one — which generally leads to fundraising frustrations and stalled services, among other problems.

Maybe they don’t know what a nonprofit business plan can do to help them.

Or perhaps it seems too daunting, and they don’t know where to start.

There’s also a common misconception out there that because your organization is labeled a “nonprofit” it doesn’t need to operate like a business. (That couldn’t be farther from the truth.)

Passion and enthusiasm can only get you so far. Without a guide or roadmap to get you where you want to go, you can spend a lot of time floundering.

After all, you can’t jump into your car and drive somewhere you’ve never been if you don’t have directions, can you?

So why do folks who are looking to start or grow a nonprofit not draft a business plan?

Why You Need a Nonprofit Business Plan

No matter where your nonprofit is in its growth or what you’re trying to accomplish, a plan will help you reach your goals faster than if you are trying to operate without one.

Your nonprofit business plan helps you figure out the direction for your nonprofit, the resources you need, and the shortest path to success.

For new nonprofits, it helps you see if you can actually gather the support that you hope you can. In short, you can determine before you begin if your idea for a nonprofit is feasible.

If your nonprofit is already up and running, a nonprofit business plan helps you decide if the funding and opportunities for growth exist for your new or young nonprofit.

Your organization doesn’t exist to make money. But a nonprofit business plan is necessary to attract major donors, foundations, Board members, and other potential partners.

You might need to apply for a business loan at some point, especially if you want to buy a building or set up a thrift store. Lenders will want to see your nonprofit business plan to get an idea of how well you’ve thought things through and to see what your revenue projections look like.

Regardless, your nonprofit needs a roadmap for the future so you can accomplish your goals and fulfill your mission.

So, let’s break it down and take a look at the pieces you’ll need to think through and include in your nonprofit’s business plan.

Getting Started With Your Nonprofit Business Plan

The most common question we get about business plans is “where do we start?”

I get it. It can be a little overwhelming, especially if you’re not naturally a planner.

Essentially, you start with the basics — your mission, vision, and goals.

Your nonprofit’s business plan will then expand on those, going into detail about what you’ll do and what it will cost.

A good plan answers a number of who, what, when, where questions like these:

• What problem is your nonprofit trying to solve?
• What are the exact goals you are trying to achieve?
• How will you measure success?
• How much will it cost?
• What resources do you have and what resources will you need?
• Who can help you achieve your goals?

Your Nonprofit Business Plan not only answers these questions in a format that’s easy to read and understand, but explains your organization and its processes clearly and factually.

What Should You Include in a Nonprofit Business Plan?

Your Nonprofit’s Business Plan should include only relevant information, including these 9 elements:

1. Executive Summary. The Executive Summary is the first thing that any potential partner or supporter will read, and it introduces the mission and purpose of your nonprofit.

It summarizes the identifiable needs you are committed to filling and explains how your nonprofit will meet those needs.

Unlike for-profit businesses, you are not just selling your potential partners on the numbers and inviting them to make a profit.

You are writing a compelling story about how you are helping change the world for the better.

Because this section of your nonprofit business plan is a summary of the facts contained throughout the whole document, it is often written last.

You can customize this section of your business plan depending on your purpose in sending it out. For example, the Executive Summary might have a very different focus if you are trying to recruit an expert in your service sector to the Board versus applying for a small business loan to open a gift shop.

For instance, if your nonprofit is a 501(c)(3), you will list that in this section. (There are other types of nonprofit organizations such as fraternal beneficiary organizations, or horticulture, labor, and agricultural organizations that are structured as nonprofits as well…so be clear here.). Or maybe your nonprofit is actually an NGO based in another country.

In this section, talk about whether you have employees or are all-volunteer. Do you have (or will have) a facility? Paint a picture of your organizational structure so the reader can understand quickly what your nonprofit looks like from an operational point of view.

If yours is an established organization, you can discuss how your nonprofit was started and the milestones you have reached. Listing previous successes and accomplishments in this section can be convincing for potential partners and reassure them that you will use their funding efficiently.

If your nonprofit is just getting started, explain your vision and why you are creating your organization. Focus on the problems you see and the practical ways you intend to alleviate those problems.

3. Products, Programs, and Services. This section provides detailed descriptions and documentation of how you meet needs in your community.

This is where you describe the need and who benefits from your programs. Talk about how lives are changed because of the work your nonprofit does.

Go into some detail to describe the number of people or animals who need you, the number you serve or intend to serve, and the remaining gap who need service.

For example, if you run a homeless shelter, you should mention the number of people who are homeless on any given night in your area. Talk about the number of beds you have, the number of beds you are planning to add in the coming year, and exactly what services you provide in addition to shelter.

If your shelter offers wrap-around services or plays a key role in connecting those you serve to other vital services, talk about those, too. Do your beneficiaries have access to medical care once a month? Does your organization provide a meal? Do you have volunteer tutors who can help students who are homeless with their work? Note who carries out your programs and services and whether you use mostly volunteers or whether you have paid staff in place.

This section will convince potential partners that you are making a difference in a concrete way.

Also, talk about any other nonprofits who are addressing the same need and how your services are/will be different. Donors don’t like duplication of services, and getting grants will be tough if you can’t articulate how your approach is unique.

4. Marketing Plan. Your marketing plan should describe the specific target audiences you want to reach for both programs and fundraising, key messages you’ll use, and which methods or vehicles you’ll use to reach the right people.

Describe whether you mostly advertise and market to a local community or whether your organization is national or worldwide in scope.

This section should include specific marketing strategies and associated costs, such as:

• Print and online marketing
• Email campaigns
• Social media
• Building, maintaining, and marketing your website
• Marketing or cause-related partnerships
• Fundraising or outreach events

If your nonprofit is already established, let your reader know what your marketing plan has been in the past, what has worked, and how you plan to expand it.

What do you and your staff do every day to run programs and provide services? Be specific. How much does a single unit of service cost per person? Who delivers the service? Where and how?

If you have a five-year plan for expanding operations, include that as well. Outline your ideas to move into new areas, new facilities, or new markets.

Note any expanded services. If you are planning on growing or expanding your services what would that mean in terms of operations? For instance, if you run a food bank and you are actively planning to double the number of people you feed in the next year, how will that affect operations? Will you need more refrigerated space? More trucks? More staff or volunteers? Will you expand hours? Be ready to share in the Financial section how this growth will impact your budget, both in revenue and expenses.

If you haven’t spent time making long-term plans, this is a good time to sit down with Board members and staff and think about it in detail! Decide if you’ll start the program or secure funding first (there’s a big difference!).

This section will show potential partners that you are professional, serious, and ready to act with whatever funding they can provide.

6. Evaluation Plan. This can be a separate section, or evaluation methods can be added to various other sections.

Evaluation is critical to determine your effectiveness as a nonprofit — and it’s particularly important for grants. How can you tell if a program is providing the benefit that you are promising? Potential donors and grantors will want to know how you will make sure that funds are used to their highest potential and that you are flexible enough to change if need be.

You should also talk about methods in place to evaluate various aspects of your nonprofit to make sure you’re getting a good return on investment for the time, energy, and resources you put into each area of operations.

For instance, you should monitor your marketing strategies to see what’s working to reach new people. Make sure someone is noting which social media posts are catching on. You should have a data collection system that helps evaluate which fundraising techniques bring in new donors and which techniques help you retain donors or take them to the next level.

You need to explain exactly how you will determine whether or not your beneficiaries are succeeding. For instance, how many of the students you tutor graduate high school? What is your mechanism for follow-up?

You can’t just tell people your idea is working. You need to have the data to prove it.

7. Management and Organizational Charts. In this section, explain the hierarchy of your organization and your expertise for doing the work ahead of you.

Who does what and what expertise do they have for doing it? Potential partners will feel more comfortable to know that the Director of Services for your women’s shelter has a PhD and 10 years of experience in social work.

They will also feel more comfortable knowing that you have all your bases covered in management and staff. This is a good place to outline your future staffing and management needs, including any reliance on volunteers.

Start by developing revenue projections, including anticipated sources of funding from donations, grants, etc. Your projections can’t just be guesses — they need to be based on something specific, whether it’s how much you raised last year, how much a similar organization raised last year, or on an expert’s recommendations. So, include a summary of your fundraising plan here to show how money will be raised.

In addition to revenue projections, also include a breakdown of anticipated expenses. How much of your funds go directly to those you serve? How much goes to your employees’ salaries? How much funding goes to facilities payments or upkeep? You should be very detailed in this section.

Don’t forget things like legal and accounting services, insurance, website upkeep, internet, phone bills, and utilities. If your nonprofit’s money goes into it, include it here.

Include future cash flow statements, income sheets, and balance sheets. You should let your potential partners know how you distribute these funds amongst your various programs and services. This is where your accounting practices can make or break you!

Writing out a detailed financial plan can be very revealing to you as well as to donors and foundations. It may help you identify gaps in your funding and how you plan to deal with them. It’s well worth the effort to gather this information. Not only will it make potential partners more comfortable, it will give you clarity as well!

9. Appendix. The appendix is where you should include extra information that might make the business plan too lengthy or complicated to read through.

You can include your current fiscal year budget , a list of your Board members and their bios, and other relevant documents. You can include any information that you feel is important but perhaps too detailed to include in the main body of your nonprofit business plan.

Tips for Your Nonprofit Business Plan

Use technical jargon or acronyms your reader might not be familiar with.

Make the document unreadably long. Instead, use the appendix for very long or dense documents.

Use only text. Break up the sections for easy reading, and use graphs and charts where you can.

