Looking for a nonprofit culinary arts program business plan? You're in the right place.
A funder or lender reading a training-kitchen plan wants to know what a seat costs and who pays for it. How many people enroll, finish and end up working? How much of the kitchen's cost does catering earn back? What happens to the budget if a grant is late or a contract comes in short? A template with blank headings won't show what a workable answer looks like.
This article walks through a complete sample plan for a tuition-free culinary job-training program in Eugene, Oregon, section by section, from the need and the participants to the five-year financials. It closes with a downside case.
What each part gives you:
- The summary: how to state the ask, the cohort size and the first three years on one page for a program officer with a stack to read
- Cooks wanted in Lane County: a way to describe local demand with dated public wage and licensing figures, and to say where the program sits among other routes into kitchen work
- The funding mix: how a workforce contract, grants, gifts and earned sales fit together, and how each one changes share over five years
- The 14-week cohort: a worked pipeline from enrollment to completion to a job at 90 days, so outcome targets are written as planning figures and not promises
- The cost of a seat: a single figure funders compare, built from the budget and shown before and after earned sales
- The reserve and the lean months: why the opening cash is sized to the first two years' deficits, which grants are signed, and how the reserve returns to three months
- The downside case: an answer to what happens when every income line comes in 20% short, with the steps the board takes
If you're planning a training kitchen or a social-enterprise program, read this before you write your own. The program is fictional, so take what fits and change the rest.
In this plan
To turn this example into your own nonprofit culinary arts program business plan, use the nonprofit culinary arts program business plan template.
Summary: Fernridge Table and the Ask
Fernridge Table is an Oregon nonprofit that opens a culinary job-training kitchen in Eugene on January 1, 2027. Adults who are out of work or underemployed spend 14 weeks in a working kitchen with no tuition, then get help into a first kitchen job and a check-in 90 days later. Participants cook for a weekday lunch counter and a catering line, and the sales cover part of what the program costs. Executive Director Dana Whitcomb leads it.
The program needs $825,000 to open. A $350,000 capital grant restricted to the kitchen build-out and equipment is paired with $400,000 of founding gifts and a community foundation grant that carry no restriction, plus a $75,000 program-related loan secured by the kitchen equipment and the catering van. Of the total, $354,000 buys the build-out, equipment and van, $36,000 covers legal, licensing and launch costs, and $435,000 is set aside as the operating reserve. The reserve is drawn down: Year 1 closes with $283,936 in the bank.
| Year 1 | Year 2 | Year 3 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | $748,319 | $1,072,028 | $1,222,371 |
| Surplus (deficit) after start-up costs | ($192,854) | ($53,808) | $702 |
| Closing cash | $283,936 | $241,785 | $260,916 |
Three cohorts of 16 start in 2027 (48 participants). From 2028 the kitchen runs three cohorts a year of 20, then 22, which fills it at 66 participants a year from 2029. The budget uses a 78% completion rate and a 70% job rate at the 90-day check among those who finish. These are planning figures that set the contract income, and the program cannot promise them. At those rates 37 people finish and 26 are placed in Year 1; 51 finish and 36 are placed in each of Years 3 to 5.
Years 1 and 2 are deficits, because the full teaching staff is paid before catering, the lunch counter and the workforce contract have built up, and because the Year 2 grants are not yet all in hand. Year 3 breaks even and the surpluses that follow are $20,613 and $31,508. Every surplus stays in the organization as net assets.
The plan tests itself. If every income line comes in 20% short, the program cuts supports and discretionary costs, never hires two posts, delays a third, trims the director's pay and still ends every year with cash in the bank, though it runs a deficit in all five years.
The program prices its seat openly: about $18,000 of operating cost per enrolled participant in Years 1 to 3, about $12,500 after catering and lunch sales in Year 3.
About Fernridge Table
Legal name: Fernridge Table, an Oregon nonprofit corporation, applying for federal 501(c)(3) status. Executive Director: Dana Whitcomb. Site: a leased 3,800 square feet in Eugene with a teaching kitchen, a classroom corner, a lunch counter and a receiving door. Opening: January 1, 2027. The first cohort starts in April. Stage: pre-launch. The lease is at letter-of-intent stage. About $250,000 of the Year 1 grants are awarded and signed, the rest is in application, and the workforce board has expressed interest but has signed nothing (details under Raising and Earning the Money).
Purpose
Train adults in Lane County for entry-level kitchen work, and place them with employers who will pay for the skills.
The 14 weeks
Each cohort follows one pattern. Weeks 1 to 3 cover knife skills, sanitation, the Oregon food handler card and kitchen math. Weeks 4 to 10 rotate crews between the line, the lunch counter and catering prep. Weeks 11 to 14 are a practicum at a partner kitchen, arranged with counsel so that participants are paid wherever wage law requires, plus interview coaching. A class of 16 works as two crews of eight; a class of 22 works as two crews of eleven at twelve stations.
