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Charity income diversification

Is earned income worth your energy?

The Income Opportunity Review answers one question for your Board: is there a realistic commercial income opportunity for this charity, and is it worth putting our energy into? An honest no, backed by evidence, is as valuable as a yes.

Book a free 30-minute call Take the readiness quiz

The review at a glance

£5,000 + VAT

A fixed price: eight consultant days plus a follow-up call.

5 to 6 weeks

From kick-off to your Board, depending on market-testing lead times and Board dates.

One decision paper

Three developed options, a clear recommendation, and a Board presentation.

Who it is for

Charities and social purpose organisations that are considering earned income from selling services, products, expertise or assets. You may already have ideas, or you may know you need to diversify and have no idea where to start. Both are fine.

Why a review, not a business plan

Most small charities have no spare capacity. A plan that relies on a fully committed chief executive becoming a part-time consultant is not a plan. Before anyone writes a business plan, the Board needs to know what the market will pay for, who would do the work, and what would stop if they did.

What is the review?

An independent, evidence-led assessment of whether commercial income is realistic for your organisation, with your own ideas tested against the market and a wider look for opportunities you have not considered.

What it is, and what it is not

What the review is

  • An independent, evidence-led assessment of whether commercial income is realistic.
  • A test of your ideas against the market, plus a wider look for ones you have not considered.
  • An honest view of capacity: who would actually do this, and what would stop.
  • Ballpark investment, income potential and risks for the strongest options.
  • A clear recommendation, including "not now" or "not this" where the evidence says so.
  • A trustee decision paper and Board presentation.

What it is not

  • A business plan, implementation plan or marketing plan.
  • A fully costed financial model.
  • A guarantee that any option will generate income.
  • A general fundraising or grants review.
  • Legal, tax or VAT advice. We flag issues and signpost you to professional advisers.
  • Us running, selling or marketing the new activity.

Two ways in

Always look wider: even if you arrive with ideas, we bring at least two alternatives into the appraisal. The idea a charity arrives with is often not the one with the best fit.

"We have ideas"

You are already exploring one or more ideas, such as selling training or consultancy, and need to know if they are realistic. We test fewer ideas in more depth.

"We don't know where to start"

You want to diversify income and see enterprise as part of the picture. We audit your assets and capabilities, and build a long list from there.

How it works

The review follows the Strategic Insight Model™, so by the time trustees see the recommendation they have already seen, scored and challenged the evidence behind it.

  1. Discover

    Agree the decision question and your red lines. Establish what you can afford, resource and legally do.

  2. Listen

    Up to six internal interviews, and an audit of your assets, capabilities and appetite for commerce.

  3. Interpret

    Scan the market, widen the lens and screen the long list to a shortlist for testing.

  4. Challenge

    Six to eight conversations with people who would buy, fund or compete with each option.

  5. Prioritise

    Trustees and senior leaders score the options in a workshop. We develop the top three.

  6. Align

    A trustee decision paper, a Board presentation and a follow-up call about six weeks later.

Why it matters

A "no" that saved months of effort.

In a recent review for New Dawn New Day, a Leicester women's charity, staff were keen to sell consultancy on trauma-informed practice. Market conversations quickly showed that an established local provider had held that market for five years.

The Board closed the idea down with confidence and redirected its energy. That is exactly the kind of result this review exists to deliver.

Read the New Dawn New Day case study

Matthew came in as a critical friend, and that is exactly what he was.

Sarah Nelson Chair of Trustees, New Dawn New Day

What your Board decides

The decision paper is written in Board-paper format, with the decisions required on the front page. For each of the top three options, trustees choose one of four outcomes.

Proceed

Commission a detailed business plan and financial model.

Pilot

Test at small scale, with success measures and a review date.

Park

Not now. Revisit when a stated trigger is met.

Stop

Close the idea down and redirect energy elsewhere.

Options are judged against criteria agreed before any ideas are discussed, which takes the heat out of favourite projects. Every option passes three gateway tests first (fit with your mission, your red lines, and what your charity is permitted to do), then is scored on market demand, competitive position, financial potential, capacity, mission synergy, investment, risk and time to income. Investment and income are given in honest bands, not false precision.

Is your charity ready to explore earned income?

Ten statements, two minutes, no sign-up. Score each: Yes (2), Partly (1) or No (0). Be hard on yourself; the result is only useful if it is honest.

1 We have at least one service, skill, product or asset that people outside our beneficiaries value.
2 We know the full cost of delivering our current services.
3 We have unrestricted reserves we could invest in, and potentially lose on, a new venture.
4 Someone has, or could be freed up to have, the time to lead a new income stream.
5 Our trustees are open to commercial activity and understand that it carries risk.
6 We have, or could access, sales, marketing or commercial skills.
7 We have relationships with organisations that might buy from us.
8 We are clear what we would never do to earn income.
9 We could wait 12 to 24 months for a new income stream to make a real contribution.
10 Our reason for exploring enterprise goes beyond "we need money now".

Answer all ten to see your result.

Questions

What is a charity income opportunity review?

A fixed-price, evidence-led assessment of whether earned income is realistic for a charity. It tests your own ideas and some you have not considered against the market, and ends with a trustee decision paper and Board presentation.

How much does it cost and how long does it take?

£5,000 + VAT for eight consultant days plus a follow-up call, typically five to six weeks from kick-off to Board, depending on market-testing lead times and Board dates.

What if the answer is that we should not do it?

That is a valid result. Closing an idea down with evidence saves months of staff time and money you cannot afford to lose, and lets the Board redirect its energy. The paper includes what we do not recommend, so trustees can put it to rest.

Will you write our business plan?

No. The review identifies and tests options. For the options trustees choose to proceed with, a business plan and financial model is a separate piece of work.

Do you test ideas with real buyers?

Yes. Every review includes at least six structured conversations with potential buyers, commissioners, partners and comparator organisations, and the paper states who was consulted and how confident we are as a result.

Does it cover trading structures and VAT?

We flag structural and legal questions, such as non-primary-purpose trading, whether a trading subsidiary may be needed, VAT and governing-document limits, and signpost you to professional advisers. We do not give legal, tax or VAT advice.

Not sure where to start? That's what the call is for.

Thirty minutes, no obligation. Tell us what you're working on and we'll say what we'd do next, and whether we're the right people to do it.

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