Get so passionate about the cause you forget to tell your reader the nuts and bolts of your nonprofit.

Make the document easy to read. If it’s printed, print on reasonably heavy paper with at least a 12-pt. font.

Use reasonable margins. You want your reader to be able to easily read each page.

Divide the sections clearly with headers and white space.

Use color, graphs, and charts to draw the eye and keep the reader moving through the document.

Have someone, or even several someones, read and edit your nonprofit business plan. (Silly grammar errors and typos are not going to impress your reader with your professionalism.)

Update your audience and keep them excited.

The Bottom Line

Writing a nonprofit business plan is not the easiest thing in the world, but it’s definitely worth your while and gets your ideas down on paper. It may seem like a daunting task, but if you break it into sections and start gathering information, you will find that your business plan can help you find direction and the means to help fulfill your mission.

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About the author: sandy rees.

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I need help writing my non profit business plan

The resources listed in this article will help. Is there a specific place where you’re stuck?

Thank you so much for this! Is there a good sample you could point me to look at?

You might try googling “sample nonprofit business plan” and the type of nonprofit you have so you can find one that’s applicable to your work.

This information was informative, detailed and to the point without being too wordy. Thank you for your advice, it helped me a lot.

What is the average total page count for a business plan

It depends on how much detail you get into. Somewhere between 15 and 20 pages should give you plenty of direction.

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How to Write a Non-Profit Business Plan

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So you’ve got a big idea and an even bigger heart, and you’re eager to get your non-profit started ASAP. Not so fast! Without a plan, it’ll be tough to gain momentum for your mission. Before you start printing out flyers and soliciting donors, take the time to learn how to write a non-profit business plan that will set you up for success.

What is a business plan?

Before we get into the details of how to write a business plan, let’s define what it is. A business plan details the services or products your non-profit provides, the people on your team, the community you serve, your non-profit’s financials, the goals you plan to achieve, and how you’re going to achieve them.

But wait … is a non-profit a business?

“But my non-profit doesn’t sell anything!” you might object. While that may be true if you rely strictly on grants or donations, non-profits can and do sell goods and services. And a non-profit is still considered a type of business. Here’s how Investopedia defines a business :

“An organization or enterprising entity engaged in commercial, industrial, or professional activities. Businesses can be for-profit entities or non-profit organizations that operate to fulfill a charitable mission or further a social cause.”

Why does my non-profit need a business plan?

There are several reasons why a non-profit needs a business plan, including:

• It increases your chances of success. Research shows that businesses with a plan grow faster and are less likely to fail.
• It can help you reach your goals. One study found you are more likely to achieve your goals when you write them down.
• It helps you get a business loan. Getting a business loan as a non-profit is hard enough as it is. Boost your chances of getting approved by showing that you have a plan in place for paying that loan back.
• It helps you win grants. Many non-profits rely on grants to make an impact. Having a business plan will show that you’re a legitimate non-profit with a strategy to achieve your goals.
• It can attract board members. Before anyone comes on board, they want to make sure they’re getting into something stable and primed for growth. Hand a potential board member your business plan to reassure them that you’ve carefully thought through every aspect of your organization.

The parts of a non-profit business plan, with examples of each

Before you begin writing any sections of your business plan, ask yourself this: “Who is my audience?” If you’re writing a business plan to keep you on track to reach your goals, that’s one thing. But if you’re writing a business plan to persuade a banker to give you a business loan, that’s another. For the latter, for example, you might want to have a more detailed financial section that makes a strong case for your solvency. It’s good to have more than one version of your business plan, each catering to a specific audience.

Executive Summary

Think of it as the who, what, when, where, how, and why of your nonprofit. Start by answering the following questions: 

• Who is on your non-profit’s team? Who does your non-profit serve?
• What does your non-profit do? What does it provide or sell? What are its goals?
• When was it established?
• Where is it located?
• How do you plan to reach your goals? How do you plan to get funding/donations?
• Why does your non-profit exist? This is the perfect place for your mission statement.

Below is an excerpt from the executive summary of Culina’s business plan . It does a great job of answering all of the above questions concisely.

“Fast Facts: Founded: 2013 Headquarters: San Francisco, CA Founder: Kent McClure Market Size: $12.5 billion Target Audience: Homeowners; property managers; insurance providers.

Quick Description: Culina is a San Francisco-based IoT and home automation company. We design an advanced smart hub technology that enables users to interconnect and remotely monitor all of their cooking devices and kitchen appliances through a single user-friendly platform.

Our Mission: To make homes smarter, more connected, and safer for families while helping them save money and conserve energy through the power of affordable, automated technology.”

Products, Programs, and Services

In this section, describe the ways you’ll raise money and serve your community. Be as detailed as possible. Below is an example from Bplans’ nonprofit catering business template for a fictional business called Catering for Kids. Notice how it details every menu item, instead of keeping it general.

“Food Product Descriptions

Boxed lunches: a sandwich or salad with dressing packet, deli salad (i.e. pasta salad or cottage cheese, cinnamon and fresh fruit), fresh seasonal fruit, chips and a cookie. Sandwich or salad options will include:

• Roast beef and havarti dill sandwich;
• Avocado, smoked turkey, lettuce and tomato sandwich;
• Chicken caesar salad sandwich;
• Chicken salad with red grapes croissant sandwich;
• Garden hummus and provolone sandwich;
• Hawaiian sunrise with turkey ham;
• Pear, walnut and goat cheese salad.”

Customer and Market Analysis

As with any business, you need to prove that there is a market for your non-profit.

In this section, describe the customers you serve, including demographics such as income, location, and education level. How many potential customers are there? What are their needs? And how will you meet them?

This is where you prove there is a big enough pool of people and a big enough need so that you can make revenue and make a difference.

For inspiration, here’s an excerpt from a children’s non-profit in Mozambique :

“Seed of Hope’s program reaches around 100 children, boys and girls ages 3 to 18 years old, from three neighboring communities of Maputo. Many of these children are workers in the dump, leaving them without the economic means to go to school. The project also reaches about 25 adults and youth who are workers of Hulene Dumps, of which some are homeless.”

Organizational/Team

This is where you list and describe the important members of your team and their roles. Make sure to include details that highlight how their experience will help your non-profit achieve its goals.

Here’s an example:

“ Mary Johnson has been appointed as the events coordinator for [Non-profit Name]. With more than 10 years of experience planning fundraising events in the mental health space, Mrs. Johnson has the skills and network to help us end mental illness stigma and reach our goal of $250,000 in donations within the next 12 months. She is already responsible for helping us reach 30% of that goal thus far.”

Operational Plan

As its name suggests, this section will describe how your non-profit will operate, including the legal structure, organizational structure, management team, location, product development, inventory, and any other processes you have in place for the products, programs, or services you’ll provide.

Here’s an example from Way to Work’s business plan :

“Goodwill will hire a full-time program manager whose sole responsibility is the day-to-day management of the Way to Work direct services and its three member staff. The Way to Work program manager and staff will be located in Elizabethtown at a location yet to be determined. The program manager will report directly to Goodwill’s regional manager of Program Services.” 

Marketing Plan

Marketing will be crucial to achieving your non-profit’s mission because it’s how customers and donors alike will learn about what you do and how you help the community. In this section, come up with a detailed plan for how you will get the word out about your non-profit and how you will attract customers and donors to your cause.

Here’s an example from Bplans’ non-profit law business plan , written for a fictional law firm called Advocates for Legal Equal Access:

“Al will use his marketing skills learned in his MBA studies to market Advocates as an organization that offers public interest support for the greater Portland community. Approximately 40% of Al’s time will be spent fundraising/marketing. A lot of this time will be spent traveling around and meeting with the different leaders of the organizations and convincing them that Advocates is a well run organization, deserving of the company’s support.”

Notice how granular it gets, even specifying the percentage of time Al will spend on fundraising and marketing.

Email marketing is a critical part of any modern non-profit’s marketing strategy. Find out why with our non-profit email marketing guide .

Impact Plan

Unlike for-profit business plans, your non-profit business plan will have a section on impact. This is where you will talk about your overall vision. How do you hope to change your community for the better? And get specific: What does “better” look like? 

A great example of a detailed impact plan is from Kroger’s Zero Hunger | Zero Waste social impact plan . Though not part of a business plan, it features precisely the kind of detail needed in a nonprofit business plan. It begins with a clear, concise goal: “Kroger’s plan: To end hunger in our communities and eliminate waste in our company by 2025.” And it’s backed up by specific action steps, such as:

• “Establish a $10 million innovation fund through The Kroger Co. Foundation
• Accelerate food donations to give 3 billion meals by 2025
• Donate not just more food, more balanced meals”

Financial Plan

Here, you will include your current funding, revenue, expenses, assets, and liabilities. You can add graphs to make it more comprehensive, as well as include financial projections. This section is especially important if you’re soliciting donors or trying to get a bank loan.

If you have additional supporting documents you’d like to add to your non-profit business plan, you can add it at the end in the appendix. Here, you can insert brochures, annual reports, or strategic plans.

Free non-profit business plan templates

If you need more inspiration for your non-profit business plan, check out some of these free samples and templates:

• Google Doc template – To edit this, go to File > Make a copy.
• Bplans non-profit sample business plans
• Upmetrics nonprofit business plan templates
• Turning Stones Coaching business plan templates

For success in the future, get started on your non-profit business plan today

Having a business plan for your non-profit comes with a ton of benefits, including keeping you aligned with your mission, increasing your chances for success, and attracting major donors.

