More Information on the Book Exchange
Baltimore Reads' annual budget of $900,000 is supported in part by the Maryland Department of Labor, Licensing & Regulation (DLLR) ($346,000), and the Community Development Block Grant Program ($34,000). Recent funders are: Abell Foundation, Dollar General, Knott and Venable foundations as well as Allegis Group, Bank of America, M&T, Verizon and Wells Fargo. Since most funders provide programmatic funding only, we need unrestricted general operating funds to continue.
In 2010, Baltimore Reads decided to diversify its funding base. We believe that earned income ventures within nonprofit organizations represent a viable strategy to help sustain and advance a social mission. Nonprofits' use of commercial activities to finance their missions is not a new concept. Religious orders sold wine and agricultural products long before the first Goodwill Thrift Store opened. Girl Scouts and cookies are virtually synonymous, as could and should be the Baltimore Reads Book Bank and selling and donating books.
With start-up assistance from the Abell Foundation, we created the “Baltimore Reads Book Exchange” . The business focus is online resale of adult reading level books that were donated to Baltimore Reads. The five-year business plan is to create revenue sufficient to recover Book Bank costs and support literacy programs. We will continue to distribute all donated children’s books free of charge.
An extensive six-month evaluation was completed in collaboration with Baltimore Reads’ board members who have expertise in operations and systems analysis. The board created an evaluation framework upon which improvement can be designed, executed and measured in alignment with the business’ operational value chain. The value chain segments include: book supply, processing, sales and fulfillment. Each value chain is evaluated against people, process and technology frameworks.
This initial evaluation illustrated the potential of the book sales operation to recover all Book Exchange expenses as well as general Book Bank related expenses within a reasonable time frame. For example, Book Exchange operations will partially offset Book Bank operating costs by $11,000 for FY11. The current pro forma shows the Book Exchange with the potential to achieve monthly net revenue of $25K within two years. However, we cannot reach that goal unless we significantly increase the number of books in our sales inventory.
In 2010, Baltimore Reads decided to diversify its funding base. We believe that earned income ventures within nonprofit organizations represent a viable strategy to help sustain and advance a social mission. Nonprofits' use of commercial activities to finance their missions is not a new concept. Religious orders sold wine and agricultural products long before the first Goodwill Thrift Store opened. Girl Scouts and cookies are virtually synonymous, as could and should be the Baltimore Reads Book Bank and selling and donating books.
With start-up assistance from the Abell Foundation, we created the “Baltimore Reads Book Exchange” . The business focus is online resale of adult reading level books that were donated to Baltimore Reads. The five-year business plan is to create revenue sufficient to recover Book Bank costs and support literacy programs. We will continue to distribute all donated children’s books free of charge.
An extensive six-month evaluation was completed in collaboration with Baltimore Reads’ board members who have expertise in operations and systems analysis. The board created an evaluation framework upon which improvement can be designed, executed and measured in alignment with the business’ operational value chain. The value chain segments include: book supply, processing, sales and fulfillment. Each value chain is evaluated against people, process and technology frameworks.
This initial evaluation illustrated the potential of the book sales operation to recover all Book Exchange expenses as well as general Book Bank related expenses within a reasonable time frame. For example, Book Exchange operations will partially offset Book Bank operating costs by $11,000 for FY11. The current pro forma shows the Book Exchange with the potential to achieve monthly net revenue of $25K within two years. However, we cannot reach that goal unless we significantly increase the number of books in our sales inventory.
31 S. Calvert St., 4th Floor, Baltimore, MD 21202
