New Directions

Fund Raising vs Earned Income

Sustainability

Earned Income Venturing

Risks

Barriers

Why Others Did It

Bibliography

Links

What are the Risks of Developing an Earned-Income Venture?

No prudent nonprofit administrator would take their organization down a given path without considering the potential risks.

Experience indicates that there are clear and present risks to earned-income venturing. These risks need to be weighed against the potential benefits. The following is a list of some of the major risk factors:

• Earned-Income Venturing may be viewed by governing members, management/staff and constituents as a betrayal of an organization's "charitable mission"
   
• Earned-Income Venturing may strain scarce internal and external resources
   
• Earned-Income Venturing may cause conflicts within the balance of day-to-day operations and/or programs
   
• Earned-Income Venturing may overwhelm managerial/staff capacity and capabilities
   
• Earned-Income Venturing could fail and lose money.

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