Are you considering an earned income venture? Our volunteer consultants may be able to help.
Sustainable funding is a challenge for many non-profits, including our own. A recently released report, Canada’s non-profit maze: A scan of legislation and regulation impacting revenue generation in the non-profit sector, by Lynn Eakin and Associates, commissioned by the Wellesley Institute, provides a picture of the financial and regulatory burdens facing the non-profit sector.
Some of the key findings outlined in the report include:
- Government and charitable funding is declining as a percentage of non-profit sector income and earned revenue is increasing. Increasingly, non-profit organizations are seeking revenue from all three sources (charitable donations, government funding, and earned income).
- Each of the revenue sources has significant legislative and regulatory constraints on its own, and when all three sources of income come together in a single organization, the difficulties are compounded and are much more complex. Sector regulation was never designed for organizations obtaining revenue from all three sources.
- Funding challenges and regulatory entanglements amount to a veritable maze that adds a huge administrative burden to already over-burdened organizations. Management resources are diverted from the primary mission of the organization to the complex challenge of navigating an ever-expanding maze of regulation.
While Endeavour Volunteer Consulting for Non-Profits does not offer the expertise of fundraising professionals, our volunteer consultants bring knowledge and insights from the business sector and can provide management advice to non-profit boards and executives, including conducting a feasibility study on your earned income venture plan as we did for The Hearing Foundation of Canada.
Our consulting projects range from developing a five-year strategic plan for a young non-profit to recommending an operational model to help a successful, established charity manage and sustain rapid growth. You can learn more about our services at http://www.endeavourvolunteer.ca/wp/clients/?menu=cli and the work we’ve done at http://www.endeavourvolunteer.ca/wp/clients/client-list/?menu=cli
To read more from the Canada’s non-profit maze: A scan of legislation and regulation impacting revenue generation in the non-profit sector report and accompanying policy brief, visit http://wellesleyinstitute.com/new-wellesley-institute-research
- Andrea
