Birt’s Bistro: A Social Enterprise Supporting Aging in Place

Sr. Director of Marketing Jennifer Lawless

Benevilla President/ Chief Executive Officer Michelle Dionisio

Today we are excited to share with you our journey of creating a successful and purpose-filled Social Enterprise that strongly supports

our non-profit organization.

Building Community, One Plate at a Time

We have had some challenges and surprising twists and turns along the way, but a strong sense of the possibility of ways our Social Enterprise could further support our Mission has helped us to thrive.

Located in the Greater Phoenix Metro Area

Benevilla has been supporting the community it serves since 1981

Mission: Benevilla strengthens communities by offering supportive, life enriching programs that enable personal independence and dignity. Vision: Benevilla envisions a world in which all people come together to provide support, meaningful experiences and care for one another.

Values: • Compassion • High Quality Service • Integrity and Honesty • Collaboration Guiding Principles: • All-Inclusive nature in all that we do • Leaders in our community • Person Centered in every aspect of our

organization • Responsible Stewards

o Life Enrichment Centers o Support Groups o Information and Referral o Home Services o Home Delivered Meals o Family Resource Center o Wirtzie’s Preschool o Pet Therapy o Community Garden o Creative Aging Programs o Vocational Training

Merriam Webster definitions: so·cial \ˈsō-shəl\ : relating to or involving activities in which people spend time talking to each other or doing enjoyable things with each other en·ter·prise \ˈen-tə(r)-ˌprīz\ : a project or activity that involves many people and that is often difficult

What is a Social Enterprise?

Most commonly a social enterprise is defined as an organization that applies commercial strategies to maximize improvements in human and environmental well-being, rather than maximizing profits for external shareholders.

We have learned a thing or two in the process and hope to provide you with the following by the end of our presentation:

1. The ability to determine key elements for success when

starting any Social Enterprise

2. How to maximize opportunities while partnering with others

3. How to recognize other benefits of your new venture

Social Enterprise 101

1. The ability to determine key elements for success when starting any social enterprise

A. Addressing a legitimate need within your organization and community

B. Analyzing how to best meet that need

C. Creating a strong business plan with the support of legal and financial experts

D. Making sure the Social Enterprise model reflects the overall Mission

1.The ability to determine key elements for success when starting any social enterprise includes:

• Initially Benevilla saw a need for their own food services business as a way to provide higher quality products to their Life Enrichment Day Center members.

• A short lived Benevilla community center, Chez Nous, made clear the high demand for an inviting community gathering in the surrounding geographic area.

• A desire to offer Group Supported Employment (GSE) to Benevilla

Helping Partners, Intellectually and Developmentally disabled adults, was being explored.

• A safe environment with easy access to Benevilla social workers was also a desired service for the community.

Addressing a legitimate need within your organization and community

• A Social Enterprise Bistro can offer higher quality food services to its Life

Enrichment Day Programs at a much lower cost.

• A Social Enterprise Bistro can provide a community gathering place that is

comfortable and safe for all ages to enjoy.

• A Social Enterprise Bistro can offer its Helping Partners GSE opportunities that

are most appropriate for the organization and the Member.

• Birt's houses social workers on site to allow community members who need

help access to their services in a no-pressure environment.

Analyzing how to best meet that need

After realizing a Bistro would best meet the needs of the organization, a business plan was created. Benevilla consulted the appropriate legal and financial experts and decided a Social Enterprise model would work best. This unique business model that would further support the Mission.

Creating a strong business plan with the support of legal and financial experts

A for profit, Social Enterprise model allowed the Bistro the ability to help address the initial challenges in a way that a traditional for profit business (that must base its decisions primarily on financial considerations) could not.

Making sure the Social Enterprise model reflects the overall Mission

Mission: Benevilla strengthens communities by offering supportive, life enriching programs that enable personal independence and dignity. By providing more services to our community for people of all ages and abilities, our Board of Directors, CEO, staff etc. felt certain our new Bistro was in line with the agency mission.

