Business Model Canvas Assignment Using the Mission Model Canvas: Cover Page, Sticky-Note Canvas and Memo

Business Model Canvas Assignment Using the Mission Model Canvas: Cover Page, Sticky-Note Canvas and Memo (Example)

Using Osterwalder and Pigneur’s Business Model Canvas and other course resources, create a business model canvas of the organization where you work, showing as much detail as possible and demonstrating synthesis of the process. (Military students may use the Mission Model Canvas.) Submit:

1. A cover page describing the organization: name, date of origination or incorporation, location, purpose, your relationship and role and other relevant details.
2. The business (or mission) model canvas with Post-it notes.
3. A memo describing what you learned about your organization from creating the canvas.

Original example for study purposes (about 580 words). Bayview Veterans Transition Center is fictional. The assignment asks for your own workplace, so replace every detail; use discretion for sensitive military information.

1. Cover Page: Organization Description

• Name of the organization: Bayview Veterans Transition Center [fictional; replace with your organization]
• Date of origination: Incorporated as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit in 2014
• Location: A mid-sized coastal city near a large military installation, with outreach to three rural counties
• Purpose: To help transitioning service members, veterans and their families move successfully into civilian life by connecting them with benefits, employment, housing and a supportive veteran community.
• My relationship and role: Program coordinator for employment services. I supervise two job coaches, run monthly workshops at the installation’s Transition Assistance Program (TAP) classes and track employment outcomes for grant reports.
• Other details: About 18 staff and 60 volunteers serve roughly 1,200 veterans and family members a year. Funding comes from state grants, a federal workforce grant, foundations and individual donors.

2. Mission Model Canvas

Because Bayview is a mission-driven nonprofit, I used the Mission Model Canvas, which Steve Blank adapted from Osterwalder and Pigneur’s Business Model Canvas for organizations whose success is measured by impact rather than revenue (Blank, 2016). It replaces customer segments with beneficiaries, channels with deployment, customer relationships with buy-in and support, cost structure with mission budget/cost and revenue streams with mission achievement (Blank, 2016). The canvas appears in Figure 1.

Figure 1. Mission Model Canvas for Bayview Veterans Transition Center.

3. Memo: What I Learned From Creating the Canvas

To: Executive Director, Bayview Veterans Transition Center
From: [Student Name], Program Coordinator, Employment Services
Date: [Date]
Subject: Lessons from mapping our organization on the Mission Model Canvas

Mapping Bayview on a single page showed me how our programs connect and where our model is strong or fragile. I want to share five lessons.

1. We serve more beneficiaries than we plan for. I had always thought of “the veteran” as our customer. The canvas made me list spouses, families, employers and even the VA, which benefits when we prevent crises. Employers in particular are both partners and beneficiaries, yet we have no formal value proposition for them. A simple employer services package, such as pre-screened candidates and training on military skills translation, could strengthen that relationship.

2. Buy-in is as important as delivery. In a business, customers decide whether a product succeeds. For us, success also depends on the board, grantors, the VA and city officials. Our grant reports are a form of “customer relationship” with funders, so better outcome data directly protects our funding.

3. Our impact measures need to match our value propositions. We promise faster access to benefits and stable housing, but we mainly report the number of people served. The canvas pushed me to propose tracking outcomes such as the percentage employed within 90 days, days to a benefits decision and housing stability at six months.

4. Deployment to rural areas is our biggest gap. Most services happen at our downtown center. The mobile van and virtual appointments are underused, which suggests that rural veterans, who often face the greatest isolation, are underserved.

5. Key resources are concentrated in people. About two-thirds of our budget is staff, and our reputation depends on a few accredited benefits counselors. Cross-training and documenting our processes would reduce the risk if key staff leave.

Recommendation. I recommend that the leadership team review this canvas at our next strategic planning retreat, adopt three outcome measures for the coming year and pilot an employer partnership package. Revisiting the canvas annually would help us see how changes in one block affect the rest of our mission.

References

Blank, S. (2016, February 23). The mission model canvas: An adapted business model canvas for mission-driven organizations. https://steveblank.com/2016/02/23/the-mission-model-canvas-an-adapted-business-model-canvas-for-mission-driven-organizations/

Osterwalder, A., & Pigneur, Y. (2010). Business model generation: A handbook for visionaries, game changers, and challengers. John Wiley & Sons.

More model assignments posted today

• MTE/517 technology integration analysis
• Isabella ADHD case study
• Sarah child abuse ethics presentation
• Nursing ethics paper
• Holland RIASEC career fit discussion
• Erikson integrity vs. despair discussion
• Child development concept map