Margin & Mission Ignition Boosts Nonprofit Innovation With More Than 177,000 Dollar Match

The Patterson Foundation has matched more than $177,000 total in investments toward four regional nonprofit organizations working to develop and implement revenue-generating plans to sustain their missions. Each organization is participating in Margin & Mission Ignition, an opportunity presented by The Patterson Foundation for nonprofits to strengthen organizational capacity, revenue and impact by learning and applying earned-income strategies.

During Margin & Mission Ignition’s 30-month process, The Patterson Foundation connects these organizations with experts in nonprofit revenue generation from No Margin, No Mission, a social enterprise and national consulting firm. Through their technical guidance and expertise, each organization learns proven business practices to develop and implement a customized earned-income plan. By applying their earned-income strategies, organizations build entrepreneurial capacity and generate revenue that strengthens their work in the community.

The Patterson Foundation’s match catalyzed investments from community donors into a startup budget for each organization’s earned-income plan, which they have developed through their participation in Margin & Mission Ignition. Through these investments, the four participating organizations were able to launch or expand the following services:

• Arcadia-DeSoto County Habitat for Humanity: Opened Bulldog Corner, a school-spirit retail shop located inside the Arcadia-DeSoto County Habitat for Humanity ReStore. This expansion offers new school-related merchandise, including branded T-shirts, umbrellas, and stadium cushions. Proceeds support the organization’s mission of building more safe, affordable housing in DeSoto county.

• Key Chorale: Launched the Come Together Choir Toolkit, a scalable, off-the-shelf resource designed to introduce group singing and its benefits to new potential audiences such as retirement communities, memory-care centers, and other community organizations. All proceeds benefit Key Chorale’s mission of transforming lives through innovative programming, artistic excellence, educational outreach, and service to the community.

• The Florida Center for Early Childhood: Expanded its Starfish Academy, a nationally accredited early childhood education program offering high-quality and inclusive early education for children ages 6 weeks to 5 years old. Proceeds support the organization’s mission of building and fostering strong families and expanding the potential of young children.

• WSLR+Fogartyville: Expanded Fogartyville, their venue and space rental offering, which strengthens community programming and long-term financial thrivability. Proceeds support their mission, which celebrates and promotes the creative, cultural, and political vitality of the local community.

“These ventures reflect the ingenuity and determination each nonprofit has demonstrated throughout their work in Margin & Mission Ignition,” said Debra Jacobs, president and CEO of The Patterson Foundation. “By matching startup investments, The Patterson Foundation catalyzed the investments needed to turn these promising ideas into sustainable revenue streams that can power their community impact into the future.”

Since 2015, Margin & Mission Ignition has helped more than 30 nonprofits serving Charlotte, DeSoto, Manatee, and Sarasota counties strengthen their operations and impact by developing and implementing plans. The plans have generated more than $60 million in gross revenue to strengthen the local nonprofits.

Margin & Mission Ignition is part of The Patterson Foundation’s Nonprofit Thrivability initiative, which shares opportunities for organizations to strengthen their mission impact by embracing a thrivable operating model. Nonprofit Thrivability works by connecting nonprofits with expertise and resources to learn and apply concepts such as strategic fundraising, ways to engage key decision-makers, and entrepreneurial principles to generate the revenue necessary to support their operations. These opportunities are made possible through funding from The Patterson Foundation.

Learn more about Margin & Mission Ignition.