And now that you know how to write a business plan, you can see it doesn’t have to be a tedious, drawn-out process! In fact, the simpler, the better. Start with one of the free templates recommended above, and soon, you’ll be well on your way to a complete roadmap to success.

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Nonprofit organizations exist to meet social or environmental problems. For that reason, organizations don’t always focus on a solid financial bottom-line. However, they can’t effectively achieve their objectives without recurring donation income , human capital, and operation planning. 

The structure of a nonprofit business plan is in truth no different from that of a profit-driven entity —but an important shift is in the wording, which shies away from business terminology. Another major difference is in the inclusion of fundraising and grants as primary sources of income. And while other organizations worry about taxes in the planning stage, nonprofits have little to no taxes to consider.

Here’s the components you need to write a successful business plan for your nonprofit:

1. Executive Summary

An executive summary allows the organization to make a lasting first impression to the audience. This part contains the outline of the objectives, problem statement, and overall mission of the nonprofit. When you start writing a nonprofit business plan, envision it as a time-bound chance to market the firm.

Here are a few details to include in a summary:

• A Gap and a Solution : Some of the gaps that nonprofits fill in society include health, education, energy, or environmental problems. Use this section to indicate the identified problem and how the nonprofit intends to solve it.
• Strength of the Organization : Anyone interested in partnering with you would like to know why you are well-equipped to solve the problem. Some unique strengths to mention may include community goodwill or human and natural resources.

A point to note : It’s essential to structure the executive summary as though you are addressing potential partners. As such, avoid too much jargon and technical aspects in this section.

2. Target Market

Nonprofits target a specific group of people, or residents of one particular area. The target group has unique traits, strengths, and resources — such knowledge is crucial in the organization’s mission and sustainability. That said, it’s critical to gather a few data points and document them in your plan.

Here’s a list to include:

• Resource Profile : Most nonprofit organizations rely on community goodwill, cooperation, and resources. Ensure you record information of existing resources including public space, partner organizations, intellectual property, and human resources. The key to utilizing your resources lies in fostering healthy relationships.
• Demographics : Ensure you collect demographic characteristics such as gender, race, education, religion, family size, sex, and homeownership. These data points are essential when designing programs, sourcing for funds, and executing your mandate.
• Target Audience Analysis : The audience you’re targeting has its strengths and weaknesses  which affect your mission. Find and document information on how past projects within a similar community faired.

Find details on whether specific traits such as education or culture have a potential impact on your project. The findings will prevent mistakes and enhance your success.

3. Fundraising Element

Any nonprofit’s success relies on the leadership’s ability to raise sufficient funds. One of the ways to successfully fundraise is by using target fundraising personas. These may include corporate donors, private citizens, and other well-funded organizations — remember that in the end, large institutions are made up of individual people. Your persona list can guide you in identifying particular people to reach out to.

You can also use personas to identify supporters in different segments, including by income. The different characteristics of each segment will guide your approach to fundraising campaigns for that segment. For high income individuals, it is wise to organize personal visits as opposed to sending emails.

Notable nonprofits may also generate funds by creating alliances. Companies might become official sponsors in exchange for brand growth. The success of such partnerships depends on how well you’ve structured your mission.

Ultimately, the fundraising element should consist of straightforward and workable ideas that the organization seeks to utilize. When nonprofits create solid financial plans, it inspires investors and partners — which in turn attracts more than enough funds to run the organization.

4. Program Details

This is the section that appeals to any potential partner or stakeholder. Therefore, you should provide details about your programs, execution of your mission, and the various ways your community will benefit.

For clarity, here’s what to include in this section:

• Goal: The ultimate plan or vision, with a long-term aspect that shapes all decisions and policies. One example could be “Providing decent housing to flood-affected victims.” It’s essential to include the project goal in its title for increased awareness and promotion.
• Objectives: An objective is a sub-element of a goal and is specific, actionable, and time-oriented. It should also be measurable, verifiable, and focused on one target. An example of an objective could be, ”Build 15 two-bedroom houses within two months,” or ”Increase the level of women’s income within the locality from 5 to 15% .”

This section is the heart and soul of your operations. It’s prudent to ensure it’s detailed, clear, and deliberate.

5. Marketing and Promotion Plan

Just like businesses, nonprofits also require marketing, outreach, and advertising. Through marketing, the organization gains awareness and brand growth that helps to attract partners who will power their operations. As such, it’s essential to include these strategies in the business plan.

Some aspects to include in this section are:

• Advertising methods : List the different methods that are suitable to your programming and their related cost. Whether through digital media, email marketing, TV, radio, or print, ensure you have listed your preferred channels.
• Market description : Include a section with details of your audience, potential donors, community, and partners. You can also include an analysis of the landscape and results of test marketing campaigns.

Use Our Resources to Grow Your Nonprofit Organization

For any organization, planning is part of the recipe that leads to sustained performance and a secure future. That’s why the knowledge of how to write a business plan for a social enterprise is essential. Among many benefits is the quick, positive impression it creates on stakeholders.

Without a well-crafted business plan, an organization’s operations are in jeopardy, and it may prove challenging to attract funding and goodwill from target donors. A partner like Elevation can help you to develop inspiring resources like your nonprofit logo , website, and marketing campaigns.

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How to Write a Nonprofit Business Plan

Angelique O'Rourke

13 min. read

Updated May 10, 2024

Believe it or not, creating a business plan for a nonprofit organization is not that different from planning for a traditional business. 

Nonprofits sometimes shy away from using the words “business planning,” preferring to use terms like “strategic plan” or “operating plan.” But, the fact is that preparing a plan for a for-profit business and a nonprofit organization are actually pretty similar processes. Both types of organizations need to create forecasts for revenue and plan how they’re going to spend the money they bring in. They also need to manage their cash and ensure that they can stay solvent to accomplish their goals.

In this guide, I’ll explain how to create a plan for your organization that will impress your board of directors, facilitate fundraising, and ensures that you deliver on your mission.

• Why does a nonprofit need a business plan?

Good business planning is about setting goals, getting everyone on the same page, tracking performance metrics, and improving over time. Even when your goal isn’t to increase profits, you still need to be able to run a fiscally healthy organization.

Business planning creates an opportunity to examine the heart of your mission , the financing you’ll need to bring that mission to fruition, and your plan to sustain your operations into the future.

Nonprofits are also responsible for meeting regularly with a board of directors and reporting on your organization’s finances is a critical part of that meeting. As part of your regular financial review with the board, you can compare your actual results to your financial forecast in your business plan. Are you meeting fundraising goals and keeping spending on track? Is the financial position of the organization where you wanted it to be?

In addition to internal use, a solid business plan can help you court major donors who will be interested in having a deeper understanding of how your organization works and your fiscal health and accountability. And you’ll definitely need a formal business plan if you intend to seek outside funding for capital expenses—it’s required by lenders.

Creating a business plan for your organization is a great way to get your management team or board to connect over your vision, goals, and trajectory. Even just going through the planning process with your colleagues will help you take a step back and get some high-level perspective .

• A nonprofit business plan outline

Keep in mind that developing a business plan is an ongoing process. It isn’t about just writing a physical document that is static, but a continually evolving strategy and action plan as your organization progresses over time. It’s essential that you run regular plan review meetings to track your progress against your plan. For most nonprofits, this will coincide with regular reports and meetings with the board of directors.

A nonprofit business plan will include many of the same sections of a standard business plan outline . If you’d like to start simple, you can download our free business plan template as a Word document, and adjust it according to the nonprofit plan outline below.

Executive summary

The executive summary of a nonprofit business plan is typically the first section of the plan to be read, but the last to be written. That’s because this section is a general overview of everything else in the business plan – the overall snapshot of what your vision is for the organization.

Write it as though you might share with a prospective donor, or someone unfamiliar with your organization: avoid internal jargon or acronyms, and write it so that someone who has never heard of you would understand what you’re doing.

Your executive summary should provide a very brief overview of your organization’s mission. It should describe who you serve, how you provide the services that you offer, and how you fundraise. 

If you are putting together a plan to share with potential donors, you should include an overview of what you are asking for and how you intend to use the funds raised.

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Opportunity

Start this section of your nonprofit plan by describing the problem that you are solving for your clients or your community at large. Then say how your organization solves the problem.

A great way to present your opportunity is with a positioning statement . Here’s a formula you can use to define your positioning:

For [target market description] who [target market need], [this product] [how it meets the need]. Unlike [key competition], it [most important distinguishing feature].

And here’s an example of a positioning statement using the formula:

For children, ages five to 12 (target market) who are struggling with reading (their need), Tutors Changing Lives (your organization or program name) helps them get up to grade-level reading through a once a week class (your solution).

Unlike the school district’s general after-school homework lab (your state-funded competition), our program specifically helps children learn to read within six months (how you’re different).

Your organization is special or you wouldn’t spend so much time devoted to it. Layout some of the nuts and bolts about what makes it great in this opening section of your business plan. Your nonprofit probably changes lives, changes your community, or maybe even changes the world. Explain how it does this.

This is where you really go into detail about the programs you’re offering. You’ll want to describe how many people you serve and how you serve them.

Target audience

In a for-profit business plan, this section would be used to define your target market . For nonprofit organizations, it’s basically the same thing but framed as who you’re serving with your organization. Who benefits from your services?

Not all organizations have clients that they serve directly, so you might exclude this section if that’s the case. For example, an environmental preservation organization might have a goal of acquiring land to preserve natural habitats. The organization isn’t directly serving individual groups of people and is instead trying to benefit the environment as a whole. 

Similar organizations

Everyone has competition —nonprofits, too. You’re competing with other nonprofits for donor attention and support, and you’re competing with other organizations serving your target population. Even if your program is the only one in your area providing a specific service, you still have competition.

