Diversifying Funding Streams for a Nonprofit Behavioral Health Organization

Business sustainability is essential for any nonprofit organization. Revenue diversification can play a key role in business sustainability. In this case study, the revenue diversification practices and challenges of an international, behavioral health, nonprofit organization based out of the western United States were examined. The organization provides training, support, and resources in an experiential modality of behavioral health treatment for clients worldwide. Data collection processes consisted of a review of current revenue diversification literature, semistructured interviews with three senior-level leaders in the organization, and a review of select organizational documents. The Baldrige Excellence Framework for Healthcare provided a proven framework and an integrated, systems-based approach for assessing Nonprofit Behavioral Health Organization’s (NBHO) organizational components of leadership, strategy, and operations. Major themes related to revenue diversification decision-making were found to include the importance of organizational culture, brand awareness, weighing the pros and cons of revenue diversification, and leadership/board involvement. These major themes informed five overall recommendations to help NBHO address potential gaps in their current revenue diversification strategies and increase long-term sustainability. This study contributes to positive social change by highlighting decision-making challenges and best practices related to nonprofit revenue diversification decision-making. These findings may inform business sustainability practices and ensure the continued provision of nonprofit behavioral health services