Entrepreneurship Charity Event Business Plan
It is perceptible that up to the current year, the number of homeless people has reached up to 1847 according to the 2016 homeless count (Matt, 2016). Since 2014, the number has been increasing significantly with not less than 44 people per year (Robinson, 2016). According to the city’s annual homeless count, more than 60% of the people who were counted have been homeless for less than a year which means that in every month, there is a considerable number of people become homeless (Robinson, 2016). Furthermore, the count indicated that more than 50% of the homeless people is covered by young people including men and women. There are numerous causes of this homelessness which include high poverty levels, lack of affordable housing, and unemployment among others. In Vancouver for instance, it is perceptible that an “employable” person on welfare gets approximately $610 monthly where $375 is for housing. In the city, a mere one-bedroom apartment goes for $485 per month (Matt, 2016). Thus, for an employable person in Vancouver, there is only $125 left from the salary after paying the house rent. On the other hand, the case is unbearable for the unemployed who have to pay the high house rent without a guaranteed monthly income. Generally, it is factual that women and children are the most affected group among the homeless citing from the fact that they are vulnerable to more drawbacks of staying at the streets than men. For instance, women are susceptible to rape and other types of oppression while in the streets at night (Robinson, 2016). However, for men, they can become gang members and engage in crimes to sustain themselves. Basically, it is easier for a man to abandon the family and join gang groups than a woman. Thus, this was the driving factor for the charity event’s focus on homeless female.
Mission statement
To help homeless women recognize their personal value by creating hope for their future. We are here to transform, educate and ultimately prepare women for their pursuit of employment.
The mission statement is based on the fact that women are the foundation of the developing society as they contribute more in sustainability of their families. Thus, if they are prepared for their pursuit of employment, the Vancouver community is guaranteed significant decrease in homelessness. This charity event is derived from an example of welfare support proposed by the government to the people in relative homelessness.
Key Innovations or Adaptations
Our idea is in between innovations and adaptations where by transforming and educating homeless female, we can increase the probability of them securing a job. It is factual that welfare support by the government cannot reach all the homeless people in the street citing from the fact that homeless population makes approximately 0.31% of the national population (Hopper, 2016). Thus, through initiatives such as preparing homeless women for their employment pursuit, it is one of the innovation strategies towards decreasing homelessness in Vancouver. For the adaptations, the charity event will be based on helping homeless females to recognize their personal values which will enable them transform their lives and adapt values that will help them secure jobs.
The value of the event is defined by the achievement of the mission on the target population segment. This means that the value will be measured through the level of social awareness raised and the number of homeless women transformed. Basically, the value of the charity event is based on the success rate where the higher the number of homeless women transformed, the higher the value.
Competitive Advantages
The competitive advantage of the charity event is based on its purpose which includes promoting positive image, increasing the sponsors, and supporting charity for homelessness in Vancouver. Basically, the purpose of the event is to create an alternative to welfare support by the government to society contribution to homelessness in Vancouver city. Therefore, competitive advantages include the following;
- Homelessness is always a big concern in Vancouver
As aforementioned, homeless population is approximately 0.31% of the general population in the country (Hopper, 2016). Additionally, the number of homeless people is increasing significantly where more than 60% of the people become homeless in less than a year time. Lastly, it is undeniable that welfare support from the government has failed to decrease homelessness which means that one of the effective approaches towards dealing with homelessness is charity.
- Our sponsor, Shoppers Drug Mart, has the image of “caring the community”
Shoppers Drug Mart is a retail pharmacy chain headquartered in Toronto, Canada which offers home healthcare services products all over the country. The company operates more than 1,253 outlets that are distributed across Canada (Shoppers Drug Mart Corporation, 2016). Precisely, the company has engaged in different programs in community investment as part of their corporate social responsibility. Some of these campaigns include FacingCancer.ca, Look Good Feel Better, SHOPPERS LOVE YOU RUN for Women among others (Shoppers Drug Mart Corporation, 2016). Therefore, this means that the company which is the sponsor of the charity event has been recognized for their care to the community. Coincidentally, Shoppers Drug Mart is greatly concerned about women’s health (Shoppers Drug Mart Corporation, 2016). They have participated in sponsorship of both community and national initiatives that are part of national woman’s support network. Generally, the brand name recognition of the company will contribute significantly in creating social awareness.
The social enterprise legal structure of the enterprise will be nonprofit which will depend on sponsorship from large companies such as Shoppers Drug Mart together with donors. The current status of the enterprise is non-profit organization sponsored by Shoppers Drug Mart as the only sponsor and operated by volunteers which include hospitality management students.