Think about what your prospective clients were doing about their problem (the one your organization is solving) before you came on this scene. If you’re running an after-school tutoring organization, you might be competing with after school sports programs for clients. Even though your organizations have fundamentally different missions.

For many nonprofit organizations, competing for funding is an important issue. You’ll want to use this section of your plan to explain who donors would choose your organization instead of similar organizations for their donations.

Future services and programs

If you’re running a regional nonprofit, do you want to be national in five years? If you’re currently serving children ages two to four, do you want to expand to ages five to 12? Use this section to talk about your long-term goals. 

Just like a traditional business, you’ll benefit by laying out a long-term plan. Not only does it help guide your nonprofit, but it also provides a roadmap for the board as well as potential investors. 

Promotion and outreach strategies

In a for-profit business plan, this section would be about marketing and sales strategies. For nonprofits, you’re going to talk about how you’re going to reach your target client population.

You’ll probably do some combination of:

• Advertising: print and direct mail, television, radio, and so on.
• Public relations: press releases, activities to promote brand awareness, and so on.
• Digital marketing: website, email, blog, social media, and so on.

Similar to the “target audience” section above, you may remove this section if you don’t promote your organization to clients and others who use your services.

Costs and fees

Instead of including a pricing section, a nonprofit business plan should include a costs or fees section.

Talk about how your program is funded, and whether the costs your clients pay are the same for everyone, or based on income level, or something else. If your clients pay less for your service than it costs to run the program, how will you make up the difference?

If you don’t charge for your services and programs, you can state that here or remove this section.

Fundraising sources

Fundraising is critical for most nonprofit organizations. This portion of your business plan will detail who your key fundraising sources are. 

Similar to understanding who your target audience for your services is, you’ll also want to know who your target market is for fundraising. Who are your supporters? What kind of person donates to your organization? Creating a “donor persona” could be a useful exercise to help you reflect on this subject and streamline your fundraising approach. 

You’ll also want to define different tiers of prospective donors and how you plan on connecting with them. You’re probably going to include information about your annual giving program (usually lower-tier donors) and your major gifts program (folks who give larger amounts).

If you’re a private school, for example, you might think of your main target market as alumni who graduated during a certain year, at a certain income level. If you’re building a bequest program to build your endowment, your target market might be a specific population with interest in your cause who is at retirement age.

Do some research. The key here is not to report your target donors as everyone in a 3,000-mile radius with a wallet. The more specific you can be about your prospective donors —their demographics, income level, and interests, the more targeted (and less costly) your outreach can be.

Fundraising activities

How will you reach your donors with your message? Use this section of your business plan to explain how you will market your organization to potential donors and generate revenue.

You might use a combination of direct mail, advertising, and fundraising events. Detail the key activities and programs that you’ll use to reach your donors and raise money.

Strategic alliances and partnerships

Use this section to talk about how you’ll work with other organizations. Maybe you need to use a room in the local public library to run your program for the first year. Maybe your organization provides mental health counselors in local schools, so you partner with your school district.

In some instances, you might also be relying on public health programs like Medicaid to fund your program costs. Mention all those strategic partnerships here, especially if your program would have trouble existing without the partnership.

Milestones and metrics

Without milestones and metrics for your nonprofit, it will be more difficult to execute on your mission. Milestones and metrics are guideposts along the way that are indicators that your program is working and that your organization is healthy.

They might include elements of your fundraising goals—like monthly or quarterly donation goals, or it might be more about your participation metrics. Since most nonprofits working with foundations for grants do complex reporting on some of these, don’t feel like you have to re-write every single goal and metric for your organization here. Think about your bigger goals, and if you need to, include more information in your business plan’s appendix.

If you’re revisiting your plan on a monthly basis, and we recommend that you do, the items here might speak directly to the questions you know your board will ask in your monthly trustee meeting. The point is to avoid surprises by having eyes on your organization’s performance. Having these goals, and being able to change course if you’re not meeting them, will help your organization avoid falling into a budget deficit.

Key assumptions and risks

Your nonprofit exists to serve a particular population or cause. Before you designed your key programs or services, you probably did some research to validate that there’s a need for what you’re offering.

But you probably are also taking some calculated risks. In this section, talk about the unknowns for your organization. If you name them, you can address them.

For example, if you think there’s a need for a children’s literacy program, maybe you surveyed teachers or parents in your area to verify the need. But because you haven’t launched the program yet, one of your unknowns might be whether the kids will actually show up.

Management team and company

Who is going to be involved and what are their duties? What do these individuals bring to the table?

Include both the management team of the day-to-day aspects of your nonprofit as well as board members and mention those who may overlap between the two roles. Highlight their qualifications: titles, degrees, relevant past accomplishments, and designated responsibilities should be included in this section. It adds a personal touch to mention team members who are especially qualified because they’re close to the cause or have special first-hand experience with or knowledge of the population you’re serving.

There are probably some amazing, dedicated people with stellar qualifications on your team—this is the place to feature them (and don’t forget to include yourself!).

Financial plan

The financial plan is essential to any organization that’s seeking funding, but also incredibly useful internally to keep track of what you’ve done so far financially and where you’d like to see the organization go in the future.

The financial section of your business plan should include a long-term budget and cash flow statement with a three to five-year forecast. This will allow you to see that the organization has its basic financial needs covered. Any nonprofit has its standard level of funding required to stay operational, so it’s essential to make sure your organization will consistently maintain at least that much in the coffers.

From that point, it’s all about future planning: If you exceed your fundraising goals, what will be done with the surplus? What will you do if you don’t meet your fundraising goals? Are you accounting for appropriate amounts going to payroll and administrative costs over time? Thinking through a forecast of your financial plan over the next several years will help ensure that your organization is sustainable.

Money management skills are just as important in a nonprofit as they are in a for-profit business. Knowing the financial details of your organization is incredibly important in a world where the public is ranking the credibility of charities based on what percentage of donations makes it to the programs and services. As a nonprofit, people are interested in the details of how money is being dispersed within organizations, with this information often being posted online on sites like Charity Navigator, so the public can make informed decisions about donating.

Potential contributors will do their research—so make sure you do too. No matter who your donors are, they will want to know they can trust your organization with their money. A robust financial plan is a solid foundation for reference that your nonprofit is on the right track.

• Business planning is ongoing

It’s important to remember that a business plan doesn’t have to be set in stone. It acts as a roadmap, something that you can come back to as a guide, then revise and edit to suit your purpose at a given time.

I recommend that you review your financial plan once a month to see if your organization is on track, and then revise your plan as necessary .

Angelique is a skilled writer, editor, and social media specialist, as well as an actor and model with a demonstrated history of theater, film, commercial and print work.

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How to Create a Nonprofit Business Plan

Could your organization use a nonprofit business plan ? The answer is yes . Although the nonprofit sector doesn’t always work like the for-profit world and you might not think of your nonprofit as a business, having a business plan can boost your growth and support. 

The most important thing to remember is that your nonprofit needs to be unique so it stands out from other nonprofits. Secondly, you want to convey the value that those who engage with your organization or donate money will receive. This can be making them feel charitable but also more productive and engaged. Think about the value/emotion you are hoping to evoke and convey it through your business plan.

The following sections should be included in your nonprofit business plan:

Executive Summary

Organization overview.

• Products, Programs, and Services

Industry Analysis

Customer analysis, marketing plan, operations plan, management team, financial plan.

Let’s break each of these down.

Start your nonprofit business plan by clearly stating your organization’s mission and describing how it plans on reaching its goals. Include a concise description of what makes your organization stand out among competitors (e.g., “We are the only non-profit animal welfare organization in XYZ county” or “Our college student volunteers provide assistance at less than half the cost as our competitors”).  Succinctly communicate why people should care about your organization so they will choose to support you. Include other pertinent information about your organization such as the bios of key staff members and the amount of funding you are looking to raise.

The purpose of the executive summary is to convey key information about your organization so readers can decide whether they are interested and willing to read the rest of your plan. Keep the executive summary to one to two pages in length. Create it after completing the other sections so you can simply summarize them. But make sure you do so in an exciting and compelling manner, so readers want to read and learn more about your organization.

This section should include a description of your organization’s overall structure, beginning with who founded it and how it is currently governed. Other important information to provide includes your the nonprofit is located, how many paid/unpaid staff members there are, what facilities are available for use by customers or employees, and what kind of support services are provided (e.g., IT, HR). Lastly, explain any accomplishments your organization has achieved to-date, as the best indicator of future success is past performance.

Products/Services/Programs

In this section, write about your nonprofit’s services or programs in detail. Document the programs you offer and how they function. Provide details, sketches, etc. to clearly communicate the offerings and value your organization provides. If applicable, consider including audience testimonials that express satisfaction with your nonprofit’s offerings.

For industry analysis, address some questions and provide information that supports your answers. Consider this: how big is the industry? For example, if you provide education to high school students, discuss the market size for public and private high school education.

Also answer the following questions:

• What trends are facing the industry (positive or negative)?
• What are some of the industry challenges facing organizations?
• How can your organization help people overcome those problems?

This section should begin with a definition of who the organization considers to be its primary target market (e.g., high school students, working moms, etc.). Based on this group’s needs and wants, prioritize which benefits/offerings from your services or programs are most important to them. This section should also include facts about your supporters’ key needs and pains or other information that might be helpful for your nonprofit’s fundraising efforts.

