non profit start up business plan

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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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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.

Improve Your Nonprofit Business Planning Efforts with Smartsheet

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When teams have clarity into the work getting done, there’s no telling how much more they can accomplish in the same amount of time.  Try Smartsheet for free, today.

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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

How to Write a Nonprofit Business Plan

Angelique O'Rourke

13 min. read

Updated October 27, 2023

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 .

See why 1.2 million entrepreneurs have written their business plans with LivePlan

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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Nonprofit Business Plan: A Comprehensive Guide

• by Jess Convocar on February 21, 2024
• last update on February 22, 2024
• Reading Time: 7 minutes

Like any other business, nonprofit organizations need careful, structured planning to ensure sustainable growth. This is possible by creating a business plan that not only serves as a roadmap but also helps in attracting donors and volunteers needed to bring the organization’s vision to fruition.

Crafting the perfect business plan involves many things, but the most important part is understanding what it should look like and how it can help the organization forward its mission. This guide simplifies the process, breaks down its unique components, and provides step-by-step instructions on how to write a nonprofit business plan.

What is a business plan for nonprofits?

A business plan for nonprofits is a strategic document that outlines a nonprofit organization’s goals and operational approach. While similar to for-profit business plans, the focus here is on achieving social impact rather than financial profit.

Projects implemented by nonprofit organizations typically revolve around fostering social welfare, advocacy, education, or humanitarian aid. For instance, a nonprofit working to address homelessness might outline projects such as providing shelter and meals, offering job training programs, and collaborating with local agencies to advocate for affordable housing policies.

A typical business plan for nonprofits includes:

• The nonprofit’s mission, which sets the foundation for the entire plan;
• Specific objectives,
• Fundraising strategies,
• Resource allocation,
• And how it plans to measure success in terms of societal or community benefit.

But one thing to note is that there is no one-size-fits-all plan. Every little detail incorporated into the plan must be tailored to the organization’s needs, where it currently stands, and how it can contribute to its primary purpose – guiding the nonprofit to success.

Why Your Nonprofit Needs a Business Plan

A good plan does not only help attract external support but also benefits the organization internally. Listed below are the key reasons why your nonprofit needs a business plan:

Clarity of Mission, Vision, and Strategic Direction

Running a nonprofit organization isn’t the easiest task, and there may be times when you question whether you’re truly making an impact. Having a business plan gives you a perspective of the progress you’ve made and provides a distinct path moving forward.

This clear-cut framework ensures that the mission, vision, and strategic direction remain focused, helping the nonprofit make informed decisions and navigate challenges with purpose.

Proper Resource Planning and Financial Management

Poor financial management can lead to many problems, especially in nonprofits. With a business plan, this can easily be taken care of.

Since nonprofit organizations rely on various external funds, there should be an emphasis on resource planning and management. This involves forecasting the organization’s needs, such as financial, human, and technological resources, and strategically allocating them to support the mission and vision. Doing so also demonstrates fiscal responsibility to donors and stakeholders.

Strategic Fundraising and Sustainability

One of the most common and effective ways nonprofits gain support is through fundraising activities. A business plan helps you develop a targeted fundraising strategy that aligns with the organization’s goals. Clearly outlining the fundraising objectives, target audiences, and specific tactics provides a roadmap for effective resource mobilization.

Additionally, a structured plan attracts and retains donors by instilling confidence in them about the tangible impact their contributions can make.

Risk Management

A business plan is vital for developing strategies to handle risks and potential challenges. This proactive approach helps minimize the impact of unforeseen events, like economic recessions or natural disasters, on the nonprofit’s operations.

A robust risk management strategy not only saves time and money but also improves decision-making , avoids surprises, and, most importantly, prevents harm to the people your nonprofit serves.

Legal and Regulatory Compliance

Because the business plan already lays out how the organization works, it’s easier to understand and adhere to nonprofit laws like tax exemption and revenue regulations.

Dealing with these things from the start helps prevent potential problems, maintains transparency, and builds trust with stakeholders. This allows you to focus on carrying out the mission without legal conflicts.

How to Create a Business Plan Strategy

When gearing up to create a business plan for your nonprofit organization, it’s important to begin by thoroughly understanding the unique aspects of your mission. This solid foundation will guide you through the next steps of crafting a well-thought-out plan, which includes:

1. Create a strategy

Before anything else, you must identify your why .

Ask yourself what you want to happen. What does the organization stand for? Who does it serve? What do you hope for it to become?

If your long-term goal is to create a lasting impact and expand the community you serve, establish a strategy that mirrors your mission. Begin by assessing your organization’s current position, strengths, weaknesses, and opportunities. Based on your assessment, leverage the strengths and address weaknesses that may hinder progress.

Next, clearly define who your target audience is. Understand their specific needs and preferences to tailor your approach effectively.

Once the key factors have been determined and written down, it will serve as the starting point for the strategy.

2. Plan programs

The planning step is where you delve into the how. What are your plans to sustain and amplify the impact you aim to create?

Since you are not selling products or providing services to generate revenue, you’ll need to rely on fundraising events to support your cause. To do this effectively, create detailed program plans covering goals, activities, timelines, and expected outcomes. As always, ensure these plans align with your organization’s mission.

After establishing the programs, set up a monitoring system that tracks their effectiveness and evaluates them regularly. This helps you make informed changes as the nonprofit or the community’s needs evolve.

3. Ensure financial sustainability

Nonprofits receive financial support from various channels, such as individual donations, grants, sponsorships, and fundraising events. To ensure economic sustainability, building relationships with potential donors, individuals, institutions, and various funding sources is important to avoid relying too much on a single avenue.

In this sense, a well-thought-out budget is crucial for financial stability. Make sure to allocate resources carefully, considering program costs, administration expenses, and other needs. A clear and transparent budget not only aids in financial planning but also boosts trust with supporters.

4. Prioritize legal considerations

Even though dealing with changing rules might seem to lead to more paperwork than focusing on your mission, remember that compliance is as important as pursuing your organization’s goals. Some vital legal considerations include:

• Legal structure and registration
• Tax exemption (if applicable)
• Fundraising compliance
• Financial accountability
• Intellectual property (such as logos, trademarks, and copyrights)
• Data protection and privacy

Maintaining a good standing is crucial for obtaining licenses, securing grants and funding, protecting your organization’s reputation, and keeping the right to solicit support.

If you don’t have an in-house legal counsel, it’s a good idea to seek advice from experts who know nonprofit laws in your area when planning your business.

How to Write a Nonprofit Business Plan

Now that you’ve covered all the essential details, the next step is to create the business plan outline. There’s no strict format to follow, as it all depends on your organization’s specifics. However, make sure not to exclude these essential components when creating a nonprofit business plan:

1. Executive Summary

This part is a quick overview of the whole document. Since it’s the first thing people see in the business plan, it’s crucial to make it clear and interesting enough to grab their attention and encourage them to read the entire plan. Include the organization’s fundamentals – its history, objectives, and financing plans.

2. Organizational Overview

Provide a gist of who you are and who you serve. Here, express the organization’s mission, vision, and specific short-term and long-term goals.

3. Products, Programs, or Services Rendered

In this section, you must provide a detailed description of all the products and services mentioned in the executive summary. Highlight any unique aspects, such as innovative features and distinct advantages, that set you apart. State how instrumental these are to the success of your initiatives and how each one addresses the industry need.

4. Operational Plan

This is where you detail how your nonprofit will function on a day-to-day basis. Outline each team member’s daily, weekly, and monthly tasks, specifying responsibilities, timelines, and collaboration points to ensure a cohesive and efficient operation.

Additionally, spotlight any key processes, workflows, or systems necessary to achieve your mission.

5. Marketing Plan

The marketing plan should reflect the mission of the organization. Under this section, outline the strategies and channels to get your nonprofit out there. Include details about your target audience, methods for reaching them, and any promotional activities. This section may also cover partnerships, collaborations, and outreach efforts.

6. Financial Plan

The financial plan provides a comprehensive overview of your nonprofit’s financial health and projections. Include a budget, funding sources, and a breakdown of how funds will be allocated to support your operations and programs. This part is vital for demonstrating sustainability and helping make better-informed decisions.