The Management Team
The enterprise will be managed and operated by four hospitality management students which includes me and three other students from our college. The enterprise will help us apply most of the concepts regarding hospitality management including offering services to the guests. The board members will be all the students of hospitality management in the college. This will help them employ concepts of business management as learnt in the course. For example, they will employ concepts of preparation and operation of convention and the general charity event. The students have gained sufficient knowledge regarding effective strategies of marketing, events operation, management, organizing and customer service in such events. Therefore, the event is guaranteed effective operation as the hotel management students will execute their skills to make sure that everything goes as planned. With the marketing skills, it is perceptible that the students will contribute significantly in creating social awareness regarding the event and its purpose and objectives.
Citing from the fact that the mission of the charity event is to transform, educate and ultimately prepare women by basically changing their physical appearance, it is palpable that we need professionals who will contribute in advancing the appearance of women both on the face and clothes. As a result, the sponsors of the event will be makeup artists who will be students from makeup school who volunteer for experience. The group of the student will be composed of both cosmetic and fashion artists who will engage in different activities to ensure that women are physically transformed completely. While applying the concepts learned from the makeup school, the artists will effectively select the appropriate cosmetics and fashion design for every woman in the event. This will guarantee achievement of event’s goals and satisfaction of the target market. On the other hand, for the sufficient supply of cosmetics to be used in the event, the other sponsor will be Shoppers Drug Mart. As aforementioned, the company will not only help with supply of products but also promote social awareness because of their brand name recognition. Precisely, the products that will be supplied by Shoppers Drug Mart include skincare/makeup products and samples. For the fashion with regards to attire, Winners Company will be the other sponsor of the event. Winners Company is one of the dominating the Canadian marketing offering clothing, beauty products, footwear and jewellery. Thus, the company will offer professional attire for the event which will make sure that women are completely and professionally transformed.
Generally, regardless of the fact that the event will be managed and operated by hospitality management students, it is undeniable that advisors will be required. The purpose of the advisors is to create awareness on matters regarding homelessness among women and the appropriate approach to diminish it. Therefore, the advisors will come from the local charity group such as Women Shelter Inc. who attend to domestic violence female victims. It is factual that Women Shelter Inc. are well acquainted with matters regarding women’s problem solving strategies which makes their advice reliable and valid for the event.
Lastly, the early donors of the event will be the community which will be informed using post in social media. It is not necessary that the team behind the event to create an account in social media channels purposely for the event. What will only be required is a poster that will be distributed to target people in social media using the accounts of each team member. Additionally, the team might prefer to start a community group that will invite different people in social media instead of sharing the posters for the event individually.
The Market Industry
It is perceptible that charity sector has developed significantly in the last 20 years which has made it one of the major sectors in Canada (Emmett & Emmett, 2015). Furthermore, the sector has created considerable number of jobs resulting to a tremendous economic development. The development in the sector has been resulted by increase in number of charities which have been driven by the demand (Emmett & Emmett, 2015). As the population is ageing, growing and diversity is increasing, demand for services such as social, health, culture and recreation services is increasing significantly. Citing from the fact that charitable sector is driven by economic development, it offers the country with the neutrality of economic growth of the affected areas. The sector is similar to small-scale business sector in terms of creation of jobs and contribution to the economic which makes it susceptible to challenges such financial problems, productivity and investment problems (Emmett & Emmett, 2015). It is undeniable that the jobs created by the sector require high education and skills which creates the attention of people because they enjoy high status jobs. The rapid development of the sector has made it a subject to government funding and donations from the community. However, it is exhibited that community donations have recently been shrinking whereas the government funding has increased significantly due to financial pressure in the country (Emmett & Emmett, 2015). Basically, the government has recognized charitable sector as a source of productivity growth and innovation. This makes the sector one of the best industries to invest in especially with the increasing demand in the market. As a matter of fact, charitable sector in Canada is developing at a rate of 6.4% per year raising approximately 5.6% GDP (Emmett & Emmett, 2015). Back in the year 2003, the sector created more than 2 million jobs where about 1.3 million of these people were working in the core charitable sector. However, the sector has experienced a slight decline recently as in 2008; the sector contributed a GDP of 8.1% (Emmett & Emmett, 2015). When charitable sector is compared with other sectors in the country, the sector has created more jobs as the manufacturing sector and more than agriculture, construction, utilities and forestry sectors. Generally, it can be argued that tremendous growth of the sector has been contributed by the fact that charitable sector is in service industry which has been growing enormously.
For the top charity events in Canada, it is recorded that contributions from the society add up to $1.5 billion which is just 10% of the finances corrected in the events (Emmett & Emmett, 2015). As a result, there have been charity events in Vancouver BC which include breast cancer, child support, social development, international aid, and disease research and prevention events. It is factual that these events have been able to raise and distribute funds efficiently together with being able to employ best practices in governance and lucidity (Emmett & Emmett, 2015). Citing from the nature of the contemporary society, it has been exhibited that most people prefer to donate to charities that have a credible purposes rather than donating to organizations that support their own operations. Thus, it is guaranteed that for our charity event, there will be sufficient funds donated by the society that will guarantee success and accomplishment of the projected goals.