What a participant receives
| Item | Detail |
|---|---|
| Tuition | None |
| Supplies | Uniforms, a knife kit, shoes allowance and exam fees |
| Support | A weekly attendance stipend, transit passes and a job coach |
| Credential | The Oregon food handler card; a national food-safety manager course is offered to those ready for it |
| After graduation | Help applying, a placement check at 90 days and an alumni group |
Legal footing
Fernridge Table is incorporated in Oregon. To qualify for federal exemption, the IRS requires an organization to be organized and operated exclusively for exempt purposes, with none of its earnings going to private individuals. The board files the exemption application in the first month and tells donors the status is pending until the IRS decides. Charitable-solicitation registration in Oregon is on counsel's list, and the plan sets aside legal fees for it. The state's Higher Education Coordinating Commission licenses private career schools, and its guidance points to ORS chapter 345 for the exemptions. Whether a free program with an employer partnership needs a license or fits an exemption is a question for counsel and the commission, so the legal line in the budget covers it. Opening day depends on the answer.
Many funders ask for the IRS determination letter before they pay. Until it arrives, grants that require a 501(c)(3) go through an existing 501(c)(3) as fiscal sponsor under a written agreement, and counsel confirms that arrangement with each funder.
Targets for the first two years
- 48 participants enrolled in 2027 and 60 in 2028, then 66 a year.
- A completion rate of 78% and a 90-day placement rate of 70% among those who finish, tracked and reported to funders every quarter, whatever the result.
- Earned sales (catering and lunch counter) above 25% of revenue from Year 2.
- Positive EBITDA in Year 3, and a reserve of three months of operating costs by Year 5.
Cooks Wanted in Lane County
The Bureau of Labor Statistics put the median pay for cooks at $36,640 a year ($17.62 an hour) in May 2025 and projects 7% employment growth from 2025 to 2035. It says cooks usually learn on the job and need no formal credential, though some attend culinary school. Chefs and head cooks earned a median $62,470 in May 2025. Those national figures show a field where a first job is easy to enter and a better one is earned by years in a kitchen, which is the gap a 14-week program tries to shorten.
Oregon's minimum wage for Lane County is $15.55 an hour from July 1, 2026 to June 30, 2027, according to the state Bureau of Labor and Industries. A graduate placed at $17 to $19 an hour would be earning above that, and the planning figures in the model do not depend on a specific starting wage.
The Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act, signed on July 22, 2014, funds employment and training through local workforce boards. Fernridge Table plans to ask the local board to consider it as a training provider. The board decides whether to list it and what it pays, and the plan treats the workforce contract as a target.
Every Oregon food service worker needs a food handler card within 30 days of starting work. The Oregon Health Authority lists the card at $10 and valid for three years. Fernridge Table issues it in week 2, so a graduate arrives at an interview with the card in hand.
What else a job seeker can do
| Route | What it offers | How Fernridge Table differs |
|---|---|---|
| Community-college culinary programs | Credits, longer terms, tuition | Fourteen weeks, no tuition, a weekly stipend and an employer practicum |
| Working in a kitchen and learning there | Immediate pay | Structured instruction, the sanitation credential and a job coach |
| Other training kitchens and social-enterprise programs | Similar model in other places | A single Lane County employer network and a catering line staffed by participants |
| Workforce-board training funds | Money for approved training providers | Fernridge Table plans to ask the board to consider it; the board decides |
The table describes categories of alternatives and how this program positions itself.
SWOT
| Strengths | Weaknesses |
|---|---|
| A working kitchen gives every participant paid-service practice from week 4 | Years 1 and 2 run deficits and rely on the opening reserve |
| Two earned-revenue lines reduce reliance on any single funder | Grants are 56% of Year 1 revenue, arrive in four installments, and $170,000 of the Year 1 amount is not yet awarded |
| A job coach follows each graduate to the 90-day check | One director holds the funder relationships |
| Opportunities | Threats |
|---|---|
| Employers short of line cooks hiring graduates they have already seen work | Restaurant closures or a hiring freeze lower placement |
| Workforce-board and foundation money for training | A grant not renewed, or a contract milestone missed |
| Catering demand from offices and events | Kitchen equipment failure in a space with no spare |
Who Enrolls and Who Buys
Fernridge Table serves two groups of customers. The first is the people who enroll. The second is the people who pay: the workforce board and foundations, who fund seats, and the lunch and catering customers, who buy food.
Participants
Adults 18 and over who want kitchen work and face a barrier to getting it: a gap in work history, a record, housing instability, recent release from treatment or a language barrier. Applicants sit for a short interview and a kitchen visit and are not screened on test scores. About half of each class is funded through the workforce contract, which has its own eligibility rules the board applies. Fernridge Table is not a social-service agency. Housing, treatment, childcare and legal help come from partner agencies through referral, and the job coach tracks each referral. Transit passes and a weekly stipend are the only wraparound items the program pays for itself.
Funders
Program officers and workforce-board staff buy outcomes. They ask how many people enrolled, how many finished and how many were working at 90 days. The plan reports all three every quarter, so a funder can compare Fernridge Table with its own targets.
Lunch and catering buyers
Offices, small events, university departments and faith groups that want a hot lunch or a drop-off order. They buy on price, reliability and convenience. The nonprofit story earns a first order. A second depends on the menu holding up against a competing caterer's.
