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

Starting a social enterprise is a powerful way for non-profits to diversify revenue, strengthen impact, and reduce reliance on grants. But let’s be honest — launching one isn’t as simple as flipping a switch. Many organizations underestimate the complexity, and that can lead to costly mistakes. As a non-profit strategist for over 20 years, I’ve seen it. I’ve seen non-profits dive in before they’ve done their homework, only to find themselves failing, with no concrete plan to

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.

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.

This blog post is part of five articles on organizational sustainability. Related articles are noted at the end of the post. Stage 5: Track, Report and Monitor Progress We’ve already alluded to the fact that any sustainability strategy and goals must be tracked, results reported and monitored. Just as this holds true for any objectives the Board sets, sustainability is important to keep an eye on. Likely you already have a tracking, reporting and monitoring process, so rea

This blog post is part of five articles on organizational sustainability. Related articles are noted at the end of the post. Stage 4: Aspirations, Results, and Strategic Goals & Objectives When considering sustainability, where you are going and the results you want to deliver are a key component of creating a sustainable organization. If you don’t know what you are working towards or the results you want to achieve, it is difficult to set a direction and move towards it.

This blog post is part of five articles on organizational sustainability. Related articles are noted at the end of the post. Stage Two: Risk Assessment The Risk Assessment component of improving sustainability builds on what was learned during the Organizational Audits and requires that the Board determine what is “acceptable” risk in several areas. As noted above, how you break out the areas that you assess or the concerns you examine depends on your current Board, what ha

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.

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

Before recruiting new Board of Director members, doing an internal Board Evaluation to assess your Board's strengths and areas of improvement is helpful. Knowing how effective your board is, what strengths it brings, and the areas of improvement to focus on in the coming months, provides potential recruits and existing members with confidence that the board is self-aware and committed to ongoing learning and improvement.

In some cases, this transition from a working board to a governance board is natural and smooth; in other cases, tensions arise, and there is a push and pull as individuals struggle to understand the new parameters under which they must now work and the restrictions that may now be placed on them. Does your organization have the capacity to transition from a working board to a governance board?

Whether you are new to a Board of Directors or have been on a Board for a long time, you’ve likely heard about the two “types” of boards in the non-profit sector: working or governance boards. In this blog post, I’d like to examine the differences between the two and showcase the situations in which each type of board shines.

When a Board acts in the organization's best interest, makes rational and strategic decisions, and ensures the organization is managed thoughtfully, a Board fulfills its purpose. In short, it is functioning as it should. If only reality were that simple.

In a non-profit organization, no relationship is more important than the one between the Chair of the Board and the Executive Director (ED) or CEO. Curious about why this relationship is so meaningful.? Read on.