Target Market
As aforesaid, the target market of the charity event will be the homeless in Vancouver community. This is based on the fact that homelessness have been increasing in Vancouver over the last two decades thus becoming a major concern for the community to only locally but also internationally. It is undeniable that more than 4% of the Vancouver population is homeless where approximately 60% of them become homeless in less than a year. Therefore, the charity event will target every woman who is homeless who will be transformed physically to increase their chances of securing jobs just like other members of the society. However, though the event will not overlook any group of homeless women, the charity will be more concerned with women who have became homeless within a period of two years. This will be an effective way of making sure that homelessness within a short period is diminished by tackling the causative factors.
Expected Position and Share to the Target Market
It is factual that there are more than 10 charity programs and events in Vancouver which focus on different social events including child support and cancer breast cancer events. Additionally, it is factual that there are no other charity events that focus on homelessness in Vancouver because most people think that the government is offering support to the issue. Therefore, the charity is expected to be dominating the target market not because of the amount of funds raised but rather because of the impact and monopoly.
Sponsorship and Fundraising
Fundraising Strategies
It is factual that for a charity event to be successful, it should have effective strategies and target plans that will contribute in creating social awareness and raising funds to sustain the event. Therefore, the charity event will focus on personal relationship and social media. Under personal relationship, the charity will target the school which will call for a plan such as setting a booth at the college. The booth will be accompanied with giving out free stuff to attract the attention of students. Some of the things that will be offered at the booth include snacks, pens, lanyards and stickers among other things. Furthermore, the management team will have to consider using the appropriate décor that will attract target audience. The selected team members to be at the booth will be hospitality management students who will help in effective presentation. Hospitality management students will be able to the skills acquired from the course to present the mission of the event to the target audience. Furthermore, hospitality management students running the event will attract the attention of other students who will be concerned about what the students are up to. However, it is recommendable to combine both hospitality management students and artists in the booth for the effective presentation. Generally, the both will help the target audience apply for the donation and participate in the event.
On the other hand, the charity will use social media for social awareness and fundraising. Using different channels in social media, the team will post placards indicating the site of the event and the applicable channels of donating funds. Additionally, community groups will be created in both Facebook and Google+ social media channels which will invite different people from and outside Vancouver together with outside Canada.
Grand Writing Plans
The grand writing plans for this event will be applied to the sponsors of the charity which include makeup artists, Shoppers Drug Mart and Winners Company. Therefore, before grant writing to these organizations, the team will make sure that the project satisfies the goals of the three organizations. Furthermore, the team will ensure that it talks to contact persons of each organization in order to plan on how the event will meant their requirements. Lastly, the grant writing will gather information from advisors such as Women Shelter Inc. and some members of the community who are well acquainted with charity event preparation especially regarding social matters.
Pricing Plans
It is noteworthy that pricing is not a major concern in a charity event some it will be operated using funds from the donors. However, to keep the price low, the costs of the event will have to be kept down through different strategies. These strategies include selecting the appropriate event venue, holding the event at an affordable time, utilizing digital approaches, using volunteers, and utilizing sponsorship opportunities. Additionally, the charity will include other fundraising activities such as ticket selling, photographs, challenges, art work auctioning and games that will be priced cheaply to attract and retain the target audience. For example, the tickets for go for $20 only for everyone who will attend the event. This will make sure that nobody is discouraged by the price of the tickets to come to the event. On the other hand, it will make sure that the event raises considerable funds from tickets sale.
Risk Assessment
It is factual that with all the detailed preparations that are associated with charity events, it is very easy to neglect some of the basic factors that are part of the safety plan and effective progress of the event. This is based that a charity event is susceptible to numerous risks that hold back smooth flow of activities in the event. Therefore, in this homeless charity event, there are numerous risks that are projected to affect the performance and achievement of the mission and objectives. These risks include financial, legal, talent, and environmental risks among others.
Under the financial risks, it is undeniable that this is the first event regarding homelessness program. Therefore, it is true that the management is not skilled enough to project the cost of holding such an event. With only three sponsors, it is not guaranteed that they will help run the event sustainably. Additionally, marketing efforts do not guarantee enough donations from the community which means that the event is highly susceptible to inadequate funds. As a result, effective measures will have to be implemented to minimize the materialization and impact of financial risks. These measures will include strategies that will lower the cost of holding the event which will include selecting the appropriate event venue, holding the event at an affordable time, utilizing digital approaches, using volunteers, and utilizing sponsorship opportunities.
