Resource library · free toolkits, templates and guides
The practical library for people who build nonprofits
211 really practical toolkits, templates and guides for nonprofit and NGO leaders, and the consultants and funders who support them. A mix of the classics and newer methods.
Suggestions are welcome211 resources · 15 topics · 137 publishers · 197 free to use
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7 resources found
- Search: lean startup
- 15.1C220
The Lean Startup
Eric Ries's book on building new ventures through fast, cheap experiments. It's organised in 3 parts: vision, steer and accelerate. Readers learn to name their riskiest assumptions, test them with a minimum viable product, measure progress through validated learning and decide whether to pivot or persevere. Social entrepreneurs and nonprofit teams use it to test new programmes and earned income ideas before scaling them.
ClassicKey manual or guideBook - 15.1C221
Lean Impact
Ann Mei Chang, former chief innovation officer at USAID and Mercy Corps, adapts lean startup methods to the social sector. The book shows how to test value, growth and impact with small experiments, how to find a model that can reach many more people, and how funders can back this kind of learning. It's full of examples from nonprofits, social enterprises and aid agencies.
ClassicKey manual or guideBook - 14.2C187
The Mission Model Canvas
A short Strategyzer article presenting the Mission Model Canvas, a version of the Business Model Canvas for mission-driven organisations. Revenue streams become mission achievement, customer segments become beneficiaries, cost structure becomes mission cost or budget, channels become deployment and customer relationships become buy-in and support. Teams print the canvas and fill each box to test how their model creates value for beneficiaries and funders.
ClassicTool or templateFree - 15.1C225
Navigating The Make-Or-Break Years As You Create Hockey Stick Growth
A short Forbes article based on Bobby Martin's book The Hockey Stick Principles. It sets out 4 stages new ventures go through: tinkering, the blade years, the growth inflection point and surging growth. It focuses on the blade years, which often last 3 to 4 years, and gives 3 lessons: bootstrap longer than you expect, keep adjusting the model, and look after your first users. Useful for founders who need patience in the early years.
ClassicShort readFree - 15.1C222
Social Entrepreneurship 101
A free 5-week online course from Acumen Academy for people new to social entrepreneurship. It covers 5 areas: what social entrepreneurship is, finding your problem and mission, theory of change and impact measurement, building a financially sustainable model, and scaling. It uses videos with founders such as Charles Best of DonorsChoose.org, reading and workshop guides and a case study. Acumen Academy also has a free course on business models for social enterprise.
Start hereCurrentKey online resourceFree - 15.1C186
The Successful Social Entrepreneur's Micro Guide
A short cheat sheet for social entrepreneurs, from the Imaginate method. It splits the path from first idea to scaling into 4 phases. For each phase it lists what to do and what to read. It is for founders of nonprofits and social ventures at an early stage. Readers use it to check where they are and pick their next steps and reading.
EmergingShort readFreeNonprofit Builder tool - 15.1C224
Systems Change Crash Course
A free, self-paced course from Ashoka Changemakers and Ashoka Globalizer. Through short videos and worksheets it walks you through how to spot the system behind a social problem and design a strategy to shift it. It draws on Ashoka's decades of work with social entrepreneurs who tackle root causes. Founders and teams use it to plan how their work can change policies, markets or norms.
CurrentKey online resourceFree
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