Context
Tahoe Food Hub (TFH) was on a mission to build a regional, sustainable, and equitable food system in the Tahoe region. An angel investor eager to support expansion wanted to see a path to financial sustainability before funding a new location.
The challenge: TFH's Farm to Market (F2M) program accounted for 99.8% of organizational revenue but was structured and operated like the organization's grant-dependent educational programs. With nearly $700,000 in projected 2017 revenue and annual growth exceeding $100,000, this misalignment threatened long-term viability.
My Role
As part of a three-person consulting team through Presidio Graduate School, I contributed to:
- Stakeholder research and immersion with TFH leadership
- Financial analysis and business model assessment
- SWOT analysis and organizational structure evaluation
- B-Corp certification strategy development
- Implementation planning for structural reorganization
I specifically led project management and business modeling work.
Approach
Immersion and Discovery
We spent a day in Truckee with Executive Director Susie Sutphin - touring facilities, interviewing stakeholders, and understanding her vision. We visited both the existing Alpine Meadows retail store and the potential new location.
When we dove into financial documents back home, the mismatch became clear. The F2M program was generating commercial-scale revenue but operating with nonprofit constraints designed for educational programs.
Reframe the Structure
The core insight: TFH's mission was broader than traditional nonprofits. The organization had both educational/social impact programs and a significant commercial component. Trying to run both under a single nonprofit structure was constraining growth.
We proposed separating F2M into a certified B-Corporation - maintaining mission alignment while enabling access to private capital, profit motives, and commercial operational practices.
B-Corp Certification Path
We developed a detailed implementation plan addressing three key requirements:
Performance Requirements
Using B-Lab's B Impact Assessment, we evaluated TFH across Governance, Workers, Community, and Environment dimensions. Our preliminary assessment showed TFH was well-positioned to exceed the 80-point minimum threshold.
Legal Requirements
California's Benefit Corporation structure would allow the hybrid path TFH needed - considering all stakeholders rather than just profit maximization, while still accessing private capital for growth.
B-Lab Requirements
We detailed the administrative requirements: adopting B-Lab's Term Sheet, signing the Declaration of Interdependence, and annual fees ($1,000 for organizations under $2M revenue).
New Revenue Model
The B-Corp structure would enable several strategic initiatives:
- Margin-based pricing for wholesale customers (vs. flat fees)
- Prioritizing direct-to-consumer box sales over wholesale
- The Food Shed retail expansion
- Relocated wholesale cold storage and distribution
- Long-term satellite hub expansion
Impact
Strategic Clarity:
- Identified fundamental organizational structure misalignment
- Proposed B-Corp path enabling sustainable growth while maintaining mission
- Developed detailed implementation roadmap
Financial Modeling:
- Analyzed current revenue mix and growth projections
- Modeled financial sustainability under proposed structure
- Identified pricing and operational improvements
Systems Thinking:
- Applied sustainable management frameworks to complex organizational challenge
- Balanced commercial viability with social/environmental mission
- Created structure supporting both earned revenue and grant-funded programs
What I Learned
Structure matters as much as strategy. TFH's challenge wasn't lack of mission clarity or market opportunity - it was operating with an organizational structure misaligned with its actual business model.
Hybrid models require intentional design. The B-Corp framework provided exactly what TFH needed: a structure that validates both profit and purpose, enabling commercial growth without abandoning mission.
Financial sustainability enables impact. Grant dependence limited TFH's ability to scale the F2M program. Access to private capital and profit-oriented operations would actually increase their ability to serve the community.
This project deepened my understanding of how organizational design either enables or constrains impact, and how frameworks like B-Corp certification can align structure with mission in ways traditional nonprofit or C-corp models cannot.