Abstract
Following best financial management practices that increase the likelihood of long-term economic sustainability is likely not the primary concern of nonprofit organizations. Nonprofits focus their attention primarily on achieving mission-driven goals. However, research reports that balancing financial sustainability with an organizational mission is a core challenge for most nonprofits, particularly for organizations serving low-income households. This article provides a case study of Farmer Foodshare Inc., a US nonprofit social enterprise in the food sector working with financially challenged family farms, food-insecure households, and low-income elementary school students. This case study was prepared with primary data collected during interviews and secondary sources. In the summer of 2019, the management team of Farmer Foodshare needed to revisit the organization’s operating model. Management in this organization was concerned about whether strategic decisions, such as discontinuing or re-designing some programs, should be made. The case provides firm and industry data to evaluate Farmer Foodshare’s economic sustainability. Enterprise economic sustainability can be assessed by combining an inherent financial analysis with a strategic management analysis.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 11-23 |
Number of pages | 13 |
Journal | International Food and Agribusiness Management Review |
Volume | 26 |
Issue number | 1 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - 2023 |
Bibliographical note
Publisher Copyright:© 2022 Trejo-Pech et al
Funding
1 This case study was prepared solely to provide material for class discussion. The authors do not intend to illustrate effective or ineffective handling of a managerial situation. This article is one outcome of an interdisciplinary research project funded by the Southern Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education. The community sites program was the newest in Farmer Foodshare’s portfolio. This program was launched in 2017 with funding from a three-year grant by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). Farmer Foodshare needed to evaluate whether this program contributed to the organization’s mission and whether Farmer Foodshare had the human and financial resources to continue running it after the expiration of the grant.
Funders | Funder number |
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U.S. Department of Agriculture | |
USDA Southern SARE |
Keywords
- agribusiness finance
- economic sustainability
- financial analysis of nonprofits
- nonprofit food organizations
- strategic analysis of nonprofits
- teaching case study
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Food Science
- Business and International Management