Enterprising For Income and Lasting Change: It’s About Becoming Sustainable

Abstract

In the aftermath of these recessionary times, it is no secret that nonprofit organizations are challenged by growing demand for services, enhanced by depleting cash reserves, funding cuts and less discretionary funds from donors. To rise above these changing conditions, there are ways of enhancing mission, generating social impacts and finding new sources of money. There are innovative strategies that can come to the aid of nonprofit organizations to enable them to survive and thrive in this difficult economic environment.

The key question to ask is: What do we do well that can be replicated in a profitable manner, that will provide scalable impacts and build sustainable income? Kate Barr, the Executive Director of the Nonprofits Assistance Fund, explains, “When nonprofit organizations adopt entrepreneurial, market-based strategies in order to earn income in support of missions, the ventures are generally referred to as social enterprises.” These enterprises are fueled by a “double bottom line” of both social and financial returns on investment. Both are important, and both need to be recognized and measured for their respective results.