August 4, 2005 | Read Time: 2 minutes
Two new technology tools are available to help charities develop a business plan for a for-profit venture.
The Social Enterprise Alliance, a nonprofit membership group in Los Angeles, has collaborated with Palo Alto Software, in Eugene, Ore., to develop the Social Enterprise Edition of the company’s popular Business Plan Pro software.
The software takes nonprofit executives through a series of questions that help them analyze the product or service their business would offer, who their potential customers would be, competitors in the marketplace, and the venture’s leadership and management. Unlike the company’s standard software, the Social Enterprise Edition also focuses on a venture’s mission and expected social returns.
In addition, the software helps nonprofit organizations work through financial planning, which can be a real stumbling block for charities starting business ventures, says Jim McClurg, vice president for products and services at the Social Enterprise Alliance.
“It asks some very simple questions that a nonprofit manager who doesn’t have an M.B.A. or an accounting degree can answer about how their business is going to run,” says Mr. McClurg. “But very neatly, behind the scenes, the financials are constantly being reformatted based on the answers to these common-sense questions.”
For example, he says, the software asks the user whether the business will require customers to pay upfront or if it will give them the option of receiving an invoice. If a person answers that the company will offer invoices, the program asks additional questions about the percentage of customers expected to request invoices and how long they will have to pay. If the user says 60 days, the software adjusts the cash-flow statement so that credit sales don’t appear as income until two months later.
The cost of the software is $199 for nonprofit organizations and $189 for members of the Social Enterprise Alliance.
The second tool, a new Web site by Nonprofit Business Solutions, a nonprofit group in Kansas City, Mo., helps charities identify potential business ventures, analyze the viability of their ideas, and develop business plans.
The group got its start in 1999 when David Ross, a trust officer at a local bank, asked several consultants to help some charities explore potential business opportunities. In 2002, the consultants formed Nonprofit Business Solutions to share what they had learned.
The Web site — which includes definitions of business and financial terms that might be new to charity officials — features a series of worksheets and questionnaires that charities fill in, answering questions about their venture idea.
Worksheets designed to help charities identify potential business opportunities are available free on the site. The cost for using the Web site to conduct a feasibility study is currently $49.95, and $99.95 to develop a business plan.
For information on the software program: Go to http://www.se-alliance.org.
To get to the Web tool: Go to http://www.nbsolutions.org.
