Business Planning for Enduring Social Impact

"The gold standard in business planning for organizations addressing social problems."

-- Edward B. Roberts David Sarnoff Professor, Management of Technology, MIT Sloan School of Management

Founder and Chair, MIT Entrepreneurship Center

Business Planning for

ENDURING

SOCIAL IMPACT

A Social-Entrepreneurial Approach to Solving Social Problems

Sample Business Plan

included

by Andrew Wolk & Kelley Kreitz

A

How-to Guide

ABOUT THE AUTHORS

ANDREW WOLK is the founder and CEO of Root Cause and oversees the organization's overall strategic direction. He has consulted to dozens of organizations working in the fields of civic engagement, economic development, education, the environment, seniors, and more. As part of Root Cause's knowledge sharing focus, Andrew has also authored a chapter in the Small Business Administration's annual report to the president of the United States, titled "Social Entrepreneurship and Government: A New Breed of Entrepreneurs Developing Solutions to Social Problems" (December 2007). He founded the two social enterprises that Root Cause leads: InnerCity Entrepreneurs and the Social Innovation Forum. Andrew is also a senior lecturer in social entrepreneurship at MIT's Sloan School of Management and the Department of Urban Studies and Planning.

KELLEY KREITZ developed and launched Root Cause's knowledge sharing department in 2006. Previously, she worked for New Profit Inc. on initiatives aimed at building the field of social entrepreneurship. She has also advised nonprofits throughout the United States on messaging and media strategy, with a national news service for nonprofits. As a writer and journalist, Kelley has served as the senior writer for and reported for WRNI, Rhode Island's NPR news station, and KPFA in Berkeley, California.

BUSINESS PLANNING for

ENDURING

SOCIAL IMPACT

A Social-Entrepreneurial Approach to Solving Social Problems

Root Cause Cambridge, MA

Copyright ? 2008 Root Cause

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the publisher.

Published by Root Cause 675 Massachusetts Avenue, 9th Floor Cambridge, MA 02139

Design and Layout Design Studio at Monitor Two Canal Park Cambridge, MA 02141

Library of Congress Catalog Number: 2007943147

International Standard Book Number (ISBN) paper: 978-0-615-18284-1

Printed in the United States of America

CONTENTS

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

V

HOW TO

USE THIS GUIDE

VII

INTRODUCTION TO

BUSINESS PLANNING FOR ENDURING SOCIAL IMPACT

1

The Promise of Business Planning ............................................................. 1 What Is a Business Plan for Enduring Social Impact?......................... 4 What to Consider Before You Start .............................................................. 6 The Business Planning Process ..................................................................10

STEP 1

PLANNING TO PLAN

11

1. Select Your Business Plan Working Group .......................................11 2. Establish a Stakeholder Update Process ...........................................11 3. Create a Work Plan and Approval Dates.............................................12 4. Begin Planning a Road Show ...................................................................13 5. Conduct a Gap Analysis ..............................................................................13 Concluding Step 1..............................................................................................14

STEP 2

ARTICULATING A SOCIAL IMPACT MODEL

15

Social Problem Definition ..............................................................................16 Vision of Success ...............................................................................................18 Social and Economic Impact Indicators ...................................................19 Mission ...................................................................................................................20 Operating Model ...............................................................................................20 Social Impact Strategies ................................................................................23 Organizational and Program Performance Indicators ......................24 Feedback Loop....................................................................................................25 Concluding Step 2..............................................................................................26

STEP 3

DEVELOPING AN IMPLEMENTATION STRATEGY

27

PART ONE Setting a Timeline & Establishing Your Phase One Strategy Goals .....27

Business Plan Timeline ..................................................................................27 Phase One Strategy Goals..............................................................................28

PART TWO Building the Organizational Capacity to Implement Your Social Impact Strategies ...................................................................................29

Team and Governance ....................................................................................30 Financial Sustainability ...................................................................................31 Marketing ..............................................................................................................37 Technology ...........................................................................................................41 Public Policy.........................................................................................................42 Performance and Social Impact Measurement ....................................44 Risk Mitigation ....................................................................................................49 Concluding Step 3..............................................................................................50

STEP 4

FINALIZING YOUR BUSINESS PLAN & PUTTING IT

INTO ACTION

51

How a Business Plan for Enduring Social Impact Links Analysis to Strategy to Action.......................................................................51 1. Develop an Action Plan for Phase One ................................................52 2. Compile the Sections of Your Business Plan into One Document and Add Appendices ...................................................................53 3. Write an Executive Summary ..................................................................53 4. Seek Review and Approval........................................................................53 5. Prepare to Launch Your Road Show .....................................................54 Concluding Step 4..............................................................................................54

CONCLUSION

55

APPENDICES

57

Appendix A: Glossary .......................................................................................57

Appendix B: Outline of a Business Plan for Enduring Social Impact .......................................................................................................60

Appendix C: Sample Work Plan ...................................................................61

Appendix D: Project My Time Phase One Action Plan -- Communications Section................................................................................63

Appendix E: Bonnie CLAC Business Plan for Growth ........................68

v

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

We are grateful to the many people who contributed to the content and development of this guide. Special thanks to Beth Anderson, Kristin Bierfelt, Colleen Connolly, Anand Dholakia, Elizabeth Hunt, Brook Manville, and Julie Zack for editorial review.

A number of the organizations we have worked with also helped us to draw on their experiences to develop this guide:

Laura Robbins The Atlantic Philanthropies

Robert Chambers Bonnie CLAC

Jean Horstman InnerCity Entrepreneurs (ICE)

Katherine Freund ITNAmerica

Marcia Kerz OASIS

Maureen Gallagher Partners for Youth with Disabilities (PYD)

Arlene Williams Project My Time

Susan Musinsky Social Innovation Forum

William Straub TAP-IN tap-

Nancy Devine Sheila Murphy The Wallace Foundation

 ................
................

In order to avoid copyright disputes, this page is only a partial summary.

Google Online Preview   Download