7. Appendix

In the appendix, incorporate all the additional documents and information supporting the business plan’s main body. This may include resumes of key personnel, detailed financial statements, legal documents, or any other relevant materials.

Here’s a quick step-by-step guide on how to write a business plan:

• Start by outlining the executive summary providing a concise overview of the plan.
• Develop the organizational overview, which includes the mission and vision of the nonprofit.
• Conduct a SWOT (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, threats) analysis to identify and address internal and external factors.
• Clearly articulate short-term and long-term goals and objectives.
• Describe the programs and activities that will help achieve these goals.
• Develop a marketing and outreach strategy to engage the community and attract support.
• Create a detailed financial plan, including budgets, revenue streams, and financial projections.
• Outline the governance and management structure, including roles and responsibilities.
• Detail monitoring and evaluation processes to assess program effectiveness.

Nonprofit Business Plan Template

Once you have a clear grasp of your organizational goals and strategies, here’s a sample nonprofit business plan template to get you started:

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) on Nonprofit Business Plan

Q: how often should a non-profit business plan be updated.

Although nonprofit plans usually set up a roadmap for at least three to five years, they should be regularly reviewed and updated to ensure they remain relevant and aligned with the organization’s purpose and changing external factors. For younger companies, an annual update with six monthly reviews may be sufficient, while more established nonprofits might opt for an annual review with quarterly check-ins.

Q: What role does evaluation play in a non-profit business plan?

Smaller nonprofits often conduct formal evaluations because their funders require it, but the benefits extend in both directions. Internally, evaluations help the organization assess its performance, impact, and effectiveness. In doing so, the nonprofit meets funder expectations and gains valuable insights for improvement, ensuring transparency and better alignment with its mission.

Q: How can a non-profit maintain adaptability in its strategies?

To stay adaptable, a nonprofit can follow three basic practices. First, keep the business plan up-to-date to align with the changing goals and environment. Second, stay on top of current industry trends to anticipate shifts in the landscape and prepare ahead of time. Lastly, revamp tools and approaches to ensure strategies remain innovative and effective.

Plan for Nonprofit Success with Convene

A well-crafted nonprofit business plan is crucial for success. To achieve this, cooperation is necessary within the internal teams and partners. However, communication can be a common roadblock, especially in a remote workplace.

This is where Convene comes into play.

Convene is a reliable board portal for nonprofits that facilitates effective planning through its interactive and secure features. Easily collaborate with everyone in the organization by leveraging Convene’s live meeting capabilities, such as annotations and digital sign-offs. Also, keep track of the updates and reports with its secure document management features.

Check out this page to learn more about Convene and how it can benefit your nonprofit organizations.

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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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How to Start a Nonprofit | Step 1: Research

Starting and sustaining a nonprofit can be a significant challenge. There are currently more than one million charitable nonprofits in the United States, and many struggle to attract funding. Before starting out, you will want to identify the need for your specific organization: are there already similar nonprofits? If so are they serving the same geographic area or a similar group of beneficiaries? What will be your nonprofit’s unique competency to help it stand out from the crowd and inspire donors to contribute?

Here are four questions to answer as you start this journey:

Is there a demonstrated need in the community for a new nonprofit with the mission you envision?

• What problems will the new nonprofit solve?
• Who will it serve?
• Are there similar nonprofits (or for-profits) fulfilling the same needs/serving the same people? Are they financially stable?
• What will make your nonprofit better equipped to solve these problems?

Just as you would do if you were starting a for-profit business, you will need to define the demand and market for the services your nonprofit would provide. There is intense competition for limited dollars from individual donations and also from foundation grants.

In order to attract funding, you will need to demonstrate that there is sufficient need for your organization's services and that your organization is best equipped to address that need. As you look into who else may be providing services of a similar nature in the community, you may find other organizations doing similar work. Rather than starting a new nonprofit, it may make more sense to work with existing groups. Sometimes it's more efficient and effective to collaborate with other organizations rather than creating an organization that duplicates what others are doing.

• Have you investigated whether collaborating with a  fiscal sponsor  would be a useful first step?

What is the business plan for financing the organization during start-up and in the future?

To be successful, a nonprofit needs more than just people passionate about programs. It also needs revenue and financial systems strong enough to support those programs over time. Investing the time to develop a detailed  business plan  will be useful when you are recruiting board members and seeking start-up funding.

• More about  nonprofit business plans  (Legal Zoom)

What are the costs to start the organization?

Will you need office space or a facility? What will the program costs be, including labor (which may include payroll taxes and benefits)? In some cases, special licenses, permits, or certifications will be necessary to provide certain services, such as childcare or health care. We recommend finding experts, such as the  state association of nonprofits  in your state and/or local attorneys familiar with the operations of nonprofits, to get a clear picture of the many legal and operational requirements.

Given the ever-growing competition for limited resources, make sure you have a realistic picture not only of what it will cost in time and dollars to create a nonprofit, but also how you will finance the day-to-day activities and continue to attract revenue into the future. Financial sustainability may be one of the most difficult challenges your nonprofit will face.

How will this newly formed nonprofit demonstrate its impact?

In order for your nonprofit to be sustainable, you will need to demonstrate to funders that your organization is making an impact and is worth their continuing investment. To do that, you will need to  measure and demonstrate your impact . If you are not sure how to demonstrate the impact your organization is having, sustainability may be a challenge, and you may want to consider alternatives such as partnering with an existing nonprofit.

Is this the right solution for our community?

Once you incorporate at the state level and secure tax-exempt status at the federal level, then the real heavy lifting begins: both internal (such as recruiting and orienting a great board,  hiring and managing talented staff , finding and equipping an office, setting up  financial structures , etc.) and external (such as  registering with the state  to solicit donations, securing any required licenses or permits, launching your fundraising program, and so much more). Plus, given the importance of earning donors’ trust, you will want to have a clear commitment to  ethics and accountability  (such as adopting policies addressing  conflicts of interest ,  compensation , travel,  whistleblower protection , and more).

In many cases, there may be better options to accomplish your goal of making a difference. If there is an organization in your community that you admire, consider approaching that organization to explore establishing a new or expanded program to reach the people you are hoping to serve.

If you have decided that there is a need for and it's feasible for you to create a new organization and make a commitment of time and resources to getting it off the ground and sustaining it over time, then you're ready to move on to  Step 2 | Building a Solid Foundation .

How to Start a Nonprofit - Table of Contents

• How to Start a Nonprofit home page
• Step 1: Do Your Research
• Step 2: Build a Solid Foundation
• Step 3: Incorporation and State Forms
• Step 4: Filing for Federal Tax-Exempt Status
• Step 5: Ongoing Compliance
• Back to How to Start a Nonprofit Home Page

Disclaimer: Information on this website is provided for informational purposes only and is neither intended to be nor should be construed as legal, accounting, tax, investment, or financial advice. Please consult a professional (attorney, accountant, tax advisor) for the latest and most accurate information. The National Council of Nonprofits makes no representations or warranties as to the accuracy or timeliness of the information contained herein.

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!

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• 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

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

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.

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. It will include your organization’s 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 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 – This section of your nonprofit business 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 – In the Operations Plan, you will outline your day-to-day operations as well as 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 board members.
• 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.

Next Section: Executive Summary >

Nonprofit Business Plan FAQs

What is a non profit business plan.

A nonprofit business plan is a road map to start and/or grow your nonprofit organization. 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 strategic 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  here . This is a sample nonprofit business plan outline that you can use in PDF format.

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Home > Business Plan Templates > 10-Part Nonprofit Business Plan Template (With Examples)

10-Part Nonprofit Business Plan Template (With Examples)

Mar 26, 2024 | Business Plan Templates

Table of Contents

Does a Nonprofit Need a Business Plan?

Yes. A nonprofit needs a business plan just as much as any for-profit enterprise. A business plan for a nonprofit organisation serves several critical purposes: it outlines the mission and vision, sets clear goals and objectives, and details the strategies for achieving them. Additionally, it plays a vital role in securing funding from donors, grants, and other sources by demonstrating the organisation’s potential for impact and sustainability.

