The term "ministry business plan" seems almost
a contradiction in terms before you ever begin. But it is a real
recognition of the value of your ministry.
WHY
DO YOU NEED A BUSINESS PLAN?
It's entirely possible that you don't need
a formal business plan. Thousands of ministries do very nicely without
a plan at all.
But the ones that are very successful have
one or more business plans firmly in place. Why do they even bother?
Well, for starters, it is an excellent way
of drawing your congregation into the planning process and determining with
them what is, and what is not, at the top of your TO DO list. Without
the support of your congregation, "to do's" don't get done, so this is a
critical step in planning.
Next, it is important to identify those
programs that will likely need funding, and outline where that funding is
going to come from. Most congregations support themselves from
contribution from their membership. But more ambitious congregations
take on outside projects that require outside funding sources, and that is
where your business plan will be worth its weight in gold.
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| Your
7-Step Business Plan will take you a long way in creating your
ministry plan. The elements that banks look for are like the
elements that a non-profit looks for. Put emphasis on the
"mission" part of your mission, and you are there.
Click on book covers for more
information. |
WHERE DOES THIS MONEY
COME FROM?
There are literally thousands and thousands
of sources for grant funding. To locate funds that might be interested
in your type of project, grab onto a
Grants Directory and do
some serious searching. Unless you are an old hand at grant writing,
the sheer volume of foundations and available money will astound you.
IS GOVERNMENT MONEY A
POSSIBILITY?
Sometimes, yes. While church and
state do keep a respectable distance for most things, there are some
projects that bring them together. Projects that will enhance low
income neighborhoods, or provide pre-school education or after school
programs, or programs for young parents -- these are all excellent
candidates for government funding.
WHAT'S OUR BEST CHANCE
AT GETTING FUNDING?
Demonstrate how your program will meet the
need. This is where your ministry business plan comes into play.
Writing a letter announcing that you are starting this program is woefully
inadequate for raising grant money. The grant organizations, including
the government, need a whole lot more.
SO WHAT DO WE HAVE TO
DO?
Create a ministry business plan that
contains essentially all the elements of a standard business plan:
goal of project, biographical summaries of all principals (and do include
people from the community if you can), statement of need, and financial
summaries on how this will all be accomplished.
Having a track record of success is very
helpful. I know one congregation that identified a need in a low
income area and wrote an outstanding business plan to raise financing for
that project. They got real kudos on the ministry business plan, but
they didn't get the funding. The agency they applied to wanted to see
a track record of handling money before they would hand over $10 million to
a group of community workers.
Take a look at
Business Plan for
NonProfit to get some ideas on what you may or may not need to do.
If all of this sounds like a lot of work
for an iffy return, you are absolutely right. You are in exactly the
same boat as entrepreneurs: there is never enough funding to go
around. And, just like entrepreneurs, your endeavor needs direction
and leadership and commitment.
WHAT ABOUT INTERNATIONAL
PROJECTS?
There are indeed organizations that fund
international ministry business plan projects. The grants directory
will list a lot of them. Also check with the various United Nations
organizations, or the national headquarters of your denomination.
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Ministry Business Plan