Employers
Restaurants, hotels, care homes, school and hospital kitchens that hire cooks. They want someone who arrives on time, holds a food handler card and has worked a rush. Employers who host a practicum see a candidate for a few weeks before offering a job. Eight kitchens have signed letters saying they will interview graduates. None has committed to hire, and the placement rate is a target.
Raising and Earning the Money
Five income lines carry the budget, and each has a different rhythm.
| Source | Year 1 share | Year 3 share | Year 5 share |
|---|---|---|---|
| Foundation and government grants | 56% | 45% | 43% |
| Workforce board contract | 14% | 17% | 16% |
| Catering sales | 12% | 19% | 21% |
| Individual and corporate giving | 11% | 9% | 9% |
| Lunch counter sales | 6% | 11% | 11% |
Shares are rounded and do not always add to 100%.
The contract
The workforce contract pays per funded participant in three parts: 30% at enrollment, 40% at completion and 30% at the 90-day placement check. The full rate is $7,800 in Year 1. At planning rates of 78% completion and 70% placement among those who finish, the program receives about 78% of that, or $6,051 per funded participant. Half of each class is funded this way: 24 participants in Year 1, 30 in Year 2 and 33 from Year 3. In Year 1 the program books $105,319 of the $145,229 that 24 funded participants are worth over their full term. The rest, $39,910, arrives in 2028: the July cohort's placement payments and the October cohort's completion and placement payments. Because the last 30% depends on a job, the contract passes part of the placement risk to Fernridge Table, which is why the job coach starts in month 1.
Grants and gifts: what is signed
Year 1 grants total $420,000 in four installments of $110,000, $100,000, $110,000 and $100,000.
| Grant | Year 1 | Status at opening |
|---|---|---|
| Community foundation operating grant, three years | $110,000 | Awarded and signed |
| Hospital system community-benefit grant | $80,000 | Awarded and signed |
| Family foundation A | $60,000 | Awarded and signed |
| State workforce or reentry training grant | $120,000 | Application submitted; decision expected in the first quarter |
| Family foundation B | $50,000 | Application submitted |
That is $250,000 awarded and $170,000 pending. Year 2 grants are $500,000: the community foundation's second year ($110,000, signed), renewals of the hospital and Family foundation A grants, the state grant if awarded, Family foundation B and about $80,000 of new requests that the development manager files in Year 1. Only the $110,000 is under a signed multi-year agreement at opening, which makes Year 2 grants the weakest line in the plan. Grants then rise to $585,000 by Year 5. The 43% share in Year 5 still leaves the program dependent on funders.
Giving is $85,000 in Year 1 and rises to $125,000. The Year 1 figure is $40,000 of gifts from board members and founding supporters, $25,000 from the launch tasting dinner and $20,000 from mail and online appeals, weighted to November and December.
Earned sales
Catering starts in May at about $1,150 an order (80 orders) in Year 1 and reaches roughly 177 orders at $1,300 in Year 3. The lunch counter opens in June, runs Monday to Friday, about 240 days a year, and averages $12.50 a head, which is about 3,700 lunches in Year 1 and 10,400 in Year 3, or around 43 a day. Food and packaging cost 34% of catering and 33% of lunch sales in every year, which is $46,460 in Year 1 and $121,100 in Year 3.
Recruiting, Catering and Donors
Marketing is $28,000 in Year 1: $14,000 of launch spend paid from the start-up capital and $14,000 of running costs. That is 4% of Year 1 revenue and falls to about 1% by Year 5. For the 48 participants to enroll, about 120 people need to inquire; recruitment costs about $73 per enrolled participant.
| Item | Year 1 spend | What it is for |
|---|---|---|
| Website and brand (launch) | $6,000 | A site with an application form, the menu, a catering inquiry form and the donor page |
| Employer and referral outreach (launch) | $4,000 | Introductions to 20 kitchens and the first referral partners |
| First donor event (launch) | $4,000 | A tasting dinner prepared by the first cohort |
| Catering and lunch promotion | $6,000 | Tastings for offices, photography, signage and listings for 80 events and 3,700 lunches |
| Participant recruitment | $3,500 | Information sessions, flyers and partner-agency visits for about 120 inquiries |
| Donor thanks and reporting | $2,500 | A quarterly impact note and thank-you meals |
| Employer breakfast and graduation | $2,000 | Two events a year to bring employers into the kitchen |
Dates to hit
- April 2027: first cohort starts with 16 participants.
- May 2027: first catering order.
- June 2027: lunch counter opens.
- July 2027: second cohort; the first graduates are placed.
- December 2027: monthly earned sales of $21,500.
Running the Teaching Kitchen
The space
3,800 square feet at about $19 a square foot a year, which is $72,200 including common-area charges and taxes in Year 1, on a ten-year lease with a five-year option. The landlord holds a deposit of two months' rent, paid from the reserve. The board will not give a personal guarantee, and if the landlord insists on one, the board decides before signing. The kitchen stays in this space for the whole plan. The space is a second-generation restaurant kitchen with a hood and grease interceptor already in place. The $230,000 build-out covers a fire-suppression upgrade, hand sinks, flooring, a dish area, an accessible restroom and electrical work, about $61 a square foot, and the landlord's contractor quotes are still to come. Lane County Environmental Health licenses and inspects food service and mobile units in the county; the plan budgets $6,000 for plan review, the food service license, fire inspection and registrations, and the county's fee sheet sets the final figure.