A well-crafted business plan helps nonprofits to effectively allocate resources, manage risks, and measure progress towards their goals. It also provides a roadmap for growth and development, ensuring that the organisation remains focused and aligned with its core values and objectives.

In essence, a business plan is indispensable for a nonprofit organisation’s success, guiding its efforts to make a meaningful difference in its community.

So, without further ado, here is our nonprofit business plan template!

1. Executive Summary

The executive summary provides a concise overview of your nonprofit organisation and summarises the main aspects of your plan. Although it comes first in your business plan, you might find it easier to write this part last, ensuring it captures all the important points from the rest of your document.

Introduction

Begin with a brief introduction to your organisation. What is its name? What causes does it support? Whether you’re focusing on environmental conservation, community development, etc., make it compelling and engaging.

Example: The Helping Hands Foundation is a nonprofit organisation committed to uplifting disadvantaged communities through access to quality education, healthcare, and basic amenities.

Organisation Overview

Here, provide a high-level summary of your organisation. Discuss the core activities and why the work is crucial. Include the types of services offered and any significant initiatives.

Example : Our organisation mainly operates in rural areas, where we undertake various community development projects and run a healthcare centre and a school.

Mission and Vision Statement

Write your Nonprofit’s mission and vision statement. This should communicate your organisation’s purpose, its strategic goals, and its commitment to the cause.

Example: Our mission is to empower underprivileged communities by providing education, healthcare services, and resources that foster a sustainable livelihood. Our vision is to create an equitable world where every individual has access to basic human rights and opportunities needed for personal and communal growth.

Geographic Reach and Accessibility

Discuss where your nonprofit operates, explaining where you have the most significant presence or impact and the communities you are serving in those regions.

Example: The Helping Hands Foundation currently extends its services to the marginalised communities in two rural towns in Montana, reaching over 5,000 individuals directly.

Service Type

Explain the kind of work your nonprofit does. Whether you provide direct services, advocacy, research, etc., describe in detail.

Example: We offer direct services, including running a healthcare centre that provides basic medical services and a school that offers quality education from Kindergarten to 5th grade. We also have several livelihood programs that equip adults with skills to earn a living.

Key Goals and Objectives

Outline what you’re striving for in the short and long term. These should be SMART (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic, and Time-bound) goals.

Example: Our main goal for the coming year is to expand our services into two more towns and to increase our direct beneficiaries by 20%. In the long term, we aim to establish a network of schools and healthcare centres across Montana.

2. Programs and Services

This section provides the reader with a detailed understanding of your organisation’s specific programs and services, their purpose, and their impact.

Program Definition and Theme

Describe the programs or services your organisation offers in detail. Explain the principles guiding these programs and the kind of expertise involved.

Example: We run three main programs: the Community Health Initiative, the Learning Support Program, and the Adult Skill-building Program. Each of these programs follows a participatory model, where community members are active participants, ensuring culturally and contextually relevant interventions.

Service Range

Enumerate the range of services you offer under each program. Highlight key elements and features of these services.

Example: The Community Health Initiative includes services like regular medical check-ups, basic treatments, immunisations, and health awareness workshops. The Learning Support Program offers a comprehensive curriculum, while the Skill-building Program offers vocational classes in various trades.

Beneficiary Analysis

Describe who benefits from your programs or services, detailing how they are chosen and why they are the focus of your efforts.

Example: Our beneficiaries predominantly include underserved individuals and families from the marginalised communities in rural Montana. The selection is made based on household income, with priority given to those below the poverty line. We focus on these groups because we believe that providing them with access to healthcare, quality education, and skill-building can lead to a significant upliftment.

3. History and Governance

This section provides a glimpse into the historical background of your nonprofit and an insight into its governance structure.

Legal Status and Structure

Specify the legal status of your nonprofit. Is it a nonprofit corporation, a public charity, a private foundation, or another type of legal entity? Why was this type chosen?

Example: The Helping Hands Foundation is a Public Charity under section 501(c)(3) of the IRS code. This structure allows us to accept donations, contributions, and gifts that are tax-deductible for donors, which is beneficial in raising funds for our cause.

Board of Directors

Introduce your board of directors briefly, highlighting their experience and roles. Point out their key contributions to the organisation.

Example: Our board comprises five dedicated members, including a physician, an educator, a social worker, a business entrepreneur, and a legal professional, each offering expertise in their respective fields to help guide and govern our organisation.

Key Milestones

Highlight significant milestones in your organisation’s history to show the progress and impact over time.

Example : Founded in 2015, the Helping Hands Foundation started as a health outreach program serving a single community. By 2017, we expanded our services to education, and in 2019 added our Adult Skill-building Program. We’re now serving multiple communities across Montana and have positively impacted over 5,000 lives directly.

4. Business Model

This section will outline how the nonprofit organisation functions and generates revenue to support its mission and programs.

Main Income Sources

Discuss your nonprofit’s main sources of income. These could include individual and corporate donations, grants, fundraising events, service fees, etc.

Example: Our main income sources include individual donations, corporate partnerships, and grants. We also generate revenue through our annual charity run – “Run for Help”.

Planned Collaborations/ Partnerships

Discuss any planned collaborations or partnerships. These could be with other nonprofit organisations, for-profit businesses, government institutions, etc.

Example: We are planning to partner with local businesses for some of our skill-building programs. These businesses will not only provide practical training but also potential job placements for our beneficiaries.

Special Projects

If there are any special projects or initiatives planned that will bring substantial funds or support to the organisation, detail them.

Example: We plan to launch a “Sponsor a Child’s Education” initiative that encourages donors to cover educational expenses for a specific child for a period of one year.

5. Market Analysis

This section provides an understanding of the broader context in which your nonprofit operates, including the current need, target beneficiaries, and competitive landscape.

Current Community Need

Describe the current community need that your nonprofit is addressing. Use data and real examples to illustrate the need.

Example: According to the latest census, the rural parts of Montana that we serve have 35% of the population living below the poverty line. Lack of access to quality healthcare, education, and job opportunities persist as significant challenges.

Beneficiary/ Constituency Analysis

Detail the demographic, geographic, socioeconomic, and other relevant characteristics of the people your organisation serves.

Example: Our primary beneficiaries are families living below the poverty line, struggling with limited access to education, healthcare, and employment opportunities. They present a diverse age group, from children requiring educational support to adults needing vocational training.

Related Organisations and Competitive Analysis

Identify other nonprofit organisations working on similar issues, examine their approach, and highlight what sets your organisation apart.

Example: While other nonprofits in the region primarily focus on either healthcare or education, The Helping Hands Foundation sets itself apart by offering a holistic approach – providing access to healthcare, quality education, and skill-building programs for sustainable livelihoods.

Positioning and Strategy

Explain how your nonprofit is positioned in response to the need, target beneficiaries, and competitive landscape. Describe your strategy to deliver your mission.

Example: Our organisation is positioned as an all-encompassing solution for the challenges faced by our target community. Our strategy involves a holistic, participatory approach that acknowledges and works around the cultural and contextual realities of the community.

6. Public Relations and Fundraising Strategy

This section deals with how you plan to generate awareness about your organisation’s purpose and work, as well as how you plan to solicit donations.

PR Strategy

Outline your strategy to garner visibility and positive coverage in the media and community.

Example: Our PR strategy includes issuing press releases about milestone achievements, hosting town hall meetings to engage community members, and inviting local influencers or media to cover our key events and initiatives.

Fundraising Plan

Describe your approach to raising funds. This may include details of fundraising events, online campaigns, donor recognition strategies, and plans to apply for grants.

Example: We plan to conduct an annual charity run event, “Run for Help”, which is our major fundraiser. We also run online crowdfunding campaigns around specific causes like “Back-to-School” and “Vaccinate a Village”. We acknowledge our generous donors through a ‘wall of fame’ on our website and an annual appreciation dinner.

Community Engagement/ Volunteer Plans

Discuss how you plan to engage community members and volunteers in your work. This can bring additional resources to your organisation through volunteer time and word-of-mouth advertising.