The marketing plan should discuss how the individuals you serve are likely to find out about your organization’s services and programs along with what promotional activities will be used to reach new audiences .  Outline why each activity is beneficial for growing your nonprofit and which demographic it best targets. For strategies that have already been used, provide specific figures on results achieved.

Below are sample promotional activities that many nonprofit organizations use:

Public relations

Developing relationships with the media and utilizing earned media coverage helps with free public exposure. This in turn gets the word out about an organization’s mission. For example, you can create press releases related to new staff additions or upcoming events and share them with your media contacts. 

Social media marketing  

Social media sites allow organizations to stay connected with supporters and advocates at any time of day. There are different social media platforms that work for different organizations. For example, Twitter is a great way to have quick conversations with people about an issue. Facebook is a good place for sharing more in-depth content and articles on a particular subject area. LinkedIn is a platform where you can build your network of contacts and share information about your organization or topic area.

Blogs and Other Content  

Producing great content for blogs or other channels can be an extremely effective way to bring people back to your site or area of social media where they are more likely to donate. A blog can allow you to have conversations with supporters and advocates, answer questions, give more information about your organization or cause, and talk about the issues in your community. In addition, the use of photos, videos, infographics, etc., is a great way to get information across in a compelling manner.

E-newsletters  

Sending out an e-newsletter is a great way to engage your supporters. You can include links back to your website, send updates about your organization, share compelling videos or photos from recent events, etc. Just make sure your audience has opted in to hear from you and be sure you don’t spam their inboxes with constant updates every day. 

Event marketing  

Organizing special events around a particular subject area is a good way to inform the public about an issue or about your organization. Some examples of events are panel discussions about a subject, fundraising dinners, etc. Webinars have grown in popularity with nonprofits in recent years as well. With so many options for virtual, hybrid or in-person gatherings, you’ll be sure to find a way to boost your nonprofit’s audience and growth.

Newspaper/Magazine ads  

Just because digital marketing has grown doesn’t mean that traditional media isn’t viable. Unfortunately, this can be one component of advertising that nonprofits often neglect due to lack of funds. Adding an ad to the back of a newspaper with some basic information about what you do, how people can get involved, and what you are looking for in terms of volunteers, donors, etc., is still a great way to spread the word.

PPC advertising  

Don’t forget about pay-per-click advertising on search engines like Google. This makes it possible to drive traffic to your website based on specific keywords your target audience searches or pages they visit online. You can write compelling ads that allow you to get the word out about what your organization does. 

This section should describe in detail how your nonprofit runs or plans to run its business day-to-day. Outline internal systems that will be used to track and monitor each product, service, or program offered by the organization (e.g., accounting software). Describe what kind of training employees may need to perform their duties effectively. Also include information about whether future hiring plans are scheduled. If so, mention whether all positions will need to be filled immediately or if some can be temporarily contracted out until permanent staff is hired. Finally, create a chart showing the milestones your organization hopes to achieve annually over the next five years.

Provide a list of important management team members within your organization. Make sure to include each person’s title, how long they have been working there, and what responsibilities are part of their role. For each person, include any previous experience they have as well as personal traits that would help them succeed in it. If there are no existing employees with enough business expertise to serve certain roles, list the qualifications the ideal candidate would possess instead.

In this section of your business plan, provide a detailed breakdown of how much funding you are seeking broken down by category (e.g., marketing, staffing, etc.).  Provide information about how much revenue is expected from donors and customers compared to funds needed to cover operating costs such as salaries, advertising, and rent. If the organization already has an existing revenue stream, explain how new funding will be used to fund new operations.

The appendix is a good place for any additional information that you would like readers of your nonprofit business plan to have. This includes additional industry research and information on your products, services, or programs. It might also include testimonials from satisfied customers or profiles of board members. Or, it might include architectural designs of a new facility you hope to build.

In summary, a nonprofit business plan is a document that outlines your nonprofit organization’s goals and objectives. A well-written, comprehensive plan can help you attract funding from potential donors or investors. It will also provide clarity to stakeholders by giving them an understanding of your vision for the organization’s future growth.

*This spotlighted blog post is courtesy of Growthink

Dave Lavinsky

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How to write a nonprofit business plan

While a nonprofit business plan is similar to that of a for-profit company, it has a few important differences, including the need for a fundraising section.

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Nonprofit business plan elements

Fundraising section is essential, keep it real.

While nonprofit organizations are purpose-driven rather than profit-driven, they have a great deal in common with their for-profit counterparts.

"We may be governed by a different part of the tax code and exempt from some—but not all—taxes, but we are businesses, too," says Rick Cohen, chief operating officer at the National Council of Nonprofits.

Like other types of businesses, successful nonprofits outline their goals and how they will achieve them in a written document known as a business plan.

A nonprofit's business plan is similar to that used by a for-profit entity but has key differences. Here's what you need to know about how to write a nonprofit business plan.

For-profit business plans detail what a company does, how it does it, who does it, and how it pays for it. A nonprofit business plan outlines that as well but approaches parts of the process differently.

The biggest difference is that nonprofit organizations focus on the problem they want to solve and how to fund programs and activities that help do that.

"Nonprofits have the added burden and opportunity of impact in their business plan," says Sara Gibson, co-founder and CEO of 20 Degrees, a consulting firm serving nonprofits. "The sector doesn't measure worth in profit—it is measured in lives and in change created. That has to be part of the plan."

Typical nonprofit business plans feature many of the following elements:

• Executive summary
• Mission and goals
• Community impact
• Products, services, and programs
• Organizational structure and staffing
• Market and competitive analysis
• Fundraising and development
• Financial plan

For-profit businesses might be funded initially by owners or outside investors, but the ultimate goal is usually self-sufficiency through sales. Many nonprofit organizations aren't structured or created to generate income to support their community services, so fundraising is key.

"It is critical for the sustainability of nonprofits that they are constantly being connected with grants and funders who will provide the financial resources needed for these nonprofits to continue offering quality and valuable assistance to the communities they serve," says Fernando Urbina, director of outreach for ImmigrationHelp.org.

Mikko Sperber, managing partner and founder of Fundamental Strategy, recommends taking on a for-profit business mindset when writing the fundraising section of the nonprofit business plan.

"If you build your plan to have a budget surplus at the end of your year, you then have the capital to reinvest in growing your organization and furthering your mission," he says.

The organization's communication and marketing strategy feeds fundraising goals, so be thoughtful about that piece when writing a nonprofit business plan.

"If no one knows who you are, then no one will be donating to your cause," says Mike McKnight, director of operations at Racing for Orphans with Down Syndrome.

When outlining your business plan, be realistic about fundraising and other revenue streams, then match your budget to your fundraising goal, not the other way around. "In worst-case scenarios, fundraising numbers are plugged into a budget after the programmatic expenses are figured to just offset them without a realistic plan," Sperber says.

Matching your budget to your fundraising goal is especially important because of the organization's impact on the community served, says Cohen, whose organization offers nonprofit business plan resources on its website.

"The worst thing a nonprofit can do is get to a place where people are counting on their services, but then need to close their doors, leaving those people in the lurch," he says.

To ensure your organization's business plan properly supports your mission, consider consulting with professionals such as nonprofit advisers and attorneys specializing in this sector.

Keep your nonprofit business plan handy, too. It's your organizational blueprint, but you'll also need to update it as circumstances or market conditions change.

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How do I write a business plan for a nonprofit organization?

Like for-profit business ventures, nonprofits can create a business plan to describe how they will turn their mission into reality.

The business planning process involves the following steps:

• Researching the market, using a resource such as GuideStar , to see who else might be doing what the nonprofit plans to offer
• Investigating the resources the nonprofit will need to provide the service
• Devising marketing and communication strategies
• Assessing risk
• Determining ways to evaluate success - IssueLab Results  is a place for foundations and nonprofits to share funded evaluations and to access the lessons of their peers and colleagues.

You can also use a business plan for a specific project or venture for a nonprofit.

To help diversify their revenue sources, for example, many nonprofits explore ways to earn income by developing their own business ventures. A classic example is Girl Scout cookies. Each year Girl Scout troops sell cookies, and the money they earn goes toward Girl Scout programs. Providing goods or services for a fee can be an important way for a nonprofit to bring in revenue to supplement its fundraising activities.

Selected resources below can help you learn more about creating an overall business plan for a nonprofit organization or specifically for an earned income venture.

Still have questions about starting a nonprofit, finding grants or other fundraising and management queries? Chat with or email Candid's experts to get answers. Ask Us Now!

If you're thinking about starting a nonprofit, take Candid's course, Is Starting a Nonprofit Right for You?  Take the course in person or watch the video.

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Explore resources curated by our staff for this topic:, staff-recommended websites, how to write a nonprofit business plan.

This article provides a brief overview of the steps involved in creating a nonprofit business plan.

Nonprofit Business Plan Development: From Vision, Mission and Values to Implementation

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Nonprofit Incorporating

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Nonprofit vs. Traditional Business Plans

Entrepreneur.com offers some information on the differences between a nonprofit and traditional business plan.

Social Enterprise Business Plan

This outline was developed for nonprofit organizations wishing to embark on earned income ventures with a business model.

Business Planning (for nonprofits or for-profits)

This site provides an overview of business planning, with a special section focusing on nonprofits. Includes sample nonprofit business plans.

Free Nonprofit Sample Business Plans

Foundation Center does not endorse the business planning software sold on this site, but the sample nonprofit business plans provided are helpful and quite comprehensive.

Sample Nonprofit Business Plans

Along with a link to its full-text article titled “Business Planning for Nonprofits: What It Is and Why It Matters,” the Bridgespan Group gives links to 3 sample nonprofit business plans.

