Business Model Development
We support clients to assess and design their nonprofit organization’s optimal business model using a version of the Business Model Canvas, developed by Strategyzer that we have adapted for nonprofits. The business model canvas is a lean-startup tool for innovative organizations that allows a nonprofit to describe, design, challenge, invent, and pivot its business model.
Using the Business Model Canvas, a nonprofit’s business model is visually articulated on a canvas that depicts nine basic organizational components, or building blocks, that show the logic of how the organization will make money. The business model serves as a blueprint for a strategy to be implemented through organizational structures, processes and systems. The nine business model building blocks are visually represented on a one page canvas.
The business model components include:
Intended Impact: Your mission
Customer Segments: Who do you wish to reach and serve. Typically there is more than one segment. For nonprofits there are service side and funder side customers.
Value Proposition: The reason why service recipients and funders choose your organization over another nonprofit. It solves a customer problem or satisfies a customer need.
Channels: Channels represent how the organization communicates with and reaches its customer segments to deliver a value proposition.
Revenue Streams: The revenue the organization generates from each customer segment.
Key Resources: The most important assets required to make a business model work.
Key Activities: These are the most important actions that an organization must take to operate successfully.
Key Partners: The network of suppliers and partners that make the business model work.
Cost structure: All costs incurred to operate a business.
When we work with clients to design, challenge, invent, and/or pivot their business model, we provide research and facilitation with design thinking processes to support the work.