Example: We welcome community members to volunteer in our learning centres, health camps, and other initiatives. We also encourage volunteer involvement in event organisation, fundraising, and spreading the word about our work.

7. Operations

This is where you’ll outline how your nonprofit will function day-to-day, including details about staff recruitment, facility needs, technology, and overall operational flow.

Team Recruitment and Roles

Describe how you plan to staff your nonprofit. This includes the roles you require, criteria for each position, expected number of hires you plan to make per year, and any recruiting strategies.

Example: We plan to hire qualified professionals for roles like Program Managers, Field Coordinators, and Fundraising Coordinators. We also rely on volunteers to help us in various capacities. We actively participate in job fairs and conduct regular recruitment drives to find passionate and committed individuals for our team.

Board Composition and Roles

Discuss the current and expected composition of your board. What roles do they play in your nonprofit, and how often do they meet?

Example: Our board comprises five members, specialising in different areas like healthcare education, legalities, business, and social work. They meet quarterly to review our progress and annual plan. They are instrumental in providing strategic direction to our organisation.

Technology Needs

What kind of technology does your nonprofit require to function seamlessly? This might include software for managing donor data, a website for online presence, project management tools, etc.

Example: We use a donor management software to streamline our fundraising efforts, an accounting software to track our income and expenses, and social media platforms to reach out to our followers and prospective donors.

Facility Needs (If Applicable)

What are your facility needs? Do you need an office space, a storage room, a community centre, etc.?

Example: We currently operate from a rented office space in downtown Montana. Due to the expansion of our programs, we plan to rent additional storage space for our education and healthcare supplies.

8. Marketing and Communications Strategy

This section involves how the nonprofit plans to market its programs and services to its beneficiaries and prospective donors.

Marketing and Outreach

Describe how you plan to increase awareness of your nonprofit in the community you serve, among potential donors, and the public in general.

Example: We plan to conduct regular community awareness programs in schools and public places to educate people about our work. Also, we use digital marketing channels like social media, email newsletter, and our website to increase our visibility among potential donors.

Website and Social Media

Discuss your organisation’s online presence. This may include details about your website, blog, and social media accounts.

Example: Our website provides comprehensive information about our programs, stories of impact, and ways to get involved. We also maintain an active presence on various social media platforms, where we share updates, appeal for donations, and engage with our followers.

Community Engagement

Discuss how you plan to engage with the community beyond the direct provision of services.

Example: We regularly host town hall meetings to engage with community members and gather their feedback. We also participate in local events and festivals to further integrate ourselves into the community culture.

9. Financial Plan

This section focuses on your nonprofit’s financial aspects, detailing how funds will be raised and spent.

Startup Budget/ Current Annual Budget

Lay out the current or expected budget for your organisation, including income and expenses.

Example: Our annual budget for this year is $500,000, with the majority of the funds divided between education and healthcare programs. We allocate 10% for administrative expenses, and the remainder is used for fundraising and marketing.

Proposed Financing

Discuss your proposed financing options. These could include a detailed breakdown of expected revenues from various sources like donations, grants, government funding, special events, etc.

Example: We hope to raise 40% of our funds from individual and corporate donations, 30% from grants, 20% from special events like ‘Run for Help’, and the remainder 10% from government funding and other sources.

Key Financial Assumptions and Justifications

Clarify any assumptions in your financial plan, explaining why these assumptions have been made.

Example: We have assumed a 5% increase in donations from last year as we have seen a steady growth in our donor base. We also anticipate securing a major grant that we’ve applied for based on our past successes with similar applications.

10. Appendices

This section includes any additional documents or supportive material related to your business plan, such as:

Organisational Chart

Include a visual representation of your nonprofit’s structure, showing the roles and departments within the organisation.

Example: Our organisational chart distinguishes between our board members, management team, employees, and volunteers, providing a clear understanding of the functioning of our nonprofit.

Resumes of Key Staff/Volunteers

Attach resumes or brief bios of key team members to provide a sense of their skills, expertise, and experience.

Example: We have included the resume of our Program Manager who holds a master’s in Public Health and has over seven years of experience working in the nonprofit sector.

Detailed Budget

If your financial plan refers to a detailed budget, include a copy here.

Example: A detailed breakdown of our annual budget, including income and expenditure, reflects our judicious allocation of resources.

Related Market Research

Include any market research that validates the need for your nonprofit’s services.

Example: A Local Community Survey report, conducted by us, indicates a significant need for our healthcare and educational services among the local populace.

Wrapping Up Our Nonprofit Business Plan Template

In essence, a business plan helps you articulate and present your nonprofit organisation’s mission, operations, and financial activities with accuracy and persuasiveness. It enables you to highlight your organisation’s unique vision, services, and strategies robustly.

From charting organisational history and governance, presenting market analysis, to detailing your PR and fundraising strategy – a perfect business plan showcases your nonprofit in a compelling light. Remember, it’s crucial to tweak and adjust our guidance to fit your specific context, allowing your unique story, approach, and goals to shine through.

Follow this roadmap, and remember, a well-crafted business plan is more than just a document – it’s an opportunity to bring your organisation’s work to life, foster stakeholder understanding, build support, and ultimately, amplify your nonprofit’s impact.

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Nonprofit Business Plan

A nonprofit organization is an excellent way of serving society. If you’re someone wanting to support a cause or make a meaningful impact on society, it’s the way to do it.

Nonprofit organizations do not run for money or profits; they must still be properly managed and organized. A nonprofit business plan can do just that for any organization.

Need help writing a business plan for your nonprofit organization? Creating a business plan can help you fulfill your cause hassle-free and more manageable. So, we have prepared a nonprofit business plan template to help you start writing yours.

Key Takeaways

• Your nonprofit business plan should have an executive summary section summarizing the entire plan and providing an overview of the organization’s mission, goals, and strategies.
• Your organization overview section will cover your organization’s foundational elements like name, type, legal structure, location, and history.
• Prepare a detailed section to describe your programs, products, and services as well as the impact of your offering on society.
• Conduct thorough market research to understand and explain your target market, market size, growth potential, trends, and competitive landscape.
• Prepare an effective operational plan outlining your day-to-day operational process, staffing requirements, quality control, and information about technologies and equipment in use.
• Introduce your management team to your readers as well as the details about the organization structure and compensation plan.
• Prepare accurate financial projections for your nonprofit. Emphasize providing details about revenue streams, fundraising goals, expenses, and financial ratios.

How to Write a Nonprofit Business Plan?

1. executive summary.

An executive summary is the first section of the business plan to provide an overview of the organization’s missions, goals, and key strategies. In addition to highlighting your organization’s unique value proposition, it should provide a snapshot of its operations and impact. Generally, it is written after the entire business plan is ready. Here are some key components to add to your summary:

Organization summary:

Mission statement:, products, programs, and services:, impacts and outcomes:, management team:, financial highlights:, call to action:.

Think of your readers as potential donors and someone who has never heard of your organization. So, keep your executive summary concise and clear, use simple language, and avoid jargon.

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2. Organization Overview

Depending on the organization’s details, you must add various organizational overview elements. Still, every organization should include some foundational elements like its name, purpose, operations, legal structure, location, and history.

Organization Description:

Provide all the basic information about your nonprofit in this section like

• Name & Type of Your Organization: Describe the name and type of your nonprofit organization. For instance, you may operate one of these types of nonprofit organizations:
• Educational organizations
• Charitable organizations
• Healthcare organizations
• Religious organizations
• Location of your nonprofit and why you selected that place.

Mission & Vision:

Organization history:.

If you’re an established nonprofit, you can provide information about your organization’s history, like when it was founded and how it evolved. If you can, add some personality and intriguing details, especially if you got any achievements or recognitions till now for your incredible community services.

Future goals:

It’s crucial to convey your aspirations and your vision. Mention your short-term and long-term goals with the nonprofit; they can be specific targets depending on your ultimate vision.

This section should provide an in-depth understanding of the nonprofit organization. Also, the business overview section should be engaging and precise.