Business Planning for Nonprofits

Provides a listing of suggested resources on business and strategic planning for nonprofit organizations.

Business Planning Tools for Non-Profit Organizations

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Write Your Business Plan

Though not geared specifically to nonprofits, these resources from the SBA cover in detail the elements that should be included in any kind of business plan.

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The Nonprofit Business Plan

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Business Plans Handbook: Non-Profit

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Sample Nonprofit Business Plans

For nonprofit organizations, the business-planning process offers a rare opportunity to step back and look at the organization as a whole. It is a time to connect the dots between mission and programs, to specify the resources that will be required to deliver those programs, and to establish performance measures that allow everyone to understand whether the desired results are being achieved. As a result, it encourages strategic thinking, not only while the plan is being created, but also thereafter, as implementation leads to new challenges and the need to make new decisions and tradeoffs.

Combined with our overview article,  Business Planning for Nonprofits: What It Is and Why It Matters , the sample nonprofit business plans below can act as guides for your own organization's plan.

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Non-Profit Business Plan

A roadmap for the non-profit organization

What is a Non-Profit Business Plan?

A non-profit business plan is simply a roadmap for a non-profit organization , one which outlines the organization’s goals and objectives, and how it plans to attain them. A non-profit is a business entity that is started for any specified purpose other than making a profit. The most common reason for a non-profit organization is charity work.

Even though there are considerable differences between a profit and non-profit company, many of the same regulations apply. In fact, non-profit organizations need detailed and structured planning just like any other business. One of the core tasks of a non-profit startup entails developing a business plan.

This overview explains why non-profits should formulate business plans, and includes the required elements in such a plan.

Uses of a Non-Profit Business Plan

Owners of non-profit organizations need business plans for the following reasons:

• Persuading big donors or foundations to finance their projects
• Hiring board members who can help them in terms of getting a clearer idea of what they are committing themselves to
• Acting as a compass for the whole non-profit organization – to prevent key players from straying or going off the main course
• When applying for business loans , especially if the non-profit has plans to start a store, restaurant, gift shop, or other venture that can help fund its programs

One thing to keep in mind is that the business plan is not rigid. It should be created in such a way that it leaves room for adaptive changes. In this way, non-profit owners can adjust their plans as the organization grows.

Components of a Non-Profit Business Plan

A non-profit organization can use the business plan throughout its life, making changes to it whenever necessary. For a startup non-profit, the business plan can be quite brief as compared to that of a more mature non-profit. The plan may vary depending on the specific organization, however, there are a couple of things that should be included in every non-profit business plan.

1. Executive Summary

The executive summary is a brief breakdown of the contents outlined in the business plan. The trick here is to provide an interesting summary that will keep the reader engaged enough to go through the entire plan. Under this section, the non-profit owner can describe the organization’s mission , a short background of how and why it was started, and its unique strengths. He or she can also outline the non-profit’s products, services, and programs. Additionally, the owner needs to include the organization’s marketing and financial plans.

2. Organizational Structure

Under this section, the owner simply needs to explain how the non-profit is structured, starting from the board of directors and working down to executive staff. He or she should also highlight subsidiaries (if there are any), objectives, strategies on how to scale up, and a few trends in this particular non-profit area.

3. Products, Programs or Services Rendered

The products and services that were listed in the executive summary are now described in a more comprehensive way under this section. The individual should also incorporate unique features such as the delivery methods, sources of products, the benefits of the non-profit’s products and services, as well as future development plans. This section should also provide information relating to any copyrights or patents that the non-profit holds.

4. Marketing Plan

What is the target market or audience of the non-profit’s programs? How does the nonprofit intend to reach these people? What constituencies does the non-profit aim to serve? The marketing plan should provide detailed answers to these questions. For instance, the owner should outline the competitors of his non-profit, as well as other non-profits that may be potential collaborators.

5. Operational Plan

Under this section, the owner will be trying to answer questions such as: How does the nonprofit deliver its products or services? What is the location of its main facility? Does the nonprofit have any equipment or inventory needs? Essentially, the individual should explain the exact strategies he plans to use to maintain the operation. This section also covers the impact of the non-profit’s programs and services on clients and on the community at large.

6. Management and Organizational Team

This part covers the names and details of the staff in the management team. It also includes a list of board members and their respective areas of expertise. The easiest way to explain the non-profit’s management team is through the use of an organizational chart .

The chart outlines all the non-profit’s staff and the roles they play in the organization. Another thing to include in this section is the non-profit’s evaluation of its present and future staffing needs. Once the organization grows, it may need to hire several volunteers, an IT expert, accountants, and more.

7. Capitalization

Capitalization is another element that should not be left out in a non-profit’s business plan. This is the section where the owner lists all the non-profit’s outstanding loans, debts, bonds, and endowments. Endowments refer to government or private grants that the non-profit has received or applied for.

8. Appendix

In the appendix, the owner should incorporate the resumes of key staff, a list of the members of the board of directors, relevant charts and graphs, promotional materials, mission and vision statements, and an annual report if the non-profit is not a startup.

The Bottom Line

Non-profit organizations need to be managed effectively, just like any other enterprise. The best way to achieve this is by developing a business plan. A non-profit business plan serves as a roadmap or compass for the entire organization. Put simply, it outlines the non-profit’s goals and objectives, its organizational structure, marketing, financial, and operational plans, as well as the products or services rendered by the organization.

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The best nonprofit business plan template

If you’re looking to start a new charity but don’t know where to start, a nonprofit business plan template can help. There are more than 1.5 million nonprofit organizations registered in the US. While it’s awesome that there are so many charitable orgs, unfortunately, many of them struggle to keep their doors open.

Like any other business, a nonprofit needs to prepare for the unexpected. Even without a global pandemic, strategic planning is crucial for a nonprofit to succeed.

In this article, we’ll look at why a business plan is important for nonprofit organizations and what details to include in your business plan. To get you started, our versatile nonprofit business plan template is ready for you to download to turn your nonprofit dreams into a reality.

Get the template

What is a nonprofit business plan template?

A nonprofit business plan template is not that different from a regular, profit-oriented business plan template. It can even focus on financial gain — as long as it specifies how to use that excess for the greater good.

A nonprofit business plan template includes fields that cover the foundational elements of a business plan, including:

• The overarching purpose of your nonprofit
• Its long and short-term goals
• An outline of how you’ll achieve these goals

The template also controls the general layout of the business plan, like recommended headings, sub-headings, and questions. But what’s the point? Let’s dive into the benefits a business plan template offers nonprofits.

Download Excel template

Why use a nonprofit business plan template?

To get your nonprofit business plans in motion, templates can:

Provide direction

If you’ve decided to start a nonprofit, you’re likely driven by passion and purpose. Although nonprofits are generally mission-driven, they’re still businesses. And that means you need to have a working business model. A template will give your ideas direction and encourage you to put your strategic thinking cap on.

Help you secure funding

One of the biggest reasons for writing a nonprofit business plan is to attract investment. After all, without enough funding , it’s nearly impossible to get your business off the ground. There’s simply no business without capital investment, and that’s even more true for nonprofits that rarely sell products.

Stakeholders and potential investors will need to assess the feasibility of your nonprofit business. You can encourage them to invest by presenting them with a well-written, well-thought-out business plan with all the necessary details — and a template lays the right foundation.

Facilitate clear messaging

One of the essential characteristics of any business plan — nonprofits included — is transparency around what you want to achieve and how you are going to achieve it. A nebulous statement with grandiose aspirations but no practical plan won’t inspire confidence.

Instead, you should create a clear and concise purpose statement that sums up your goals and planned action steps. A good template will help you maintain a strong purpose statement and use clear messaging throughout.

Of course, there are different types of nonprofit plan templates you can use, depending on the kind of business plan you want to draw up.

What are some examples of a nonprofit business plan template?

From summary nonprofit plans to all encompassing strategies, check out a few sample business plan templates for different nonprofit use cases.

Summary nonprofit business plan template

New nonprofit ventures in the early stages of development can use this business plan template. It’s created to put out feelers to see if investors are interested in your idea. For example, you may want to start an animal shelter in your community, but aren’t sure if it’s a viable option due to a lack of funds. You’d use a summary business plan template to gauge interest in your nonprofit.

Full nonprofit business plan template

In this scenario, you have already laid the foundations for your nonprofit. You’re now at a point where you need financing to get your nonprofit off the ground.

This template is much longer than a summary and includes all the sections of a nonprofit business plan including the:

Executive summary

• Nonprofit description
• Needs analysis
• Product/service
• Marketing strategy
• Management team & board
• Human resource needs

It also typically includes a variety of documents that back up your market research and financial situation.

Operational nonprofit business plan template

This type of business plan template is extremely detail-oriented and outlines your nonprofit’s daily operations. It acts as an in-depth guide for who does what, how they should do it, and when they should do it.

An operational nonprofit business plan is written for your internal team rather than external parties like investors or board members.

Convinced to give a business plan template a go? Lucky for you, our team has created the perfect option for nonprofits.

monday.com’s nonprofit business plan template

At monday.com, we understand that starting a nonprofit business can feel overwhelming — scrambling to line up investors, arranging fundraising events, filing federal forms, and more. Because we want you and your nonprofit to succeed, we’ve created a customizable template to get you started. It’s right inside our Work OS , a digital platform that helps you effectively manage every aspect of your work — from budgets and high-level plans to individual to-do lists.

