Change Matters
A Case-Study in Designing a Business Model for a Startup Non-Profit Organization.
The trending term, “Social Enterprise” is well-known, and celebrated, as a for-profit endeavor, but what many people do not know is that the practice of social enterprise can also be applied in the non-profit/social sector. For a non-profit organization, the leverage of social enterprise is distinctive from traditional financial and operational strategies as it allows the organization to design unique methods for revenue generation that think beyond the traditional avenues of grant-making and/ or fundraising campaigns and public donation requests.
At Models of Impact, we are passionate about applying our years of experience in the private sector and applying these common methods for the greater good.
Change Matters is a startup non-profit organization that creatively uses spare change to benefit those without access to food. Based in New York City, Change Matters is preparing for an exciting launch which will allow the organization to provide financial support to local food pantries and soup kitchens via kiosk arcades. Yes, you read that right. Strategically installed in locations with heavy foot traffic (think subway stations and busy storefronts), Change Matters’ change collection program is the only program to focus 100% of its efforts on food access and hunger relief.
As a startup non-profit lead by a veteran in the field, Betsy Imershein, the organization knew how important it would be to come out of the gates with a solid business plan. Enter Models of Impact:
Over a remote workshop session and presentation, we introduced Betsy to the landscape of relevant models of impact and revenue models (as pictured above) that exist in the space Change Matters is launching in. As a point of reference, we then categorized these impact models and revenue models into the following custom map that the organization will be able to keep as a tool when they move forward in the iterative design of their business model.
Next, using our game-based methodology, we created a series of unique business model concepts that combined elements from unique combinations of models that randomly generated from our curated list. With each generated combination, we used our framework to explore the opportunity and risk of each scenario as well as a concept for potentially prototyping the model in a low-fidelity manner. Here is one example of a scenario that was created as a result of that exercise:
Finally, informed by our game-based experience, we conducted an interview with Betsy in order to begin the process of writing the first-ever business plan for the organization. In the week following the workshop session, our team conducted further research and analysis in order to finalize the draft of the plan.
The structure of the plan we developed is based on our Social Business Model Canvas framework which covers Impact Model, Value Proposition, Partners, Products/Services, Talent/Operational Model, and Revenue Model. The following are images from the report which feature our first business plan draft.
We can’t wait to watch and learn from Change Matters as they begin to implement these strategies into their day-to-day business operations.
