Should not-for-profits go into business?

To the manager of the not-for-profit organization, the idea of entering into a business venture might seem heretical. The precedent has been set, however, and numbers of not-for-profits are currently earning substantial amounts of income through long-term for profit enterprises that have continuity with the organization's prime mission. The author of this article cautions managers of not-for-profits that an earned-income venture can be a miserable failure unless the organization meets certain conditions: a product to sell, managerial talent, trustee support, an entrepreneurial spirit, and money or the ability to get it. He then describes nine issues managers should consider before undertaking earned-income projects.