Here’s what you can do on our template:

Access all your documents from one central location

Besides a business plan, starting a nonprofit requires a lot of other documentation. Supporting documents include a cash flow statement or a general financial statement, resumes of founders, and letters of support.

monday.com’s Work OS lets you store all these essential documents in one centralized location. That means you don’t need to open several tabs or run multiple programs to view your information. On monday.com, you can quickly and easily access documents and share them with potential investors and donors. Security features also help you control access to any board or document, only letting invited people or employees view or edit them. By keeping everything in one place, you save time on tracking down rogue files or statements and can focus on what really matters, such as running your nonprofit.

Turn your business plan into action

With monday.com’s nonprofit business plan template, you can seamlessly transform your plan into actionable tasks. After all, it’s going to take more than some sound strategic planning to bring your nonprofit to life.

Based on your business plan, you have the power to create interactive vision boards, calendars, timelines, cards, charts, and more. Because delegation is key, assign tasks to any of your team members from your main board. You can even set up notification automations so that everyone stays up to date with their responsibilities. Plus, to make sure the team stays on track, you can use the Progress Tracking Column that shows you the percent to completion of tasks based on the different status columns of your board.

Keep your finger on the pulse

From budgets to customer satisfaction, you need to maintain a high-level overview of your nonprofit’s key metrics.

monday.com keeps you well-informed on the status of your nonprofit’s progress, all on one platform. With customizable dashboards — for example, a real-time overview of donations received and projects completed — and visually appealing views, you can make confident decisions on how to take your nonprofit business forward.

Now that you have the template, let’s cover each section and how to fill it out correctly.

Essential sections of a nonprofit business plan template

So what exactly goes into a nonprofit business plan? Let’s take a look at the different sections you’ll find in most templates.

This is a concise summary of your business at the beginning of your plan. It should be both inspired and to the point. The executive summary is typically two pages long and dedicates about two sentences to each section of the plan.

Organization overview

This section gives some background on your company and summarizes the goal of your business. At the same time, it should touch on other important factors like your action plan for attracting potential external stakeholders. You can think of an organization overview as a mission statement and company description rolled into one.

Products, programs, and services

Any business exists to provide products, programs, and services — perhaps with a focus on the latter two for nonprofits. Your business plan should outline what you are bringing to your community. This will influence your target market , potential investors, and marketing strategies.

Marketing plan

An effective marketing strategy is the cornerstone of any successful business. Your marketing plan will identify your target audience and how you plan to reach them. It deals with pricing structures while also assessing customer engagement levels.

Operational plan

The operational plan describes the steps a company will take over a certain period. It focuses on the day-to-day aspects of the business, like what tasks need to be done and who is responsible for what. The operational section of a business plan works closely with strategic planning.

Competitive analysis

Even nonprofits face competition from other nonprofits with similar business profiles. A market analysis looks at the strengths and weaknesses of competing businesses and where you fit in. This section should include a strategy to overtake competitors in the market. There are many formats and templates you can use here, for example, a SWOT analysis .

Financial plan

Your financial plan should be a holistic image of your company’s financial status and financial goals. As well as your fundraising plan , make sure to include details like cash flow, investments, insurance, debt, and savings.

Before we wrap up, we’ll address some commonly asked questions about nonprofit business plan templates.

FAQs about nonprofit business plan templates

How do you write a business plan for a nonprofit.

The best way to write a nonprofit business plan is with a template so that you don’t leave anything out. Our template has all the sections ready for you to fill in, combined with features of a cutting-edge Work OS.

For some extra tips, take a look at our advice on how to write a business plan . We’ve detailed the various elements involved in business planning processes and how these should be structured.

How many pages should a nonprofit business plan be?

Business plans don’t have to be excessively long. Remember that concise communication is optimal. As a rule of thumb — and this will vary depending on the complexity and size of your business plan — a nonprofit business plan is typically between seven and thirty pages long.

What is a nonprofit business plan called?

A nonprofit business plan is called just that — a ‘nonprofit business plan.’ You may think that its nonprofit element makes it very different from a profit-oriented plan. But it is essentially the same type of document.

What is the best business structure for a nonprofit?

The consensus is that a corporation is the most appropriate and effective structure for a nonprofit business.

How do you start a nonprofit with no money?

Creating a business plan and approaching potential investors, aka donators, is the best way to start a nonprofit business if you don’t have the funds yourself.

Send this article to someone who’d like it.

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Questions about plans for $700 million in beaver stadium upgrades linger.

SUN-GAZETTE FILE IMAGE A computer rendering from 2017 of what a renovated Beaver Stadium could look like.

(Editor’s Note: Spotlight PA is an independent, nonpartisan, and nonprofit newsroom producing investigative and public-service journalism that holds power to account and drives positive change in Pennsylvania. Sign up for our free newsletters.)

STATE COLLEGE — Penn State is prepared to take on up to $700 million in debt to renovate Beaver Stadium, a price tag drawing scrutiny at a time when the university is implementing steep budget cuts and offering buyouts to some employees.

The school has emphasized that the athletics department, which has a self-sustaining budget, will pay back the debt and interest incurred through the renovation process. Students’ tuition and taxpayer dollars will not fund the project, the university has said.

However, Penn State University is likely to take on the necessary debt rather than the athletics department. One expert told Spotlight PA this setup is typical for universities and allows an organization like Penn State to secure better financing costs.

Penn State generally uses its standing as a public university with tens of thousands of tuition-paying students to secure bonds and provide financial backing for debt, according to a review of bond documents. For example, last year Penn State sold $204 million in bonds under the university’s authority. That sale was used in part to finance “replacements to and renovations of Beaver Stadium,” though the university said at the time the bonds would be repaid by athletics.

Penn State declined to make an official available for an interview for this story. A university spokesperson wrote in an email that the university’s support for the project “is a signal of the commitment to bettering our student-athletes’ experience and as a land-grant university, elevating Beaver Stadium’s significance in driving local and state economies.”

Christopher Collins, vice president and senior municipal credit analyst at Moody’s Ratings, told Spotlight PA that although universities could have specific departments take out debt — perhaps as a way to increase accountability — issuing bonds through the entire university lowers financing costs. A university generally has a better credit rating, and a wider source of possible repayment, than a specific department, said Collins, who has analyzed Penn State’s credit rating.

Some university trustees questioned what would happen if Penn State defaults on the debt. Penn State’s athletic department reported $126,000 in profit off of a $202 million total budget in fiscal year 2023.

Jay Paterno, an alumni-elected trustee, told the Wall Street Journal: “It’s hard to project 30 months, even 30 weeks, let alone 30 years. You don’t want to be the most leveraged university in this new world.”

Penn State considered risk factors with the project and “mitigation plans are in place that have zero impact on tuition dollars or state funding,” the university spokesperson told Spotlight PA. The university declined to provide more specific information about these mitigation plans except that they include “finding other revenue sources and reducing expenses.”

“Even if temporarily we had to let athletics borrow [from the school], we would do it with nontuition, nonstate education dollars,” Sara Thorndike, Penn State senior vice president for finance and business, told the Wall Street Journal.

Penn State has not yet issued the bonds, according to the Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board, and documents related to the bonds would detail how the debt would be repaid in the event of default.

Penn State’s financial standing is strong despite cuts by the administration to lessen the budget deficit, Collins said. The university maintains an “Aa1” rating, the second highest possible rating, he said.

“The credit quality of Penn State is exceptionally high, meaning that the likelihood of them defaulting is very, very low,” Collins said.

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DeSantis' plan to develop state parks faces setback as golf course backer pulls out

Florida state park.

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) — Facing widespread opposition across the political spectrum, Gov. Ron DeSantis ' plan to develop state parks with business ventures — such as golf courses, pickleball courts and large hotels — has hit a snag after a key supporter pulled the plug.

The Department of Environmental Protection confirmed in an email that one group is no longer pursuing golf courses at pristine Jonathan Dickinson State Park in southeast Florida. The agency statement came after the backer, a nonprofit called Tuskegee Dunes Foundation, withdrew its proposal over the weekend.

“This project will be removed from agency review,” DEP spokesperson Alexandra Kuchta said in the email.

It wasn't clear Monday what impact the Dickinson decision might have on DEP's overall “Great Outdoors Initiative,” which envisions a variety of projects at nine state parks for people to enjoy popular sites, according to officials.

"It’s high time we made public lands more accessible to the public,” said Jeremy Redfern, DeSantis' press secretary, in a post on the social platform X.

Yet the outcry was so intense when the plan became public last week that DEP scrapped hearings that had been planned for Tuesday — one hour in each location, in midafternoon when many people are working. They opted instead to reschedule the hearings for after Labor Day. Officials did not immediately respond Monday to questions about new hearing details, including whether they will go forward at all.

The opposition came from all corners. Republican Sens. Rick Scott and Marco Rubio joined GOP Rep. Brian Mast in a letter contending the compressed time frame was far too fast to fully air the plans. Democratic Rep. Kathy Castor said in a social media post the ideas were “outrageous” and rooted in policies that “prioritize profits over our planet.”

Hundreds of people showed up at weekend protests near the nine parks, many of them carrying signs decorated with wildlife art produced by Tampa-based artist Veronica Steiner. She said in an interview that protection of Florida's parks transcends political and philosophical differences.

“I don’t think this is like a red or blue issue,” Steiner said. “I think anybody that lives and has been raised in Florida should care about the land, and that should be politics aside. Everyone should try to protect their natural resources, period.”

It is not the first time a Republican administration has raised the idea of leveraging more revenue from state parks by providing golf, lodging and other attractions where public lands are used for private interest. But past ideas were quickly dropped, including one promoted by Scott when he was governor, after public opposition.

