BUSINESS PLAN TEMPLATE

1 Rare Disease Nonprot Business Plan Template

Produced by the National Organization for Rare Disorders (NORD®)

OVERVIEW:

• When forming a nonprot organization, consider creating a business plan. A business plan acts as

the blueprint of your organization explaining what you intend to do, how, and why and it includes a

nancial plan in order to demonstrate the viability of your organization.

• By creating a business plan, your board members will share a common understanding and vision for

what they want to accomplish and be better situated to make well informed decisions.

• A business plan will prepare you for applying for tax-exempt status. Much of the plan information aligns

with the IRS form 1023, which is the application required by the IRS to receive 501(c)(3) nonprot status.

• A business plan encompasses your organization’s program, operations, and nances while also

incorporating aspects of strategy and marketing.

• BoardSource claries the dierence between a business plan and a strategic plan. A strategic plan “has

a broad focus that sets the overall direction for a nonprot and denes the mission-related goals and

strategies the nonprot is going to achieve over a period of time” while a business plan “has a narrower

and more specic focus and it analyzes the nancial viability of the proposed project.”

(https://boardsource.org/resources/nonprot-business-plan/)

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

A business plan should contain the following elements:

• Executive Summary

• High level overview and summary of the business plan

• Introduction

• Explanation of the rare disease and its impact on the people living with it, which sets the stage

for why your organization is needed

• Mission Statement and Guiding Principles

• Description of the organization’s mission and principles

• Proposed Activities to Further the Mission

• List of the pending activities and a marketing strategy to execute on the mission

• The Need for an Organization

• The reason why your organization should exist and how it serves a unique need in the market

• Target Beneciaries of the Organization

• Who will benet from your organization and how (via the programs and resources you

will develop)

• Communities where Activities will be Conducted

• Describe the geographical reach of the organization

2 Rare Disease Nonprot Business Plan Template

• Fundraising Plans and Research Grants

• List the opportunities and grants your organization plans to target to support fundraising

eorts

• Proposed Budget

• Insert your proposed operating budget for the next three (3) years

• Proposed Stang

• Description of the organizational structure and committees

Access an example of a rare disease business plan: bit.ly/business-plan-example

3 Rare Disease Nonprot Business Plan Template

[ORGANIZATION NAME]

BUSINESS PLAN

Executive Summary

Specify the name of your organization and conrm that it will operate as a 501(c)(3) nonprot in service of a

specic cause: _______________________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________________________________

High level summary about the unmet need your organization is meeting (i.e. why your organization exists):

___________________________________________________________________________________________

Brief description about why this business plan was created and how it demonstrates an outline for success:

___________________________________________________________________________________________

Introduction

Describe the impact of a diagnosis with your rare disease: ___________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________________________________

Provide details about your rare disease, which can be pulled from medically vetted sources such a NIH GARD or

the NORD Rare Disease Report Database: _________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________________________________

4 Rare Disease Nonprot Business Plan Template

Mission Statement and Guiding Principles

Share your organization’s mission statement: _____________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________________

Detail the guiding principles of your organization: _________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________________________________

The Need for [ORGANIZATION NAME]

Make your case and highlight the need for a nonprot organization for your disease state (e.g. the history of

the disease, why now, what need will you meet?): _________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________________

Target Beneciaries of the Organization

Detail who will benet from your organization and how your website, services, network, etc. will serve your

beneciaries: _______________________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________________________________

5 Rare Disease Nonprot Business Plan Template

Proposed Activities to Further the Mission

Describe the short term plans your organization will execute on to start, manage and grow a healthy nonprot

(i.e., approve bylaws, establish a website, and recruit a Medical Advisory Board):

Initial actions: _______________________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________________________________

Essential next steps: __________________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________________________________

Ongoing action steps: _________________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________________

Detail your marketing plan (how will your organization engage the community to reach your mission?): ______

___________________________________________________________________________________________

Communities Where Activities Will Be Conducted

Conrm where your organization is headquartered and if you serve a local, regional, national or international

population: _________________________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________________________________

Fundraising Plans and Research Grants

Detail opportunities you plan to target to raise funds to reach your mission:

Personal fundraising: _________________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________________________________

Corporate grants: ____________________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________________________________

Government groups: __________________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________________________________

Partnership with other philanthropic organizations: ________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________________________________

Proposed Budget

Insert your proposed budget for the next three (3) years. NORD’s template budget is available for download:

bit.ly/NORD-budget-template.

Proposed Stang

Who governs your organization and what do they do to support a thriving organization? Describe your

organizational structure (volunteer, paid sta, etc.) and the composition of your Board of Directors. You

can also describe other organizational committees here and how you plan to form them, such as a Medical

Advisory Board.

___________________________________________________________________________________________

Board Members and their roles: ________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________________________________

Medical Advisory Board (composition and primary function): _________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________________________________

NORD is a registered 501(c)(3) organization. NORD does not recommend or endorse any particular medical treatment but encourages patients

to seek the advice of their clinicians. Donations to NORD for this and other programs may be made by contacting NORD at rarediseases.org. NRD-2193