The core elements and terminology of a complete for-profit or nonprofit business plan are very similar. There are ingredients that any potential funder will expect to see, and you need to include them.

The Cover Sheet or Executive Summary

Although this will be the first page the reader will see, it should actually be the last page you write. It is a summary of what is to come, so wait until your business plan has been fully developed so you know exactly what your cover sheet should say. Keep your sentences short and to the point, but explain who you are, what your company or organization intends to do, and how you plan to do it. No potential funder is going to make a decision based on this summary alone. However, they may decide to continue reading based on what you write here.

A Statement of Purpose/Mission Statement

Your mission statement must clearly describe the services you provide to the community and the passion of the individuals involved in your organization. Because it is and will always be such an important document, Chapter 14 has a more complete discussion of how to develop your mission statement.

The Table of Contents

The reader needs to know what they are getting into when they begin to read your plan. The table of contents will provide an immediate guide to your plan, and the reader can also use it to locate specific data. If you are writing for online distribution, use the table of contents function in most word processors, enabling a quick jump to specific sections. If you are planning to print a hard copy, be careful to cancel that option so you don't have the hyperlink lines running through your document.

A Description of the Business

The description of your business or organization should be clear and concise — no longer than a paragraph. Keep in mind that many details that might fit in the description will appear in detail elsewhere in the plan.

Marketing

Marketing, particularly when focused on nonprofits, means fully understanding the needs of your clients or community and then managing your organizational response to meet those needs. It is not simply your publicity efforts, although they may play a role in it. Attach any informational brochures or other outreach material you have developed for general reference.

If you are planning to use focus groups to help you evaluate how well your marketing is working or where improvements may be necessary, discuss this plan in this section and indicate who is conducting the groups and how frequently they will occur. Likewise, identify by name who is directly involved in or leading your marketing strategy.

Competition

Regardless of the type of service you are planning to provide, there is a good chance someone else is offering something similar. Be very honest in your analysis of that competition and point out exactly how your organization will be different and why that deserves to be funded.

Operating Procedures

Here you may want either to attach or reference your by-laws. The point of this section is to help the reader fully understand how your organization functions, where the decision-making responsibility is, and what the process is for accountability. If you included clear nondiscriminatory clauses in your by-laws, this is a fine opportunity to share them.

Personnel

Personnel may include your staff and any consultants. List them here with a sentence describing each person's position and qualifications. Resumes or the curriculum vitae of the board members will be included later as supporting documents.

The intention here is to convey that your organization has good, competent people in positions of responsibility. If your organization is fortunate enough to have the services of someone whose name is known throughout the community, mention it in the narrative.