For legal risk, it is factual that the event is dealing with a population that has spent a certain time in the streets. These means that conduct is a great concern with regard to the progress of the event’s activities. To start with, the first concern is based on the safety of the participants of the events. The organization holding such an event has the legal obligation guarantee safety to people involved. This means that the management team should consider notifying and plan for security groups to be at the event. This means that at least two of the groups including police officers, private security officers, ambulance staff or fire authorities should be at the event. The other risk under legal risks includes serving foods and drinks to the participants. The team should be vigilant on the quality and safety of the foods and drinks served to make sure that they are healthy to the public. Additionally, the event management team should make sure that the banners and signs in the event do not violate provision of the law. In this case, the banners should not display any blame to any one such as the government or specific individuals. Lastly, the event is vulnerable to the risk of using drugs by the target market. As aforesaid, the target market is composed of people who have lived in the streets which means that most of them have been exposed to drug abuse. As a result, the management team should hold security measures to make sure that none of the homeless women has drugs in the event.
The other risk that is very common for this event is talent risk. In order to achieve the mission of the charity, the event depends on makeup artists who are students from makeup school volunteering to gain experience. This means that it is not guaranteed that they will be perfect in changing the physical appearance of homeless women. Additionally, some of them might not be experienced with the products that will be supplied by sponsors (Shoppers Drug Mart and Winners) who have high quality and advanced products. Therefore, the makeup artists will have to practice in order to enhance their skills before the event in order to lower chances of talent risk materialization.
There are other minor risks that are projected to materialize in the event. These risks include homeless women being few than expected. The target market might consider that the event is not beneficial to them because it will not give them jobs at the end of the day which will discourage them from turning up. On the other hand, homeless women might show up in large than expected numbers which will increase the cost of holding the event thus being unable to satisfy the demands. The other risk associated with turning up for the event includes homeless showing up for other purposes other than being transformed, educated and prepared for their pursuit of employment. Since the target market is composed of homeless women who are in need, they can show up for free foods, drinks and product samples. The other fact is that if the homeless show up in large numbers there might be inadequacy of makeup/skincare supply. Additionally, there might be fewer volunteers for the event which will affect the flow of activities significantly. Generally, the management team will have to plan effectively before the actual date of the event to minimize the impact and materialization of these and other risks.
Summary/Projection for Launch
The charity event will focus on the issue of homelessness in Vancouver BC especially for women. It has been recorded that the number of homeless people has reached up to 1847 up to date. 60% of these people have been homeless for not more than one year which means that for every month, people get homeless. The homelessness has been promoted by the high costs of housing in Vancouver. For example, the employable person in Vancouver is paid approximately $610 per month where $375 is for housing. $375 is for the low quality houses where a mere one bedroom apartment goes for roughly $485 per month. This means that an employable person in Vancouver is left with only $125 after house rent. Therefore, the mission of the event will be helping homeless women recognize their personal value by creating hope for their future. The charity will purposely focus on transforming, educating and ultimately preparing women for their pursuit of employment. The competitive advantage of the event will be based on the fact that homelessness is a major concern in Vancouver since it covers more than 4% of the total population in the area. The other strength of the event is that Shoppers Drug Mart, the sponsor of the event has a recognized brand name which will help in creating social awareness on the event. The legal structure of the event will be nonprofit organization which will depend on funding from selected sponsors and donations from the community. The sponsors of the event include Shoppers Drug Mart and Winners Company. The management team of the event will include four hospitality management students who will also be the board members. The advisors of the event will be Women Shelter Inc., who are well acquainted with the problems endured by women and how to tackle their challenges. Generally, though the charity will face numerous challenges such as financial, legal, talent and security risks, it is factual that the team members will conduct effective planning before holding the event to lower chances of risks materialization and the impact to the activities of the event.
References
Emmett, B., & Emmett, G. (2015). charities in canada as an economic sector. Imagine Canada. Retrieved from http://www.imaginecanada.ca/sites/default/files/imaginecanada_charities_in_canada_as_an_economic_sector_2015-06-22.pdf
Hopper, T. (2016). As B.C. homelessness shelters report a spike, there are fears a tide of homeless people is headed west. National Post. Retrieved from http://news.nationalpost.com/news/canada/as-b-c-homeless-shelters-report-a-spike-there-are-fears-a-tide-of-homeless-people-is-headed-west
Matt, K. (2016). Vancouver homelessness at record levels: 2016 count. Metro News. Retrieved from http://www.metronews.ca/news/vancouver/2016/05/31/vancouver-homelessness-at-record-levels-2016-count.html
Robinson, M. (2016). Record number of homeless on Vancouver streets. Vancouver Sun. retrieved from http://vancouversun.com/news/local-news/record-number-of-homeless-on-vancouver-streets
Shoppers Drug Mart Corporation SWOT Analysis. (2016). Shoppers Drug Mart Corp SWOT Analysis, 1-8.