3. Products, Programs, and Services

The products, programs, and services section of a nonprofit business plan should describe specific products, programs, and services that will offer to its beneficiaries. Your nonprofit may or may not have all products, programs, and services to offer.

So, write this section depending on your organization’s offerings:

In a nutshell, your products, programs, and services section should describe how your nonprofit meets needs and positively impacts the community. Use solid examples and numbers to back your claims.

Some additional tips for writing the market analysis section of your business plan:

• Use a variety of sources to gather data, including industry reports, market research studies, and surveys.
• Be specific and provide detailed information wherever possible.
• Include charts and graphs to help illustrate your key points.
• Keep your target audience in mind while writing the business plan

4. Market Analysis

Market analysis provides a clear understanding of the market your nonprofit will run along with the target market, competitors, and growth opportunities. Your market analysis should contain the following essential components:

Target Market:

Market size and growth potential:, competitive analysis:, market trends:.

• For example, It may be necessary for a nonprofit focused on environmental conservation to adapt its messaging to reflect the growing demand for sustainable products and practices.

Regulatory Environment:

Some additional tips for writing the market analysis section of your nonprofit business plan:

• Use various sources to gather data, including industry reports, market research studies, and surveys.
• Keep your target audience in mind while writing the business plan.

5. Sales And Marketing Strategies

Building awareness, promoting engagement, and generating revenue should be the focus of your business plan’s “Sales and marketing strategies” section. Here are some key elements to include in your sales & marketing plan:

Unique Value Proposition (UVP):

Marketing mix:, marketing channels:, fundraising strategies:.

• Identify fundraising strategies that align with the nonprofit’s mission, vision, and values.

Donor Retention:

In short, a nonprofit business plan’s sales and marketing strategies section should describe how your organization can reach, engage, and retain your target market and generate sustainable revenue.

Be specific, realistic, and data-driven in your approach, and be prepared to adjust your strategies based on feedback and results.

6. Operations Plan

When writing the operations plan section, it’s essential to consider the various aspects of your organization’s processes and procedures involved in operating a nonprofit. Here are the components to include in an operations plan:

Staffing & Training:

Operational process:.

• Your operations must also include details on monitoring and evaluating programs and their impact on the community.

Quality Control:

Facilities and equipment:, technology & information system:.

By including these key elements in your operations plan section, you can create a comprehensive plan that outlines how you will run your nonprofit organization.

7. Management Team

The management team section provides an overview of the nonprofit organization’s management team. This section should provide a detailed description of each manager’s experience and qualifications, as well as their responsibilities and roles.

Founders/CEO:

Key managers:.

• It should include the owners, senior management, other department managers, and people involved in the organizational operations, along with their education and professional background.

Organizational structure:

Compensation plan:.

Overall, the management team section of your business plan should mention key personnel involved in successfully running your organizational operations.

So, highlight your organization’s key personnel and demonstrate why you have the right team to execute your organization’s mission.

8. Financial Plan

When writing the financial plan section of a business plan, it’s important to provide a comprehensive overview of your financial projections and goals for the first few years of your organization.

Revenue Streams:

Fundraising goals:, financial ratios:, risk analysis:.

Remember to be realistic with your financial projections and provide supporting evidence for your estimates.

9. Appendix

Include any additional information supporting your plan’s main content when writing the appendix section. This may include financial statements, market research data, legal documents, and other relevant information.

• Include a table of contents for the appendix section to make it easy for readers to find specific information.
• Include financial statements such as income, balance sheets, and cash flow statements . These should be up-to-date and show your financial projections for at least the first three years of your business.
• Provide market research data, such as statistics on the industry’s size, consumer demographics, and trends in the industry.
• Include any legal documents such as permits, licenses, and contracts.
• Provide any additional documentation related to your business plans, such as marketing materials, product brochures, and operational procedures.
• Use clear headings and labels for each section of the appendix so that readers can easily find the necessary information.

Remember, the appendix section of your nonprofit organization should only include relevant and essential information supporting your plan’s main content.

Download a sample nonprofit organization business plan

Need help writing a business plan for your nonprofit? Here you go; download our free nonprofit organization business plan pdf to start.

It’s a modern business plan template specifically designed for your nonprofit organization. Use the example business plan as a guide for writing your own.

You may explore our other nonprofit and community business plan examples before you start writing

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Write your business plan with Upmetrics

A business plan app like Upmetrics is the best way to draft your business plan. This incredible tool comes with step-by-step instructions and 400+ customizable sample business plans to help you get started.

So, whether starting a nonprofit organization or planning to grow an existing one, Upmetrics is the tool you need to create a business plan.

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Frequently asked questions, why do you need a nonprofit business plan.

Business plans outline the organization’s goals, strategies, and tactics for achieving its mission. Nonprofit business plans serve as a roadmap for staff, lenders, and other shareholders, helping them make informed decisions, measure progress, and remain focused on the organization’s mission.

How to get funding for your nonprofit business?

Fundraising for a nonprofit can be challenging, but a few strategies and a strategic approach can help you achieve your goal. 

Here are some of the most common ways to get funding for your nonprofit:

• Individual Donations: Individual donations are among key revenue streams for any nonprofit. It includes both one-time payments as well as recurring assistance.
• Grants: Many foundations and government agencies offer grants to nonprofit organizations that meet specific criteria.
• Corporate Sponsorships: A nonprofit can approach corporations that align with its values and mission to gain sponsorships for charity events, programs, or projects.
• Crowdfunding: The process of supporting a business or organization by getting many people to invest in your nonprofit organization, usually online. 

Where to find business plan writers for your nonprofit business?

There are many business plan writers available, but no one knows your business and idea better than you, so we recommend you write your nonprofit business plan and outline your vision as you have in your mind.

What is the easiest way to write your nonprofit business plan?

A lot of research is necessary for writing a business plan, but you can write your plan most efficiently with the help of any nonprofit business plan example and edit it as per your need. You can also quickly finish your plan in just a few hours or less with the help of our business plan software.

About the Author

Upmetrics Team

Upmetrics is the #1 business planning software that helps entrepreneurs and business owners create investment-ready business plans using AI. We regularly share business planning insights on our blog. Check out the Upmetrics blog for such interesting reads. Read more

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Nonprofit Business Plan Template

Download our Non-Profit Business Plan and create a business plan for your non-profit!

Updated September 24, 2023 Reviewed by Brooke Davis

Running a successful non-profit organization is challenging. A business plan is one tool that helps steer your organization in the right direction. It clearly articulates your goals and details how to accomplish them.

It also shows external stakeholders that you’re serious about your non-profit and reassures them that they can work with you or provide you with funding.

This guide helps you understand how to write a non-profit business plan and includes a free template to help you get started.

Why You Need a Business Plan for Your Non-profit Business

How to write a business plan for a non-profit, non-profit business plan example.

A business plan is a roadmap. It shows where your organization is now, where you want to go, and how to get there.

Typically, a non-profit business plan spans the upcoming three to five years. Every non-profit organization should have a business plan, regardless of size or financial status. It helps you:

• Stay organized
• Identify essential stakeholders in your organization
• Understand the feasibility of your work
• Attract volunteers and an administrative board
• Uncover new opportunities

A non-profit business plan is also an essential document for securing funding. If you hope to get significant donations or grants, you must show donors or grantmakers your goals and objectives.

They want proof that your organization will achieve its goals, and there’s no better way to reassure them than with a clear, concise business plan.

Writing a business plan is easy if you take it step-by-step and use a template to create each section. As you write, keep your target audience in mind: How do you want them to respond to this business plan?

1. Executive Summary

The executive summary gives a general outline of your entire business plan. It gives the reader a clear idea of what to expect in the rest of the document. An executive summary also contains enough information so that someone who doesn’t have the time to read your entire business plan can get a sense of your organization, goals, and methods.

In your executive summary, cover what your non-profit does, the basic need you address, and why that need exists. Most importantly, explain how your organization plans to meet the demand. This first section of your business plan concisely tells your story. Your goal in crafting it should be to sum up the whole document while convincing the reader to keep reading.

As this section is a general summary of the rest of your business plan, it helps to write the executive summary last.