Adding another question to the DeSantis proposals is the involvement of the Tuskegee Dunes Foundation, which said in an earlier statement the Dickinson park golf courses would “tell the story” of the Tuskegee Airmen, a pioneering Black unit in World War II. Proceeds would go to another organization called Folds of Honor that provides scholarships for the military and to first responders.

The Tuskegee Dunes' initial statement said the golf course project would steer clear of environmentally sensitive parts of the Dickinson park, known as home to the threatened scrub jay and other imperiled species. But then the opposition got increasingly loud.

“We have received clear feedback that Jonathan Dickinson State Park is not the right location,” their recent statement said. “We will not pursue building in the beloved Jonathan Dickinson State Park.”

Environmental groups say they will continue to oppose development at the parks.

“Florida has no shortage of places to swing a golf club, sample the continental breakfast, or try your hand at pickleball,” Audubon Florida said in a statement on its website, “but increasingly rare are the opportunities to spot the deep blue feathers of a Florida scrub jay, witness the miracle of neotropical bird migration, or experience Florida in all its natural beauty.”

Payne reported from Tallahassee, Florida.

Kate Payne is a corps member for The Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues.

Policy 5:38 - Affiliated Entities

Policy Contact: Office of General Counsel

This policy and its procedures set forth the requirements for current and future affiliated entities of the University. These requirements include accounting and financial controls, organizational principles, and compliance standards that ensure the University’s values and mission are upheld, while still preserving the separateness of the affiliated entity.

• Affiliated Entity: a nonprofit entity with a legal existence separate from the University that is organized and/or operated for the bona fide purpose of supporting the University, its activities, and its mission, through the receipt of gifts and donations and/or the provision of services. The entity must also be created by the University, receive significant support from the University, or have a formally established relationship with the University.  
• Gift or Donation: An item of value or an amount of money freely given with no expectation of anything of significant value in return, other than recognition and disposition of the gift or donation in accordance with the donor’s wishes. A gift or donation generally does not require performance of specific duties, a commitment of University resources, a defined period of performance or plan of work, or the return of unused funds. Funds from government entities should not be treated as a gift or donation.  
• Reserve Powers: Power retained by the University to authorize transactions between an affiliated entity and a third party for the benefit of the University that, if authorized, would encumber, pose significant risk to, or otherwise demand performance by, the University.  
• Affiliated entity status is conveyed solely by the approval of the SDBOR. The University may establish an entity with the intention that it obtain affiliated status. All entities with agreements with the University that comply with SDBOR Policy 5.9 on the date of adoption of this policy shall retain their affiliated entity status, but such entities shall otherwise be required to comply with this policy.
• In order to obtain affiliated status, an affiliation and/or custodial agreement must be drafted between the University and the entity that memorializes the nature and purpose of their relationship and ensures the entity’s conformance with all SDBOR and University policies, including the obligations specified below and those given in SDBOR Policy 5.9, as applicable. The agreement must be reviewed and approved by the SDBOR General Counsel.
• If the entity conducted business prior to seeking affiliated status, the entity shall be subject to a compliance and financial audit conducted by an independent certified public accounting firm that is either approved by, or meets the criteria set by, the SDBOR Executive Director.
• The entity must be organized and maintained as a South Dakota nonprofit corporation in good standing, and must apply for, receive, and maintain 501(c)(3) federal tax exempt status.
• The entity must have at least one (1) University representative on its governing board with full voting rights. The representative shall be appointed by the University President.
• The entity’s charter, articles of incorporation and bylaws must provide for the distribution of assets to the University, the SDBOR, or the State upon dissolution of the entity. All affiliated entities established after the creation of this policy must account for the Reserve Powers provision of this policy in their articles of incorporation and bylaws.  
• The affiliated entity must employ sound fiscal and accounting procedures that follow generally accepted accounting principles. In keeping with this requirement, the affiliated entity must create an annual budget in such detail as reflective of its scope of operation, as well as an accounting of all funds held on the behalf of the University, both of which it must supply annually on or before September 1 of the following year to the University’s Vice President for Finance and Budget and the SDBOR General Counsel.
• The affiliated entity must maintain a separate account for all gifts and donations it receives or assets it holds that are intended for the benefit of the University and/or for the advancement of the University’s mission. However, such funds and assets may be pooled with other assets for investment purposes. All gifts, donations, and assets received by the entity and intended for the University or its mission shall be reported by the entity to the SDBOR and University on a calendar-year basis, on or before September 1 of the following year.
• The affiliated entity must be subject to annual financial audit by an independent certified public accounting firm that is either approved by, or meets the criteria set by, the University’s Vice President for Finance and Budget. The affiliated entity must also authorize the University and the SDBOR, separately, the right to inspect the affiliated entity’s records and to audit the affiliated entity’s accounts.
• The officers, employees, and agents of the affiliated entity must adhere to the highest ethical standards, including the adoption of a conflict of interest policy that aligns with all applicable federal and state laws, and SDBOR and University policies and prohibits lobbying or participating in political campaigns.
• The affiliated entity must maintain a separate corporate and institutional form from the University by regularly holding meetings, maintaining minutes of meetings, and representing itself in all concerns as a separate legal entity from the SDBOR and the University. All transactions between the affiliated entity and the University not in furtherance of the University’s educational mission shall be conducted as ordinary, arms-length business transactions.
• The affiliated entity must hold harmless the State of South Dakota, its officers, agents and employees, from and against any and all actions, suits, damages, liability or other proceedings not arising solely from acts or omissions of the State. The affiliated entity must also maintain minimum general liability, automotive, and property insurance at limits established by the University’s Vice President for Finance and Budget.
• All material aspects of an affiliated entity must be reported to the University, including changes to the entity’s litigation, liability, and financial profile, as well as any significant business dealings.
• Any amendments to the affiliate and/or custodial agreement must be agreed to in writing by the University and entity, and must receive SDBOR approval to be effective.
• The Reserve Powers of the University under this policy must be adhered to by the affiliated entity.  
• The receipt of certain University-provided services as consideration for the activities of the affiliated entity on behalf of and for the benefit of the University; and
• The use of any University logo/trademark, or derivative thereof, in the name, logo, signage or marketing of the affiliated entity.  
• Keep the University’s Vice President for Finance and Budget informed of the affiliated entity’s activities on a regular basis;
• Communicate the University’s position and advocate its interests with the affiliated entity;
• Receive on behalf of the University all required accountings and other reports required by the affiliate agreement or this policy, which include, but are not limited to, copies of all entity filings required to maintain its nonprofit and tax exempt status, Form 990s, a list of the governing board’s membership, and approved minutes of all regular and special meetings of the governing board;
• Closely monitor the affiliated entity for compliance with SDBOR and University policies, and ensure its actions on behalf of the University align with the University’s mission; and
• Facilitate the University’s exercise of its Reserve Powers.  
• All real property and real property interests intended to be conveyed to, or used by or on the behalf of, the University;
• Any purported gift or donation that would encumber, or otherwise demand the performance of, the University, its officers and/or employees;
• Dissolving the affiliated entity or selling, leasing or disposing of substantially all of its assets; and
• Incurring any liability for which the University could be directly responsible.  
• Affiliated entity status is terminable at the sole discretion of the University or the SDBOR.
• Cease the use of, and return or forfeit, where applicable and practical, all tangible and intangible benefits provided to it by the University under this policy or in the affiliate and/or custodial agreement; and
• Distribute all remaining funds and assets it has received that are intended for the benefit of the University and/or for the advancement of the University’s mission, in a manner that most closely accords with the donor or benefactor’s intent.  
• Any proposal for affiliate relationship requires sponsorship by a University-recognized organization, officer or employee.  
• Prior to any substantive planning, the University’s Office of General Counsel and the Office of Finance and Budget should be consulted so that they may provide a baseline assessment of the financial and legal implications and feasibility of the proposed affiliation.  
• After the above consultation, any entity seeking affiliated status or those seeking to create an affiliated entity must develop a detailed concept plan justifying the proposed affiliation. This plan must provide the objectives, mission, governance structure, risk assessment (for the University and the entity), funding sources proposed and committed, the extent of the connections proposed between the entity and the University, and a thorough explanation of the manner in which the affiliated relationship will benefit the University and further its mission. In order for the concept plan to advance to the University President, it must receive the approval of the appropriate Vice President. Should the President approve the concept plan, the Office of General Counsel shall draft an affiliation agreement for consideration by the SDBOR and the SDBOR General Counsel.  
• Prior to voting on any action by the affiliated entity’s governing board that invokes the University’s Reserve Powers, the University’s representative(s) must notify the University President and provide a detailed explanation of the transaction in all material respects.
• No affiliated entity or representatives thereof may authorize an action invoking the Reserved Rights of the University unless the University President has received the above notice, explanation, and approved said transaction.
• The University President shall ascertain whether SDBOR approval is required for the transaction, in accordance with SDBOR Policy 5.3.
• Where another University official has been delegated contracting authority for the type of contract the affiliated entity seeks to enter with the third party pursuant to University Policy 5:1, the University President shall consult with the particular official before rendering a decision.
• Where SDBOR approval is required, no affiliated entity may authorize the action absent formal SDBOR approval. In all other respects, no affiliated entity may authorize the action absent the formal approval of the University President.

Responsible Administrator

The Vice President for Finance and Budget, or designee, is responsible for the annual and ad hoc review of this policy and procedure. The University President is responsible for approval of, and modifications to, this policy.

Approved by President on 12/03/2019. Revised 01/30/2024 (clerical).

Sources: SDBOR Policies 5.3 and 5.9 ; University Policy 5:1