Despite a thorough analysis, a great business plan and a supportive Board of Directors, the challenges faced in

creating Birt’s Bistro were many…

• Location (typically non profit campuses may not have a prime retail location)

• Not having the correct culinary leadership at the onset

• Part of customer base may have limited income

• Staff must have heart and understanding and put the mission before other

considerations

• Benevilla name change

• Some customers think because we are a non profit our prices should be minimal

• Initially not being fast enough with catering inquires

• Recession

2. How to maximize opportunities while partnering with others

A. Finding the right team to manage your Social Enterprise like the

“real business” it is and recognizing new possible revenue generators

B. Being open to new opportunities as they arise

C. Forming partnerships with local community members whose values align with your own

2. How to maximize opportunities while partnering with others.

Recognizing Revenue Generators

o Bistro Sales o Catering Sales o Rental Space o Meals on Wheels o Grants o Donors o Selling Artwork o Selling Books

o In 2013 Bistro revenue made up nearly 20% of the agency revenue

o Birt’s Bistro revenues have increased 48% over the last 3 years

o Catering revenues have increased by 58% over the last 3 years

• When implementing this

Social Enterprise Bistro, initially a set of specific needs within the “umbrella” non-profit were being addressed.

• After defining the new goals of the Bistro and realizing the ability of the Bistro to generate revenue, other opportunities presented themselves.

http://www.benevilla.org/about-us/awards/

New Opportunities at Birt’s include: o Local musicians of all ages performing at Birt’s After Hours, an entertainment program

that also serves food and wine, beer and cocktails and brings in a diverse crowd

o Saturday Night at Birts with musicians performing monthly

o Bookstore and Boutique with a percentage of sales going back to Benevilla

o Local Artist receptions and community Paint Nites

o Educational Lecture series are held at the Bistro

o The Bistro has also become a favorite spot for local business people to meet for lunch

o Birt’s hosts a Memory Arts Bistro which is an afternoon of art and socializing

for people with memory loss, their families, and their caregivers.

o A Meals on Wheels program that offers homebound clientele the opportunity to have a hot, freshly prepared meal daily.

o Be open to new ideas! Selling Art and Books was also a secondary program.

New programs, like these were not a part of the original plan…

In 2013 alone, 480 free holiday meals were served from the Birt’s Bistro kitchen to individuals who were alone or unable to cook on their own. More impressively, 15,429 home delivered meals were prepared at Birt’s and provided to 168 seniors and homebound individuals.

The diversity in new programs has made Birt’s Bistro an integral part of

Benevilla’s Mission.

o Local Theatre Groups o Local Artist Groups o High schools o Universities o Dance Programs o Music Schools o Other non-profits

Forming partnerships with local community members whose values

align with your own.

VINYL JAZZ https://youtu.be/X_UBtBFh_5A

Current Community Partners Include:

3. How to recognize other benefits of your new venture

A. Revenue is important but awareness is also a benefit

B. Other facets in support of your mission may appear

C. New future goals may present themselves and strategic plans may

be adjusted

Birt's Bistro has created significant returns beyond revenue. Benevilla, the non-profit that Birt's supports, has seen a measurable

increase in new volunteers, new clients and increased donations made by those who learned about the charity while dining or

attending an event held at Birt's Bistro.

Revenue is important but awareness is also a benefit

The TRIPLE BOTTOM LINE!!!

SUCCESS

Volunteers Clients Donations

Other facets in support of your mission may appear

• New GSE opportunities • Benevilla CARES events • Creation of a “Safe” Social Setting • Grant opportunities • Encore award-new volunteers • Support local community through art, music, educational and social gatherings • Catering business • The Soroptimist Room- support local clubs

New future goals may present themselves and strategic plans may be adjusted

o More Creative Aging opportunities such as Ted Talks and Artist Salons held at Birt’s Bistro.

o More Intergenerational Programming.

o More physical locations o Franchising o More opportunities to

incorporate our Community Garden into our Social Enterprise

Before starting YOUR Social Enterprise

consider the following: 1. The ability to determine key

elements for success when starting

any Social Enterprise

2. How to maximize opportunities

while partnering with others

3. How to recognize other benefits of

your new venture

And consider the following questions: 1. How would I identify whether or not a Social Enterprise has

potential as an additional revenue producer, while also meeting a community social need?

2. What would my Triple Bottom Line for success be?

3. How can I keep the Social Enterprise sustainable while fulfilling my organization’s mission?

Questions and Answers…THANK YOU!

16752 N Greasewood St Surprise AZ 85378 623-584-4999 www.benevilla.org