2. Management Team

The second section in your non-profit business plan covers your management team or organizational structure. Here, you explain who runs your organization and what their tasks are. You should also mention which type of non-profit you are (501(c)(3), fraternal beneficiary, horticultural, labor, etc.).

In addition to discussing your management team or board of directors, mention if your organization has employees, utilizes volunteers, or both.

If you have a facility dedicated to running your non-profit, here is the place to describe it. Noting your previous successes in this section may help convince donors to fund you.

If you are a new organization, use this section to describe your vision and how you’ll use practical methods to solve real problems.

3. Products and Services

In the products and services section, discuss your plans for achieving your goals. Describe, in detail, the needs of your community that your organization addresses.

Then, document how you will meet those needs. Do you create and offer products that improve lives? Do you run programs that provide needed services and support? Be explicit about what you do and how it helps people in need.

When describing your products and services, use numbers. For instance, if you run a food pantry, provide statistics about food insecurity in your area. Mention your daily capacity for distributing food based on your expected number of donations.

Also, include information about the people administering your products and services. Who works at your food pantry? Who organizes the donations and assigns volunteers?

This section should contain specific and concrete facts about your non-profit’s work, as these numbers will help convince donors and partners to fund or work with you.

4. Customers and Marketing

Your non-profit business plan should contain a marketing strategy. In the customers and marketing section, describe how you promote your efforts and be specific. Some common types of non-profit marketing channels include:

• Printing and distributing promotional materials
• Online marketing
• Social media posts
• Email newsletters
• Maintaining and updating a website
• Marketing partnerships
• Fundraisers
• Outreach events

If you’re a new non-profit and haven’t started marketing, mention your plan. State the scope of your marketing efforts, including your target demographics and whether your strategy is local, national, or international.

In addition to marketing methods, this section of your business plan should iterate your messaging.

What type of language will your campaigns focus on? Do you have critical slogans, logos, or other brand assets you plan to use? If not, how will you develop those assets? If you’ve done a marketing analysis, include it in this section.

5. SWOT Analysis

SWOT stands for Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats. A SWOT analysis is a critical part of any business plan, whether for-profit or non-profit. SWOT is a strategic framework that helps you identify your vital areas and room for improvement.

To find your strengths , ask what your organization does well. Which unique resources do you have that you can draw on? Also, evaluate what competitors or other organizations might see as your strengths.

To find your weaknesses , ask what your organization can improve upon. Which resources are you lacking? What might external stakeholders identify as your weaknesses?

To find opportunities , look at the trends in your field upon which you might capitalize. Opportunities usually come from outside your organization and require a forward-thinking mindset.

To find threats , think about what could harm your non-profit. What is your competition doing better than you are? Which external factors may hurt your operations?

6. Financials

Your non-profit cannot operate without funding. Your financial section covers how you plan to pay for everything you need. This section is essential because you can’t carry out your other activities without a solid funding source.

Mention your current financial status, including assets and liabilities. Also, include essential financial documents such as income statements, a cash flow sheet, and a balance sheet.

What else should go in your non-profit business plan’s financial section? Be sure to highlight:

• Your fundraising plan
• Grants you’ve received or a plan for applying for grants
• Potential obstacles to gathering funding and proposed solutions
• What you’ll do with surplus donations
• Startup costs if you’re not established yet

You cannot give too much financial information, so always include anything you think might be relevant. Your potential partners and donors want a clear picture of your financial situation.

7. Operations

Explain how you plan to carry out your programs or provide your services in your operations section. Your products and services section is the “what,” and your operations section is the “how.”

Retake the food pantry example. You’ve already described what it is using numbers and statistical data; now, you explain how it runs.

Is it open every day, and for how long? Where and from whom will you collect food donations? Are there any goods you will not accept? Can you hold food drives with schools, churches, or other organizations? What rules will you have about distributing food for volunteers and the recipients?

As you develop your operations strategy, ask yourself, “How.” Keep asking until you have a clear, detailed plan that describes your work. Don’t forget to include a sub-section about your team, volunteers, or the people carrying out your operations.

Their strengths will also keep your non-profit running, so you should mention them in your business plan.

8. Appendix

The appendix of your non-profit business plan is where you attach additional documents that your readers may find helpful. Charts, data, or lists typically go in the appendix. Add any information that seems too lengthy or complex to read in the body of your business plan.

Some examples of appendix documents include:

• List your board of directors
• Status letter from the IRS
• Balance sheets
• Management flow chart
• Budget for the current fiscal year
• Market analysis

With an appendix, you don’t have to be as concerned about structure as you are with the body of the business plan. Think of it as a reference section for your readers.

A sample business plan already has the structure for you; you have to fill in each section with the relevant information.

Writing a non-profit business plan is simpler when you work from a template. Download our free PDF or Word template and fill it out independently.

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Historic Pepsi Cola Bottling Plant to be home to Crescent One Community Start-up

Greenville area entrepreneurs will have a new space to call home once the first phase of the Crescent One Community Start-up is completed on July 1.

Crescent One will be home to Flywheel offices, suites, coworking areas, social commons, an outdoor event venue, and a conference center. The project involves renovating Hartness Development's 48,000-square-foot historic Pepsi Cola Bottling Plant on 701 Poinsett Highway.

Hartness Development , Flywheel , Furman University's Hill Institute for Innovation , and Poinsett Partners have joined to create Crescent One Community Start-up on seven acres.

"We also purchased the land that used to house the former Piedmont Shirt Factory at 111 Henry St. on Poinsett Highway," according to Jim Burns, chief operating officer of Hartness Development. "We worked in conjunction with the Greenville County redevelopment team to purchase the land for nearly $1 million.

"This lot will allow us up to 150,000 additional square feet."

Burns said the entire project will cost $18 million. A group of local investors led by Hartness Development provided the funds. Ameris Bank offered senior debt, and SC JEDA also provided financing.

The remainder of the district will open in phases and include a green space area.

"Additional buildings will be built if the need arises," Burns said.

Phase One’s Crescent One building will have its grand opening this summer.

Mavin Construction is doing construction on this project.

The Flagwheel Foundation and Furman University's Hill Institute for Innovation and Entrepreneurship will also be tenants.

"The Flagwheel Foundation will house a 23,000-square-foot space at Crescent One Community Startup facility," Burns said.

The space will include 40 private office suites, co-working areas, ample event space, seminar rooms, indoor and outdoor social common spaces, and a fitness center operated by Fitness with a View.

Greenville is a growing southern city with solid population demographics, said founding partner Peter Marsh. "They have done a great job revamping its downtown area and other markets. We saw this as an opportunity to have a tremendous impact by supporting local entrepreneurs in a portion of the city that has not yet been revitalized."

Burns said the Hill Institute for Innovation and Entrepreneurship building will have offices and meeting spaces, allowing the institute to host networking events and fulfill its mission of being a central part of entrepreneurship.

“Furman’s future requires an innovative Furman, so it’s only natural that we would be an integral part of this exciting Crescent Startup Community,” said  Furman University President Elizabeth Davis in a press release.

Crescent One Community Startup: How was it founded?

The Crescent One Community Startup was founded in 2023 through Shawn Hartness and the Hartness Development Partnership with Flywheel, Furman University Hill Institute for Innovation and Entrepreneurship, and other Poinsett Development Partners.

"The Hartness Development is a collection of experienced planning, design, construction, real estate, and finance professionals who create legacy projects that stand the test of time and seek better solutions for the challenges of today," according to a press release.

About Flywheel Foundation Innovation Centers: What you need to know

Flywheel was founded in 2014. "The organization designs and operates a multi-state network of co-working innovation centers in collaboration with local institutions, which fosters startups and entrepreneurs through a network of purpose-driven innovation communities in the Southeast, providing affordable infrastructure for communities to flourish," said founding partner Peter Marsh.

The Flywheel Foundation, founded in 2015, is an affiliated non-profit charitable organization dedicated to eliminating barriers to entrepreneurship through ecosystem development, education, research, and investment.

"Once operational, Flywheel will offer membership opportunities paid on month-to-month plans," Marsh said.

