CCV Client In the News: New executive director cooks up growth at non-profit Enterprising Kitchen

Enterprising Kitchen is one of the social enterprises to go through CCV's award winning Market and Customer Development program. This intensive one on one program allows businesses and social enterprises to develop actionable sales and marketing strategies. This is especially imperative for non profits entering the for profit realm, when they are now responsible for generating revenue as the reliance on donors decreases.

From This Week's People in Crain's Chicago Business

SPOTLIGHT: CAROLYN NOPAR 

Job: Executive director, Chicago-based non-profit Enterprising Kitchen, since April 5.

Vitals: 49 years old; bachelor's degree in marketing, Michigan State University, 1983; master's degree in management, Kellogg School of Management, Northwestern University, 1990; assistant buyer, Burdines, Miami, 1983-84; key account representative, Del Laboratories Inc., Farmingdale, N.Y., 1985-88; senior account executive, AT&T Corp., Chicago, 1988-91; sales manager, Chicago commercial division, Cort Furniture Rental, Arlington Heights, 1991-95; self-employed marketing consultant, Nopar Consulting, Arlington Heights, 1995-present; ReStore development director, Habitat for Humanity, Elgin, 2005-06; associate director, corporate and foundation relations, Alzheimer's Assn., Chicago, 2006-08; chief development officer, YWCA Metropolitan Chicago, 2008-09.

Strong suit: A diverse background in corporate sales and non-profit fundraising, says Betsy Brill, president of Chicago-based philanthropic adviser Strategic Philanthropy Ltd., is "quite the perfect mix for a social enterprise like the Enterprising Kitchen." The non-profit soap business employs disadvantaged women in six-month stints, providing work experience needed to land permanent jobs.

Résumé gap: Hasn't run a non-profit before.

Track record: Launched from scratch a Habitat for Humanity social enterprise business in Elgin, called ReStore, which now brings in about $6,000 a day in revenue.

Job one: Boost cash flow through donations and higher-profit online sales of soaps and spa products to double the number of women served each year. About 30% of revenue comes from the business itself, with foundations, grants and donations covering the rest.

Obstacle: Limited marketing budget. "Retail is really tough," Ms. Nopar says. "We don't have the same levers as companies do."

The plan: Find new retail outlets and other ways to boost revenue while stepping up donor activities. "It's important to have the sale of product because that drives the job slots, but we also need to drive the individual giving," she says.

To see original article, visit Crain's Chicago Business