Money-Making For Do-Gooders
It's a story familiar to every nonprofit leader. Your mission is to fight poverty, help the homeless or feed the hungry, but, day-to-day, much of your time is eaten up with grant writing and fundraising.
Now, two major institutions in the North Central Massachusetts nonprofit landscape are suggesting a new way for charities to come up with money: grow your own.
The Institute for Nonprofit Development at Mount Wachusett Community College and the United Way of North Central Massachusetts are looking at a plan to award as much as $80,000 in grants to help several local nonprofits develop for-profit arms to help support their missions.
Success Stories
At a recent gathering in Leominster sponsored by the two organizations, representatives of 24 local nonprofits learned about the "social enterprise" concept from a pioneer in the field, Billy Shore. Shore is the founder of the anti-hunger group Share Our Strength. He also runs the group's for-profit subsidiary, Community Wealth Ventures of Washington, D.C., which is dedicated to helping other nonprofits start their own money-making efforts.
Shore described several examples of successful social enterprises. Greyston Bakery in Yonkers, N.Y., provides jobs for people with limited options and, with the money it makes, supports the affiliated Greyston Foundation's community development initiatives.
In Maryland, the Jewish Social Service Agency offers home care to low-income people as part of its mission. It does such a good job that it is now raising money by selling the same services to higher income groups.
Shore said the community-wealth model tries to make nonprofit groups more efficient by helping them build a consistent flow of cash. With a successful money-making enterprise, he said, organizations are freed from the constant tension and distraction of scraping together grants and donations. He said nonprofit groups need to recognize that they can't accomplish their missions as well if they are underfunded.
"A little bit only goes a little way," he said. "The only thing that goes a long way is a lot."
With government funding for social services dropping, Shore said, nonprofit service groups are needed more now than ever. Yet they often find themselves competing with each other for grants and donations.
Still, Shore said the social enterprise model is not appropriate for all organizations. He said it requires a serious commitment of time and resources and is not a quick fix for groups in financial crisis.
Positive Reception
Daniel Jones, the board president of Montachusett Inter-faith Hospitality Network, a Fitchburg shelter for families with children, said the group has already been considering a money-making venture like renting apartments as a way to solve persistent money problems.
"Nobody wants to fund shelters for women with children, believe it or not," he said, adding that Shore's presentation offered good ideas. "To us it was very relevant and beneficial."
Philip Grzewinski, president of the United Way of North Central Massachusetts, said he thinks many local groups could benefit from the social enterprise approach.
"We hope that this will be the beginning of something that will build momentum here," he said.
Mount Wachusett has already received funding from the federal Department of Health and Human Services to help pay for the grants to local groups. Additional funding could come from a special United Way fundraising drive, according to Bill White, a spokesman for the group. White said the organizations hope to provide $10,000 each to eight groups, allowing them to work intensively with Community Wealth Ventures to develop their ideas. After writing business plans, the groups might be able to compete for additional money to move the enterprises forward.
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