Membership plans include private offices, reserved desks, unreserved desk community member plans, day passes, digital mailboxes, and virtual offices.

The cost can vary from $80 to $850 depending on space type, plan, and days used.

The organization will also deploy programming such as retail labs featuring downtown entrepreneurs, installing investment firms, and assembling investment capital that can be invested in early-stage start-ups."

For more information, please visit www.flywheelgreenvillesc.com

About Furman University: The Hill Institute for Innovation and Entrepreneurship

Furman University established the Hill Institute for Innovation and Entrepreneurship as an entrepreneurial education and support hub.

Through collaboration with organizations such as Flywheel and Hartness Development, the Hill Institute will have offices and meeting spaces at Crescent Startup for students and entrepreneurs to network, learn, and turn their ideas into business ventures.

"These organizations and individuals came together for one common cause: to create a space where Upstate’s entrepreneurial community can live, work, play, and innovate in one central space that provides access to all the resources necessary to launch and grow a business venture successfully," Burns said.

Hard hat tours of Flywheel

Flywheel is providing hard-hat tours for the community and potential members to explore the first phase of the Crescent One development and meet founding partners Hartness Development COO Burns, Hartness Development Associate Fred Dilworth, and Flywheel Coworking Founding Partner Marsh on the fourth Wednesday of each month.

"We are hosting these hard-hat tours to show attendees what is to come; they provide attendees with a firsthand glimpse of the upcoming Crescent One Community Startup facility," Burns said. "We have shut down construction on the day of the tours. By wearing hardhats, attendees can safely explore the construction site and view visuals of the future amenities and spaces to come."

The remaining tour dates are May 22 and June 26 ; tours will be available between 3 p.m. and 5 p.m.

Interested individuals must register for the Crescent One Community Startup preview tour.

"Attendees will have the opportunity to preview the conference center, coworking areas, offices, suites, social commons, atrium, fitness studio operated by Fitness with a view , and outdoor venue amenities," Olivia Evans, Greenville Community Manager, said.

"We will provide hardhats, and attendees should wear comfortable closed-toe shoes," she said.

Travis Rose covers Anderson County for the Independent Mail. Reach him via email at  [email protected] .

Lenawee Now forms partnerships to expand Small Business Support Hubs across region

ADRIAN — Grant funding recently awarded to Lenawee Now , a nonprofit private-public partnership that drives economic opportunity in Lenawee County, will help the organization expand some of its available services both locally and into neighboring Hillsdale County.

With its partners Lean Rocket Lab , the Hillsdale County Economic Development Partnership and the Michigan Small Business Development Center, Lenawee Now was awarded a $1.4 million grant over a three-year period from the Michigan Economic Development Corp. The grant funding will assist Lenawee Now in expanding Lean Rocket Lab’s “Local” program into both Lenawee and Hillsdale counties, an announcement from Lenawee Now said.

Lean Rocket Lab serves as MEDC’s Small Business Support Hub for Jackson County. Its services are available in Lenawee and Hillsdale counties for small business owners who are growing their business and wanting to take it to the next level, as well as those who might be thinking about starting up their own business. Workshops and coaching are available through its programming.

Lenawee Now also has been named one of the 27 Small Business Support Hubs across Michigan, the organization said.

“These 27 entrepreneurial hubs across the state will shore up our small business ecosystem, providing economically disadvantaged entrepreneurs and small businesses with the support they need to keep growing and expanding right here in Michigan,” Governor Gretchen Whitmer said in a statement.

Local small businesses are encouraged to apply for participation in the “Local” program. The application can be viewed and completed online at lenaweenow.org . More information about the Jackson County program can be found at leanrocketlab.org/local .

“The grant, awarded through the MEDC and the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA), will allow us to significantly expand our support to small businesses throughout the region,” Lenawee Now’s leadership said.

The program will focus on two key areas:

• Fellows: Expanding Lean Rocket Lab’s existing Fellows program, which provides business coaching, workshops and networking opportunities to help small businesses grow and thrive.
• Technical Assistance: Launching a new Fast Track to Lending program that will connect small businesses with lenders and help them access capital quickly and efficiently. The assistance will be accomplished primarily through a partnership with American 1 Credit Union and its $5 million loan fund created to support small businesses within the region.

The initiative is expected to have a significant impact on the region’s economy, Lenawee Now said.

“This is one more example of our efforts to collaborate with others to bring ‘Best in Class’ programs to Lenawee. This grant will enable us to expand our services and provide comprehensive resources and support to the area’s small businesses. We are committed to supporting the growth of small businesses in Lenawee County and this grant will help us to achieve that goal,” said Patrick Farver, Lenawee Now executive director.

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The grant includes $400,000 for direct grants to eligible small businesses served through the program. These grant funds will be awarded through a competitive process to assist eligible local small businesses to cover the costs of technical assistance and professional services to achieve lending readiness.

“Michigan is committed to bolstering our entrepreneurial ecosystem by supporting the small businesses that drive our economy, as well as the trusted and expert partner networks that serve them, across the state,” Amy Rencher, MEDC senior vice president of Small Business Services, added. “By leveraging federal dollars, the Small Business Support Hubs will help us expand and improve resources across the state, as well as raise the national profile of the strength of our entrepreneurial community.”

In addition to Lenawee Now’s efforts of business attraction, retention and startup activities, it provides services to support business growth including access to funding sources and talent enhancement. To contact Lenawee Now by phone, call 517-265-5141.

— Contact reporter Brad Heineman at  [email protected] or follow him on X, formerly Twitter:  twitter.com/LenaweeHeineman .

InnovationRx: Chelsea Clinton Invests In 24/7 Pediatrics Startup

Plus: Electronic health record company Veradigm’s $140 million AI gamble on startup ScienceIO.

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The Summer Health board of directors (from L to R): Alfred Lin, Deena Shakir, Ellen DaSilva, Alyssa Jaffee, Chelsea Clinton.

T he U.S. healthcare system is not set up to take care of a kid with a rash or a fever at 2 a.m. who may not be sick enough for the emergency room, but whose parents could use a doctor. That’s where Summer Health comes in. The New York-based startup, which announced an $11.65 million Series A this week, offers 24/7 message-based nationwide access to a pediatrician within 15 minutes. “Our mission was to radically simplify access to care,” cofounder and CEO Ellen DaSilva told Forbes . “We wanted to make it dramatically easy to get care for your kids in a moment of need.”

DaSilva is a mother of three kids and so are the investors who co-led the round: Alyssa Jaffee of 7wire Ventures and Deena Shakir of Lux Capital . Both are regular users of Summer Health. Jaffee, Shakir and two other investors – Chelsea Clinton of Metrodora Ventures and Alfred Lin of Sequoia Capital – are joining the startup’s board. Summer Health has raised around $19 million to date.

DaSilva said the company is also moving beyond just urgent care and has started offering specialty care , such as lactation consultants, sleep specialists, nutritionists and child behavior experts. Thousands of families have completed over 30,000 visits with Summer Health. The bulk of the business is currently cash pay and a subscription is $45 per month per family. But Summer Health has also started contracting with a few employers and is exploring ways to expand. DaSilva hinted at the Medicaid market in a blog post . She told Forbes the company is also expanding into other services, such as home-based diagnostics, like an ear infection tool that attaches to a smartphone.

The idea isn’t to replace pediatricians and the in-person well visits that are core to children’s health but to help overburdened practices in between these appointments. “We see a deep synergy,” said DaSilva. “This is not a competitive product. We are not taking business away from pediatricians. We are helping them.”

How A Decades-Old Medical Records Company Made A Huge AI Bet To Save Itself

Veradigm interim CEO Yin Ho (L) and ScienceIO CEO Will Manidis (R) in New York City.

Remember Allscripts? The 38-year-old electronic medical records company rebranded as Veradigm following a series of crises and then was delisted from Nasdaq in February. Now interim CEO Yin Ho has an audacious plan to use the $140 million acquisition of AI startup ScienceIO to tap into its one major competitive advantage over other EHRs: data rights.

Read more here.

