Case Study

Leading the Formation of an Agricultural Organization

Company

Iowa-based agriculture and sustainability non-profit

Challenge

The client sought to create a new organization to facilitate the use of sustainability practices to tackle a serious environmental problem in their industry, but was unsure of the viability of such a mission. Furthermore, the client needed to develop a vision for structuring the organization In order to bring together a diverse group of stakeholders.

Intervention

Bâton Global (B|G) developed a comprehensive business plan that presented a scalable, financially viable approach to fulfilling the client's vision to drive greater sustainability.

Results

The plan developed with Bâton Global enabled management to move forward with a pilot project under a nonprofit structure. In addition, the client was able to prioritize environmental practices and match them with appropriate sources of funding.

Learn More

The scope of this project includes four main areas of activity:

Insight

The Insight phase focused on the assessment of possible legal structures and evaluating the value proposition for potential stakeholders:

  1. B|G conducted a high-level review of several potential legal structures and mapped out the nature of various stakeholder relationships under each structure
  2. B|G evaluated the capabilities and needs of stakeholder groups, including the parties that would implement, facilitate, and fund the environmental practices

Innovation

B|G collects insights and worked with the leaders to establish a vision and plan for the soon-to-be formed organization:  

  1. B|G led development sessions with key stakeholders to determine their desired sustainability focuses, beneficiary groups, and management structure.
  2. B|G developed a financial model that synthesized a wide array of potential business models, environmental practices, funding mechanisms, and pricing scenarios to identify an optimal path that balances environmental outcomes with the availability of financial resources.

Integration

B|G worked closely with management to develop a comprehensive business plan that summarized the conclusive vision for the new organization along with a bespoke financial model:

  1. The business plan will be used as a guide to execution on the organization's mission and also as communications materials to engage stakeholders.
  2. B|G used financial analysis to facilitate data-driven decision making in planning discussions with management.

Impact

B|G guided management towards specific practices that will produce significant environmental benefits while requiring only a small initial investment before becoming financially self-sustaining in the second year. The organization is well on its ways in driving key sustainability practices, benefiting communities across the Midwest.

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