A day in the kitchen
Lunch service runs from 11:00 to 1:30, and morning is prep and instruction. In weeks 4 to 10 each crew works one of three stations: line, lunch counter or catering prep. Catering orders are packed in the afternoon and delivered in the refrigerated van. The kitchen and catering manager schedules orders so no delivery takes a crew away from instruction.
Staffing and ratios
Four people start in month 1: the executive director, a program director who is also the lead chef-instructor, a second chef-instructor and a job coach. The job coach carries about 60 active graduates in Year 3 including follow-up. The kitchen and catering manager joins in month 2, a half-time bookkeeper in month 3, a development manager in month 4 and a lunch counter lead in month 5. A class of 16 has two instructors for two crews of eight. Headcount then stays at ten people, nine full-time equivalents, because the kitchen is full at 66 participants and growth after Year 3 comes from catering and lunch sales. A catering sales coordinator joins in month 13 and a half-time alumni coach in month 27.
Safety and records
A written sanitation plan, a food handler card for every participant and staff member, daily temperature logs, allergen labeling on every catering order, and a log of every participant's hours and attendance for the funder. Insurance covers general, property and product liability (including foodborne illness from catering and lunch sales), vehicle, directors and officers, and accident coverage for trainees, at $26,000 in Year 1. Counsel and the carrier confirm how participants are classified for workers' compensation. Because participants prepare food that is sold, counsel also reviews the stipend, trainee status and wage rules under federal and Oregon law before opening; the $16,000 legal line covers this.
Equipment and replacement
The plan buys a full cooking line, a combi oven, a walk-in cooler and freezer, mixers, prep tables and smallwares for $92,000, and a used refrigerated van for $32,000. A line for equipment replacement starts in Year 2 at $7,000 and rises to $13,000. Professional fees are $38,000 in Year 1 and $50,000 in Year 5: an outside nonprofit accountant, the annual Form 990, legal advice, and from Year 2 a CPA's review of the statements. No funder has required an audit in Year 1. If a funder or the lender asks for one, the board commissions it, and counsel confirms any state threshold.
Board and Staff
Dana Whitcomb, Executive Director
Dana has twelve years in restaurant kitchens, the last four as a kitchen manager, and six years running a job-training program at a regional nonprofit. She has written and managed grant budgets and reported outcomes to a workforce board. Her salary is $88,000 and she draws no bonus.
Where the team is thin
Dana has not started a nonprofit from nothing, and the board has not yet recruited a treasurer with a nonprofit audit background. The plan fills those gaps with an outside nonprofit accountant on retainer and a treasurer recruited before the first grant report is due.
The board
Seven volunteers: a restaurant owner, a hotel kitchen manager, a lawyer, a nonprofit accountant, a former program participant from a partner program, an employer-association representative and a donor. The board approves the budget, meets quarterly and adopts a conflict-of-interest policy before the exemption application is filed. No board member is paid by Fernridge Table. The board policy is to hold three months of operating costs in reserve, to put every surplus and any unrestricted gift above $100,000 into it, and to review it each quarter. The plan reaches three months in Year 5.
If Dana is out
The program director is the second signature on grant reports and can run the kitchen. The plan carries key-person insurance on the executive director and the board holds a written succession note.
Outside help
A pro bono food-safety consultant reviews the kitchen layout before plan review. A retired restaurant operator mentors Dana on catering pricing.
Budget and Five-Year Financials
One model sits behind the tables: month by month for 2027, then one figure a year to 2031. It starts from how a seat in the program is paid for, because that is the question a funder checks first.
Kitchen, van and launch funding
| Use of funds | Amount |
|---|---|
| Build-out of second-generation restaurant space: fire-suppression upgrade, hand sinks, flooring, dish area, accessible restroom, electrical | $230,000 |
| Cooking line, combi oven, walk-in cooler and freezer, mixers, prep tables, smallwares, classroom furniture | $92,000 |
| Used refrigerated cargo van for catering | $32,000 |
| Legal: incorporation, IRS exemption application, lease and loan review, participant agreements | $16,000 |
| Plan review, food service license, fire inspection, business and vehicle registrations | $6,000 |
| Launch: website, employer and referral outreach, first donor event | $14,000 |
| Operating reserve (contract payment lag and the Year 1 deficit) | $435,000 |
| Total uses | $825,000 |
| Source of funds | Amount |
|---|---|
| Capital grant (restricted to kitchen build-out and equipment) | $350,000 |
| Founding gifts and community foundation grant (operating reserve, no donor restriction) | $400,000 |
| Program-related loan (secured by a lien on kitchen equipment and the van) | $75,000 |
| Total sources | $825,000 |
Fernridge Table opens with $825,000. A $350,000 capital grant (42% of the total) is restricted to the build-out, equipment and van. Founding gifts and a community foundation grant of $400,000 (48%) carry no restriction. A $75,000 program-related loan (9%) runs at 3% over seven years, interest-only for the first twelve months, and is secured by a lien on the kitchen equipment and van, which cost $124,000; the rate is an example and not a lender quote. The capital grant is pledged and becomes payable when the lease is signed. Of the total, $354,000 buys the build-out, equipment and van, $36,000 pays for legal, licensing and launch outreach, and $435,000 is the operating reserve. That is 6.0 months of Year 1 operating costs and covers the $187,064 cash outflow from operations in the first year. Nobody owns a nonprofit, so two labels in the balance sheet template change meaning. "Paid-in capital" ($750,000) is the capital grant and the founding gifts, which are contributions and not an owner's stake. "Retained earnings" is the running total of surpluses and deficits. Together they are the organization's net assets, and a table of restricted and unrestricted net assets follows the cash flow. The distributions row is zero by design, because a nonprofit pays nothing out to owners. The model is a cash-basis view: it books each grant when the cash arrives, and it shows the two opening gifts as paid-in capital while recurring grants run through income. Under nonprofit accounting standards (FASB ASC 958) all of them would be contributions revenue, so Year 1 would report an increase in net assets of $557,146 instead of a $192,854 deficit, with grants that carry conditions recognized only when the conditions are met and the restricted capital grant released as the assets are used. The outside accountant sets the treatment. The cash figures do not change.