Pipeline & Deal Updates

Pediatric Cancer: The FDA has approved tovorafenib, marketed by Day One Biopharmaceuticals as Ojemda. This is the first approved treatment for relapsed pediatric low-grade glioma, which is the most common type of brain tumor in children. The approval serves what CEO Jeremy Bender says is the company’s goal of “bringing new medicines to children with life-threatening diseases.”

Women’s Health: Midi Health, a virtual clinic focused on menopause, has raised a $60 million Series B led by Emerson Collective. The California-based startup said it has served tens of thousands of patients nationwide and will use the funds to hire an additional 150 clinicians by the end of the year.

Maternal Health: Sibel Health, which offers wireless patient monitoring devices for maternal health, has received a $17.5 million grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation for labor triage and monitoring in lower- and middle-income countries.

Bladder Cancer: The FDA approved ImmunityBio’s Anktiva plus BCG for non-muscle invasive bladder cancer. The treatment works by activating the body’s own immune responses, T-cells and natural killer cells, against tumors.

AI For Drug Discovery: Xaira, an AI for drug discovery company that was jointly incubated by Arch Ventures and Foresite Labs, announced it has raised over $1 billion in capital , with backing from Arch, Foresite, Lux Capital, Menlo Ventures and many more.

Immune Disorders: Incyte announced that it is acquiring biotech startup Escient Pharmaceuticals for $750 million , giving the company access to Escient’s pipeline of treatments for immune disorders.

Bird Flu Virus Remnants Found In U.S. Milk Supply—FDA Says Milk Remains Safe

Though pasteurization kills harmful viruses, it is not expected to remove the presence of all viral particles.

The Food and Drug Administration said samples of pasteurized milk from around the U.S. tested positive for remnants of the H5N1 bird flu—a finding that comes about a month after the infection began spreading in dairy cows across multiple states, though the agency says the U.S. milk supply remains safe.

Other Healthcare News

Health insurer Human a reported $741 million quarterly profit and boosted its Medicare Advantage enrollment forecast.

Support for legal abortion has climbed to a record high with 66% of voters believing abortion should be legal in either all or most cases, according to a Quinnipiac University poll .

On Wednesday, the Supreme Court heard oral arguments as to whether hospitals must provide abortions in emergency situations under federal law—even in states where abortion is banned.

Patients treated by female doctors fare better than patients treated by male doctors, according to new research .

Surgeons at NYU Langone Health completed the world’s first successful combined heart pump and gene-edited pig kidney transplant surgeries.

Across Forbes

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Anatomy Of A $46 Million Renewable Energy Swindle

What Else We are Reading

Monkeypox virus: dangerous strain gains ability to spread through sex, new data suggest (Nature)

Trump surrogates hint at how he could reshape U.S. health care policy (STAT)

FTC Chief Says Tech Advancements Risk Health Care Price Fixing (KFF Health News)

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Insider Q&A: Avelo Airlines CEO Andrew Levy describes the challenges of starting a new carrier

It’s not easy to break into the U.S. airline industry, which is dominated by four big carriers and a sprinkling of other niche players, but that didn’t scare away Andrew Levy.

Neither did a pandemic that briefly caused air travel to plummet more than 90%.

In April 2021, while COVID-19 still raged and billions of dollars from taxpayers were propping up big airlines, Levy launched Avelo Airlines with flights between Burbank, California, and Las Vegas.

The airline saves money by flying older Boeing 737 jets that can be bought at relatively low prices. It operates out of less-crowded and less-costly secondary airports, and flies routes that are ignored by the big airlines.

Levy was involved in the launch of ValuJet, which became Allegiant Air, and he also did a stint as the chief financial officer of United Airlines before starting Avelo (it rhymes with yellow).

He spoke with The Associated Press about the challenges of starting a new airline, how the carrier is doing, and plans to sell shares to the public. The answers were edited for length and clarity.

Q: Why did you think you should start a new airline?

A: Shortly after I left Allegiant in 2014, I actually started thinking about about doing this. The market had become very consolidated, and there was a lot of opportunity that was out there that wasn’t being served by the existing, incumbent carriers. You have these four behemoths that are massive, that are protected by the government it seems, because certainly they’re stronger than they have ever been, after the pandemic. My view was we had room for more.

Q: What have you learned?

A: While there are these four behemoths, the toughest challenge, quite honestly, might even be the regulatory regime. For smaller companies like ours, it imposes these really substantial burdens on us. I’ll give you an example. For the (Department of Justice) lawsuit (against) JetBlue and Spirit, we had to go spend a ton of money on our end to produce documents for something that we really didn’t care how it ended up. And they’re trying to get us to do the same thing for Alaska-Hawaiian, which again, we could care less if Alaska and Hawaiian merge.

Q: How do you get people to fly on a new airline?

A: Number one, you have an awareness issue. You want people to know that you exist. So that’s one challenge, which is more of a marketing challenge. The other challenge is of course getting people to trust you. Like, ‘Who are these people? Are they going to really get me there? What’s the airplane going to look like? Is it safe? Is it reliable? What happens if something goes wrong?’ All those questions that most consumers may have when they think about choosing an airline that perhaps they’re unfamiliar with. You just have to focus on doing a really great job. Obviously not every flight is on time, but as time goes on I think people recognize that, hey, you know what? These guys offer a lot of value. We offer great convenience.

Q: Where does the name, Avelo, come from?

A: There’s no great story there. I wish I could tell you it was. It was a play on two words: velocity, which is swift in Latin, and convenience.

Q: Avelo reported a profit for fourth quarter 2023 but gave no details. Was that on a GAAP (generally accepted accounting principles) basis? And how much was it?

A: We actually have cash that generates interest income nowadays. Those are GAAP numbers where we have audited financials from Ernst & Young. These are real numbers with no adjustments or anything else. I’m not going to give you the numbers because we are a private company and so we have no real need to provide that kind of information. I’ll tell you that we made money in the first quarter as well.

Q: You've talked about your cost advantage as a startup. Is that sustainable?

A: Most costs creep up over time for every airline because our labor costs are tied to pay scales, but it is very sustainable. It’s based on how we designed the business. We distribute our product directly to the customer so we don’t use third-party intermediaries. We go in to smaller, more convenient, less-expensive airports. Your taxi times are lower; you’re not burning gas. We spend money on things that matter, and that includes our people. Our pilot pay is very competitive. It’s not the same as United Airlines, but it’s extremely competitive. We operate older equipment also — midlife (Boeing) 737 NGs, and those are certainly less expensive than brand-new aircraft. They burn a little bit more gas, but not much, and we like that trade.

Q: Do you plan to sell stock to the public, and when?

There’s obviously two issues. The single biggest one is one we don’t control, which is when are the IPO markets going to be actually open and vibrant, and they’re not right now. Beyond that, we have to be ready as a company. We put two straight quarters of profits ... so we expect every quarter this year to be profitable. We hope that we’ll have a company that people would want to own, and hopefully by year end or sometime next year. There’s no magic to being public for us. It’s just that historically that is typically the best way to access the capital markets for companies like ours. It is a very capital-intensive industry.

Q: What advice would you give to somebody else looking to start a business?

A: There’s nothing more rewarding than taking control of of your destiny. Just make sure you know what you think you know about whatever it is you’re going to start. I think you have to be wired a certain way to want to do something like this because it’s unbelievably difficult. I’ve been at this now for almost six years. When we get to a certain point, I’ll look back and feel really good about what we’ve done. We’re not there yet, but we’re getting close.

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Reporting by Lisa Baertlein in Los Angeles, Abhirup Roy in San Francisco and Nick Carey in London Editing by Ben Klayman and Matthew Lewis

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Lisa Baertlein covers the movement of goods around the world, with emphasis on ocean transport and last-mile delivery. In her free time, you'll find her sailing, painting or exploring state and national parks.

Indonesia, the world's biggest sugar importer, plans to boost sugarcane planting in its eastern region of Papua, aiming to cut imports and develop a sugar-based industry, including producing bioethanol, a cabinet minister said on Monday.

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Japan's factory output rose 3.8% in March from the previous month, versus the median market forecast for a 3.5% rise, government data showed on Tuesday.