Organizations swim with the sharks

The “run it like a business” refrain sometimes slows down when it reaches nonprofits.

A team of business consultants assembled by The Patterson Foundation, a Sarasota-based endowed charitable organization, aims to reverse that problem. Its first move: A fast-pitch session where nonprofit executives deliver business plans to develop earned income or other revenue streams in front of industry experts. Then the nonprofit executives can hear feedback and constructive criticism on the plan. The foundation, in conjunction with consulting firm No Margin, No Mission, hosted its first fast-pitch event March 20.

“I thought it was like being part of a friendly Shark Tank,” says The Patterson Foundation President and CEO Debra Jacobs. “These organizations have worked really hard on their business plans, which can be difficult for a nonprofit.”