Need Help with Feasibility Study
February 11, 2010 12:26 PM   Subscribe

I've just been tasked with finding funding for a startup nonprofit feasibility study. I have no experience in doing feasibility studies, and need to talk with a professional who has. This is for an agriculture-related project based in California (though I personally am located in Southern Oregon). Are there any people in the Meta community who might be able to help?
posted by zagyzebra to Work & Money (7 answers total)
 
We're now officially in MBA territory. You're going to want to call the small business development office of the municipality/locality in which this thing is going to operate. Not only will they be able to give you a ton of really useful information--much of which you're going to need for this--but they'll also probably be able to put you in touch with people who can fund and execute the study.

These places are actually pretty awesome, and they're all about entrepreneurship. Tons of resources, and frequently pretty decent funding. Check 'em out. I'd do a little googling to find the specific office you're looking for, but there isn't enough information in your question to go on.
posted by valkyryn at 12:36 PM on February 11, 2010


Response by poster: Valkyryn - Thank you for that suggestion. I'm getting on it right away.
posted by zagyzebra at 12:51 PM on February 11, 2010


Well, if you're just a start-up, funding for a feasibility study might be a bit of a trick. Generally, you'd have a funder sort of lined up to help fund a significant portion of the project, and that would be your go to person for funds for the study. Other than that, you need to ask the members of your board to help support the study.
posted by Lutoslawski at 12:59 PM on February 11, 2010


Response by poster: Lutoslawski - I have the interest of a major statewide association of agricultural resource and development councils whose job it is to find funding for nonprofit projects that, in part, help educate the rural community. The association is researching funding for the feasibility study from public sources. I'm looking at private sources.

I personally don't have a board yet, nor want to go through the hoops of assembling a board and starting a nonprofit until I know this project is feasible...thus, the feasibility study. Until I start my own nonprofit, I can use the association's nonprofit status for my project.

At this point, we're still doing research and just assessing whether there is potential funding/interest available.
posted by zagyzebra at 1:30 PM on February 11, 2010


Gotcha. Well then I think you're going to have to work with the board of the state org, and take a look at their donors. You yourself won't really be able to raise money except through them, at this point, since the start-up doesn't have 501c3 status which will make it hard to accept donations.

Are you in Ashland? Are you working with an Oregon org? Or a CA org?
posted by Lutoslawski at 1:36 PM on February 11, 2010


The other question is: are you doing the feasibility study for your own interest and for the interest of the association, or are you doing it more as a formality as requested by a potential major donor?
posted by Lutoslawski at 1:36 PM on February 11, 2010


Response by poster: Luto - The association president has requested I research whether private funding for the feasibility study might be available. She has budgeted me into their statewide meeting in March to report on the project and my findings. In the meantime, I will ask about details on where the donation will go, because as you know, I do not presently have 501c3 status (thanks for pointing this out). The association will probably temporarily put me under their 501c3 umbrella.

Today I found someone committed to helping coach me through this, providing her boss OKs it at the Redding Small Business Development office (valkyryn's suggestion). The hang-up is, I am based in Jacksonville, OR (15 minutes from Ashland...good guess on your part). Technically, they're only supposed to work with residents of California. However, since this is a statewide California project, she thinks her boss may overlook that restriction in this particular case.
posted by zagyzebra at 5:15 PM on February 11, 2010


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