:Author:   Jayne Cravens
:Date:     Mon, 07 May 2007 04:21:16 PDT

"Share some of your earned income strategies and various income streams if you desire. How much from where? Who pays and why? What else could they buy from you? Who are your customers? What is most important to your customer, quality, service or price?"

If you are a mission-based organization -- that means a nonprofit organization -- your earned income strategies need to fit your organization's MISSION. Otherwise, not only does the IRS start having a closer look at you, but your potential supporters will wonder why you are engaging in activities that aren't tied to your mission (the YMCA, for instance, gets put under government scrutiny when they seem more focused on making money from their exercise programs than promoting their mission).

Goodwill is a good model of balancing mission and earned-income activities: the staffing and management of their stores is integrated into the organization's mission of helping people with special needs or particular barriers find employment and opportunities.