Planning figures behind the budget
- Cohorts are 14 weeks. Year 1 has three cohorts of 16 (April, July and October starts). Years 2 to 5 have three day cohorts a year (January, May and September) of 20, 22, 22 and 22, which leaves about ten weeks a year for breaks, holidays and catering peaks. That gives 48, 60, 66, 66 and 66 enrolled, and the kitchen is full from Year 3. A class works as two crews at twelve stations, with two instructors.
- The program budgets for 78% of enrollees to finish and 70% of finishers to be working at the 90-day check. That is 37 finishers and 26 placements in Year 1, 47 and 33 in Year 2, and 51 and 36 in each of Years 3 to 5 (placement counts are rounded from the unrounded product). These are budget targets that set the contract income, and they are reported to funders whatever they turn out to be.
- Half of each class is funded through the workforce board contract: 24, 30, 33, 33 and 33 participants. The full rate is $7,800 a participant in Year 1 and rises about 2% a year to $8,400. It pays 30% at enrollment, 40% at completion and 30% at the 90-day check. At the planning rates the program receives about 78% of the full rate, which is $6,051 a funded participant in Year 1. Year 1 books $105,319 of the $145,229 that 24 funded participants are worth; the July cohort's placement payments and the October cohort's completion and placement payments, $39,910 in all, arrive in 2028. The contract is a target, since the board has not signed one.
- Year 1 grants are $420,000: $110,000, $100,000, $110,000 and $100,000 in January, April, July and October. Of that, $250,000 is awarded and signed and $170,000 is pending. Year 2 grants are $500,000, of which $110,000 is under a signed multi-year agreement; the rest is renewals, a pending state grant and new requests. Grants then rise to $585,000 by Year 5. Giving is $85,000 in Year 1 ($40,000 from board members and founding supporters, $25,000 from the launch dinner, $20,000 from appeals) and $125,000 in Year 5.
- Catering starts in May at about $1,150 an order (80 orders in Year 1) and reaches about 177 orders at $1,300 in Year 3. The lunch counter opens in June, runs about 240 days a year and averages $12.50 a head, which is about 3,700 lunches in Year 1 and 10,400 in Year 3. Food and packaging cost 34% of catering and 33% of lunch sales in every year, charged as an operating line ($46,460 in Year 1, $121,100 in Year 3, $146,400 in Year 5).
- Participants receive uniforms, a knife kit, exam and card fees, transit passes and a weekly attendance stipend. That is $1,300 a participant in Year 1, rising to $1,500 in Year 5, which gives $62,400 in Year 1 and $99,000 in Year 5. Counsel reviews the stipend and trainee status before opening.
- Payroll adds 27% to wages for payroll taxes, health cover, workers' compensation, state paid-leave premiums and a retirement match (15% for the part-time roles). Wages in the staff table are launch rates. Annual pay raises of 3% are a separate line from Year 2. Professional fees ($38,000 in Year 1) cover an outside nonprofit accountant, the annual Form 990, legal advice and, from Year 2, a CPA review.
- Rent is 3,800 square feet at about $19 a square foot a year, including common-area charges and taxes, and rises about 3% a year. The $230,000 build-out is of second-generation restaurant space that already has a hood and grease interceptor, about $61 a square foot, and no contractor has quoted yet. Utilities are high for a commercial kitchen at $38,000 in Year 1. The build-out is depreciated over ten years, equipment over seven and the van over five.
- Receivables are 15 days of revenue on average. Contract invoices are paid in 30 to 45 days, while grants are mostly paid in advance and counter sales on receipt, so the 15 days blends them. The plan holds an allowance for disallowed or late-paid costs of $6,000 in Year 1 and $10,000 in Year 5.
- There is no income tax in the model because the program is organized to be a tax-exempt charity, and the federal determination is pending. If the IRS ruled otherwise, the model would be rebuilt. Surpluses stay in the organization, and the board decides how to use them.
