Consider the uses of a business plan to guide day to day and long-term decision making.
Discover how a business plan might support strategic conversations with funders and partner organizations.
Learn more about the twelve questions funders ask that can be answered by a business plan.
Discussion Questions:
- What are the benefits of the development and use of a business plan?
- Should start up or emerging organizations or partnerships create a business plan?
- What need are you seeking to meet?
- What is needed to meet this need?
- Who is your competition for delivering products or services to meet this need? Can these individuals or organizations become a strategic partner?
- How will the partnership financially launch and sustain these products and services?
The outline and subject matter of a Business Plan is consistent across the public, private and nonprofit sectors.
Learn more about the elements of a Business Plan: executive summary, organizational description, products and services, market analysis, marketing/communication plan, implementation strategies, organizational structure and financial analysis.
Discussion Questions:
If you were drafting a business plan to support the work of a partnership, how would you describe:
- Why this partnership is in a position to lead on this topic?
- How research and development has informed the partnership’s investment in products and services?
- Who are providing similar products and services to meet the public’s need?
- What are the details of the outreach plan?
- What are 3 benchmarks in the implementation plan?
- Who are the decision-makers of the partnership and individual partners?
- What is the financial health of this partnership initiative?
Are you ready to create a Business Plan?
Explore the 6 phases of Business Plan development: concept, research and development, production, beta test, adoption and roll out.
Discussion Questions:
- Who should serve on the Business Plan work group?
- How would you define the audience of the Business Plan?
- What information will you collect during the research and development phase?
- What visuals might you use to illustrate the Business Plan?
- How will you vet the draft Business Plan?
- What is the value of sharing the Business Plan?
- How will you monitor and evaluate the performance of the Business Plan?
- What is the relationship between the Strategic Plan and the Business Plan of your organization or partnership?
Presenter: Liz Madison, Senior Fellow
Partnership and Community Collaboration Academy