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Following NPQ’s highly successful Mastering the Business Model series last year, this year we are highlighting business-model bright spots to show what mastering a business model looks like in practice. This complementary webinar series focuses on groups who have done something purposeful and special to strengthen their business models. These are stories we can all learn from, full of replicable strategies and cautionary guidance.
The first bright spot focuses on earned revenue. In 2013, Pollen, a nonprofit media arts organization, went from an all-volunteer, zero-budget organization to receiving a multi-year, unrestricted operating grant. The organization had three years to develop a business model, diversify revenue, and grow toward financial stability. In 2018, they launched their social enterprise, Pollen Studio, which brings their core expertise of narrative storytelling to other mission-driving organizations. In just five years, Pollen was able to pivot from a single-source revenue pie chart to seven compatible revenue streams—with 70 percent of all revenue being earned.