Income by source
| Revenue stream | Year 1 | Year 2 | Year 3 | Year 4 | Year 5 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Workforce board training contract (per funded participant, restricted) | $105,319 | $185,028 | $207,371 | $211,212 | $215,052 |
| Foundation and government grants (restricted) | $420,000 | $500,000 | $545,000 | $565,000 | $585,000 |
| Individual and corporate giving (no donor restriction) | $85,000 | $100,000 | $110,000 | $118,000 | $125,000 |
| Catering sales (earned) | $92,000 | $175,000 | $230,000 | $265,000 | $285,000 |
| Cafe lunch counter (earned) | $46,000 | $112,000 | $130,000 | $142,000 | $150,000 |
| Total revenue | $748,319 | $1,072,028 | $1,222,371 | $1,301,212 | $1,360,052 |
| Growth on prior year | – | 43% | 14% | 6% | 5% |
Foundation and government grants are 56% of Year 1 income and the workforce contract adds 14%. Catering and the lunch counter, the two earned lines, are 18% of Year 1 income, 27% in Year 2 and 30% in Year 3, when grants are down to 45%. Most of the 43% growth in Year 2 comes from a full year of catering and lunch sales, the contract at full volume and $80,000 more in grants. Growth then slows to 14%, 6% and 5% because the kitchen is full at 66 seats and the later increases come from catering, lunch and grants.
Grant months and lean months in Year 1
| Month | Workforce board training contract (per funded participant, restricted) | Foundation and government grants (restricted) | Individual and corporate giving (no donor restriction) | Catering sales (earned) | Cafe lunch counter (earned) | Total revenue | EBITDA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan 2027 | $0 | $110,000 | $4,250 | $0 | $0 | $114,250 | $42,052 |
| Feb 2027 | $0 | $0 | $4,250 | $0 | $0 | $4,250 | ($67,948) |
| Mar 2027 | $0 | $0 | $5,100 | $0 | $0 | $5,100 | ($67,098) |
| Apr 2027 | $18,720 | $100,000 | $5,100 | $0 | $0 | $123,820 | $51,622 |
| May 2027 | $0 | $0 | $5,950 | $6,000 | $0 | $11,950 | ($60,248) |
| Jun 2027 | $0 | $0 | $5,950 | $10,000 | $4,000 | $19,950 | ($52,248) |
| Jul 2027 | $38,189 | $110,000 | $5,100 | $12,000 | $4,500 | $169,789 | $97,591 |
| Aug 2027 | $0 | $0 | $5,100 | $12,000 | $5,000 | $22,100 | ($50,098) |
| Sep 2027 | $0 | $0 | $6,800 | $11,000 | $7,500 | $25,300 | ($46,898) |
| Oct 2027 | $48,410 | $100,000 | $8,500 | $13,000 | $8,500 | $178,410 | $106,212 |
| Nov 2027 | $0 | $0 | $11,900 | $14,000 | $9,000 | $34,900 | ($37,298) |
| Dec 2027 | $0 | $0 | $17,000 | $14,000 | $7,500 | $38,500 | ($33,698) |
Money arrives in lumps. January, April, July and October carry the grant installments, and EBITDA is positive in those four months (January $42,052, April $51,622, July $97,591, October $106,212). The other eight months lose between $33,698 and $67,948, and February is the weakest. Giving builds in November and December. The lowest month-end cash balance is Sep, at about $267,000, once 15 days of receivables are set aside; that is about 3.7 months of costs.
Staff plan
| Role | Annual wage | Starts | Year 1 end | Year 2 end | Year 3 end | Year 4 end | Year 5 end |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Executive Director | $88,000 | Month 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Program director and lead chef-instructor | $70,000 | Month 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Chef-instructor | $58,000 | Month 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Job coach and employer liaison | $54,000 | Month 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Kitchen and catering manager | $54,000 | Month 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Bookkeeper | $30,000 | Month 3 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 0.5 |
| Development and grants manager | $58,000 | Month 4 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Cafe counter lead | $42,000 | Month 5 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Catering sales coordinator | $46,000 | Month 13 | – | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Alumni and retention coach (part time) | $26,000 | Month 27 | – | – | 0.5 | 0.5 | 0.5 |
| Total payroll incl. on-costs | $525,320 | $631,400 | $656,317 | $661,300 | $661,300 |
The director, the program director and lead chef-instructor, a second chef-instructor and the job coach are in place from January. The kitchen and catering manager follows in month 2, a half-time bookkeeper in month 3, the development manager in month 4 and the lunch counter lead in month 5. The catering sales coordinator joins in month 13 and the half-time alumni coach in month 27. That is 7.5 full-time equivalents at the end of Year 1, 8.5 in Year 2 and 9 in Years 3 to 5. Payroll is flat in Years 4 and 5 apart from pay raises, because the kitchen is full and nobody else is hired. The bookkeeper's and alumni coach's wages are part-time pay. Dana's $88,000 is already in payroll, so every surplus and deficit here is after she is paid. Participants are trainees and are not on payroll; their stipends are in the supports line.
