How to Create a Successful Earned-Income Model: Integrating Revenue Generation without Losing Sight of Mission

About

For the first time since the Great Recession of 2007, giving in nominal dollars declined this past year. With reduced revenue coming from donors and dwindling governmental funding, many nonprofits are considering ways to support their mission through revenue-generating activities, as opposed to relying on contributions alone. Yet integrating revenue-generating programs with a nonprofit’s existing organizational model is no simple feat. What works for one organization may not for another, and any approach runs the risk of diverting attention from its core social mission.

This SSIR Live! program provides a framework and set of decision criteria to help nonprofit leaders identify a viable commercialization strategy, whether they are just starting out on this process, or already far down the path toward generating earned income. Through interactive discussion and case studies of nonprofits across the globe, participants will gain insight into designing a commercialization approach that enhances, rather than distracts from, their organization’s social mission. The webinar will explore answers to critical questions, including:

• What approaches can nonprofits use to integrate earned income into their operations?
• What new skills and expertise are needed internally to make this transition a success?
• How can leaders find the time to introduce these resources when many are already stretched beyond capacity?
• How an leaders adapt their organization's culture to accomodate commercial activities?