Welcome to the Social Enterprise Success Series: A Non-Profit Leader’s Guide. Let's walk together through what it takes to turn an idea into a thriving social enterprise—from choosing the right model and testing your concept to writing a business plan, marketing with impact, and avoiding common pitfalls. Each article is designed to give non-profit leaders practical tools, fresh insights, and the confidence to build a sustainable enterprise that grows both revenue and comm

Money is tight in non-profits. We get that! Starting a social enterprise is an exciting way for non-profits to generate sustainable revenue while creating community impact. But where do you start, and how do you avoid costly mistakes? Follow this practical roadmap and steps for non-profit leaders.

You know the non-profit world. You know how to market your organization to move your mission and vision forward. Marketing a social enterprise is different. Marketing a social enterprise balances your mission with market. To succeed, non-profit leaders must showcase your organizations social, cultural, or environmental impact while attracting, serving, and retaining paying customers. This quick guide shares our insights into successfully marketing a social enterprise.

Choosing to start a social enterprise can feel like a daunting task at first, one filled with uncertainty and risk. A thriving and successful social enterprise is built on passion – and a solid business plan. The questions included in this checklist help non-profit leaders reflect on and consider the many aspects of what launching a social enterprise involves and how to set it up for long-term success.

Many non-profits don’t have (or need) a business plan. However, once you venture into social enterprises, it becomes essential for success, whether self-funding or seeking outside investment in your enterprise. A comprehensive non-profit social enterprise business plan assesses all aspects of the business idea. It explores and examines where your social enterprise is headed, how it will get there, and how/why it will succeed. Every business plan is as unique as the social

Three people with their thumbs up around having chosen the best social enterprise idea. If you’re like most non-profits, once you’ve set your social enterprise evaluation criteria, the first thing you want to do is jump into brainstorming ideas. And why not? This is the fun part! When doing “green-light thinking” brainstorming every idea and every voice is important. Mix and match your techniques to ensure everyone has a chance to contribute. Generally, a mix of individual

By now you’re well on your way to developing your social enterprise for your non-profit. You’ve narrowed down your top three social enterprise ideas, and the next step is to dive deeper to see if they’re realistic. That’s where a feasibility study comes in. Think of it as your reality check. A feasibility study doesn’t give you a polished business plan, but it does give you enough data and evidence to make smart, informed decisions about which idea is worth pursuing. In thi

When non-profits start exploring social enterprise, they often get hyper-focused on THE big idea. This is the idea that when they think about it, their gut says, “this is it!” The problem with this approach is that to make an evidence-based decision (objective, not subjective), you need to back the idea with solid data. That’s where market research comes in. Market research answers the simple but critical question: Will this work, and why?

Social enterprise is an attractive way to generate steady revenue while staying true to your mission. It isn't a quick fix to your non-profits financial or mission struggles. Launching a social enterprise can be risky, resource-heavy, and full of unexpected challenges. At HIP Strategic, we encourage boards and leadership teams to slow down and set clear social enterprise evaluation criteria before brainstorming ideas.

Host a memorable and engaging AGM that inspires your stakeholders.

When it comes to creating a sustainable organization, it is vital that your organization be confident in what it does well, know what opportunities exist to explore, and constantly scan the marketplace for trends that can impact the sustainability of the agency.

This blog post is part of five articles on organizational sustainability. Related articles are noted at the end of the post. Stage One: Organizational Audits An organizational audit evaluates areas of your organization that are considered vital to its functioning. It compares an element's performance to the desired performance to meet your business needs or goals. The focus of your audit may vary depending on your specific key issues or concerns. The three most common organi

Invest in an Annual Report that catches your readers attention and provides them with the important facts... It's about telling your organization's story so invest some time in this irreplaceable marketing document.

Your organization’s annual general meeting report is an information and marketing tool. It’s an opportunity to showcase and celebrate what has been achieved in the past 12 months and to bring members, community champions, funders, and partners up-to-date. While “standard” items need to be included in your annual report, the best annual reports tell a story using data, statistics, stories, images, videos, and facts. When you begin to think about your annual report, consider t

As with most AGMs, the ones I’ve attended often follow a standard agenda: updates on what’s happened throughout the year, progress made toward goals, presentation of financials and financial audit, voting in of new board members, and awards to recognize key volunteers, staff, or leaders. It’s standard fare, and this can be a little mundane for those active in the non-profit sector. So, how does a non-profit add excitement to its AGM agenda to make it more attractive an

Strategic board recruitment is essential. Too frequently, this strategic board priority is overlooked, and the opportunity to ensure a diverse, dynamic, healthy board is missed. Whether your Board is functioning optimally or needs improvement, spring is an excellent time for board member recruitment planning.

Stakeholder Engagement planning is easy. Getting people to show up and share ideas is more challenging.

Planning is required to run successful campaigns. Learn how to craft a community engagement plan to discover stakeholder needs.

Choose who to invite to stakeholder conversations, by defining the purpose (WHY) of the conversation and what it is you want to learn.

Stakeholder engagement empowers our community share their ideas about our future and enables our agency to remain responsive to local needs.