Surplus and deficit by year
| Year 1 | Year 2 | Year 3 | Year 4 | Year 5 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | $748,319 | $1,072,028 | $1,222,371 | $1,301,212 | $1,360,052 |
| Direct costs (food and packaging are in the operating lines below) | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 |
| Gross profit | $748,319 | $1,072,028 | $1,222,371 | $1,301,212 | $1,360,052 |
| Payroll incl. on-costs | ($525,320) | ($631,400) | ($656,317) | ($661,300) | ($661,300) |
| Rent | ($72,200) | ($74,400) | ($76,600) | ($78,900) | ($81,300) |
| Utilities | ($38,000) | ($39,500) | ($41,000) | ($42,500) | ($44,000) |
| Marketing | ($14,000) | ($15,000) | ($16,000) | ($17,000) | ($18,000) |
| Insurance | ($26,000) | ($28,000) | ($29,500) | ($31,000) | ($32,500) |
| Professional fees | ($38,000) | ($44,000) | ($46,000) | ($48,000) | ($50,000) |
| Software subscriptions | ($14,000) | ($15,500) | ($16,500) | ($17,500) | ($18,500) |
| Food and packaging for catering (34% of sales) and lunch counter (33%) | ($46,460) | ($96,460) | ($121,100) | ($136,960) | ($146,400) |
| Participant supports: stipends, uniforms, knife kits, exam and card fees, transit passes | ($62,400) | ($81,000) | ($92,400) | ($95,700) | ($99,000) |
| Repairs, grease-trap and pest service, hood cleaning | ($12,000) | ($14,000) | ($15,000) | ($16,000) | ($17,000) |
| Training, background checks and recruitment | ($7,000) | ($8,000) | ($8,500) | ($9,000) | ($9,500) |
| Fundraising event costs | ($5,000) | ($6,000) | ($6,500) | ($7,000) | ($7,500) |
| Kitchen equipment replacement | $0 | ($7,000) | ($9,000) | ($11,000) | ($13,000) |
| Allowance for disallowed or late-paid costs | ($6,000) | ($8,000) | ($9,000) | ($9,500) | ($10,000) |
| Annual pay raises (3% a year) | $0 | ($18,942) | ($39,970) | ($61,320) | ($82,999) |
| EBITDA | ($118,061) | ($15,174) | $38,984 | $58,532 | $69,053 |
| Depreciation | ($36,543) | ($36,543) | ($36,543) | ($36,543) | ($36,543) |
| Interest | ($2,250) | ($2,092) | ($1,739) | ($1,376) | ($1,002) |
| Income tax | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 |
| Net income before start-up costs | ($156,854) | ($53,808) | $702 | $20,613 | $31,508 |
| Start-up costs expensed at opening (legal, licensing, launch outreach) | ($36,000) | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 |
| Net income after start-up costs | ($192,854) | ($53,808) | $702 | $20,613 | $31,508 |
Year 1 runs a deficit of $156,854 before start-up costs and $192,854 after them. That is the cost of paying a full teaching staff before catering, the lunch counter and the contract have built up. Year 2 is a $53,808 deficit (EBITDA is negative at $15,174), because grants have not yet reached their later level. Year 3 is the first year with positive EBITDA ($38,984, 3.2%) and ends at a surplus of $702, which is break-even. Year 4 reaches a 4.5% EBITDA margin and a $20,613 surplus, and Year 5 reaches 5.1% and $31,508. Pay raises grow to $82,999 a year by Year 5. Margins are thin throughout (a 2.3% net margin in Year 5), so a modest shortfall in grants would remove the surplus. There is no tax line.
Where the cash goes
| Year 1 | Year 2 | Year 3 | Year 4 | Year 5 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cash from operations | ($187,064) | ($30,569) | $31,067 | $53,916 | $65,633 |
| Kitchen, equipment and van | ($354,000) | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 |
| Funding received | $825,000 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 |
| Loan principal repaid | $0 | ($11,583) | ($11,935) | ($12,298) | ($12,672) |
| Owner distributions | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 |
| Net change in cash | $283,936 | ($42,151) | $19,132 | $41,618 | $52,961 |
| Closing cash | $283,936 | $241,785 | $260,916 | $302,534 | $355,495 |
Closing cash is positive at every year end. The lowest year-end balance is $241,785 in Year 2, after $30,569 of cash used in operations and $11,583 of loan principal. Cash then rebuilds to $355,495 by Year 5. Measured in months of operating costs, that is 3.9 at the end of Year 1, 2.7 in Year 2, 2.6 in Year 3, 2.9 in Year 4 and 3.3 in Year 5. The board policy is three months of costs in reserve, and the plan falls below it in Years 2 to 4. The way back to three months is to bank every surplus and any unrestricted gift above $100,000, add no posts beyond those in the staff plan, and review the reserve each quarter. Receivables grow from $30,753 to $55,893 as income grows and absorb cash on the way.
| Net assets at year end | Year 1 | Year 2 | Year 3 | Year 4 | Year 5 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| With donor restrictions (capital grant not yet released) | $313,870 | $277,740 | $241,610 | $205,481 | $169,351 |
| Without donor restrictions | $243,276 | $225,598 | $262,430 | $319,172 | $386,810 |
| Total net assets | $557,146 | $503,338 | $504,040 | $524,653 | $556,161 |
The restricted line is the $350,000 capital grant, released in proportion to the net book value of the kitchen, equipment and van. Recurring program grants are treated as spent in the year they arrive. The split is the plan's own estimate and the outside accountant confirms it.
Financial position and net assets
| At year end | Year 1 | Year 2 | Year 3 | Year 4 | Year 5 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cash | $283,936 | $241,785 | $260,916 | $302,534 | $355,495 |
| Accounts receivable | $30,753 | $44,056 | $50,234 | $53,474 | $55,893 |
| Kitchen, equipment and van (net) | $317,457 | $280,914 | $244,371 | $207,829 | $171,286 |
| Total assets | $632,146 | $566,755 | $555,522 | $563,837 | $582,673 |
| Program-related loan | $75,000 | $63,417 | $51,482 | $39,184 | $26,512 |
| Paid-in capital | $750,000 | $750,000 | $750,000 | $750,000 | $750,000 |
| Retained earnings | ($192,854) | ($246,662) | ($245,960) | ($225,347) | ($193,839) |
| Total liabilities and equity | $632,146 | $566,755 | $555,522 | $563,837 | $582,673 |
Cost per seat and coverage
| Measure | Year 1 | Year 2 | Year 3 | Year 4 | Year 5 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| EBITDA margin | -15.8% | -1.4% | 3.2% | 4.5% | 5.1% |
| Net margin (before start-up costs) | -21.0% | -5.0% | 0.1% | 1.6% | 2.3% |
| Payroll incl. pay raises as share of revenue | 70% | 61% | 57% | 56% | 55% |
| Revenue per full-time equivalent at year end | $99,776 | $126,121 | $135,819 | $144,579 | $151,117 |
| Average monthly revenue | $62,360 | $89,336 | $101,864 | $108,434 | $113,338 |
| Monthly revenue needed to cover operating costs | $72,198 | $90,600 | $98,616 | $103,557 | $107,583 |
| Debt service cover (EBITDA / interest + principal) | -52.5x | -1.1x | 2.9x | 4.3x | 5.0x |
Operating costs before depreciation are $866,380 in Year 1 and $1,183,387 in Year 3. Divided by enrolled participants, that is $18,050 a seat in Year 1, $18,120 in Year 2, $17,930 in Year 3, $18,828 in Year 4 and $19,561 in Year 5. Taking catering and lunch sales away from Year 3 costs leaves $12,476 a seat. At the planning rates that is about $23,000 per completer and about $32,800 per placement in Year 3 before earned sales are netted off. Year 1 averages $62,360 of income a month against $72,198 needed, so it loses money, and Year 2 averages $89,336 against $90,600. Year 3 averages $101,864 against $98,616. Debt service cover is negative in Years 1 and 2 (-52.5x and -1.1x), when interest and principal come out of the reserve, and then 2.9x, 4.3x and 5.0x. The lender is secured by the equipment and van, and its comfort in the early years is the $435,000 reserve and the signed grants.
If every income line runs 20% short
| Year 1 | Year 2 | Year 3 | Year 4 | Year 5 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | $598,655 | $857,622 | $977,897 | $1,040,970 | $1,088,042 |
| Net income before start-up costs | ($233,234) | ($112,960) | ($48,515) | ($28,365) | ($19,684) |
| Net income after start-up costs | ($269,234) | ($112,960) | ($48,515) | ($28,365) | ($19,684) |
| Closing cash | $213,707 | $115,065 | $86,214 | $79,503 | $81,754 |
This case cuts every income line by 20% in every year; the cut in the contract line stands for smaller classes, and participant supports fall by a quarter with it. The response: the bookkeeper starts two months later, the catering sales coordinator and the alumni coach are never hired, food costs fall with sales, utilities fall 8% from Year 2, equipment replacement is deferred, and fundraising events, training and recruitment, and the allowance for late-paid costs are cut by 20% to 30%. Professional fees fall 10%, marketing falls by a fifth, Dana takes a 20% pay cut and the program director's pay is cut to $63,000. Both instructors stay, since a class still needs two crews. On those terms the program still runs a deficit in all five years, but ends every year with cash in the bank, no lower than $79,503 in Year 4, which is under one month of costs. A reserve that thin means the board would need new unrestricted gifts to rebuild it. Equity ends Year 1 at $480,766. Without the response, the same shortfall would leave the program out of cash in Year 2.
Sources
- Bureau of Labor Statistics, Cooks and Chefs and head cooks, Occupational Outlook Handbook, May 2025 wage data.
- Oregon Bureau of Labor and Industries, Minimum wage, rates for July 1, 2026 to June 30, 2027.
- Oregon Health Authority, Food handler cards and Food safety program.
- Lane County, Environmental Health, licensing and inspection of food service and mobile units.
- U.S. Department of Labor, Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act, signed July 22, 2014 (cited under Cooks Wanted in Lane County).
- Oregon Higher Education Coordinating Commission, Private career schools; exemptions are in ORS chapter 345 and OAR 715-045.
- IRS, Exemption requirements for 501(c)(3) organizations.
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