Core tool
Money / Mission Matrix
plot money against mission
what it is
Plot money against mission
Plot every activity and income stream by the two things that matter most: the mission impact it creates, and the money it makes or costs. Seeing them together turns 'should we keep doing this?' into a conversation you can actually have.
Where you place something is the start of the conversation, not the end of it.
how to use it
Run the matrix
List everything
Every activity, programme and income stream — on its own sticky note.
Place each one
Position it by mission impact (up) and financial contribution (right). Argue the placements out loud.
Read the spread
Are you crowded in one quadrant? Over-reliant on one engine? Subsidising more than you realised?
Ask the quadrant questions
For each cluster: grow, sustain, fix, or let go? Name the deliberate choices.
Decide and revisit
Agree a few moves. The mix will change — come back to the matrix as it does.
reflect
Questions to sit with
Where is our balance of money and mission right now?
Which activities are we subsidising — and is that a deliberate choice?
Which "engine" activities fund the mission, and how healthy are they?
What's low on both — and why are we still doing it?
resilience
Why this matters
A resilient organisation is Diversified — it generates income from a healthy mix of purpose-aligned sources and balances money and mission.
The matrix doesn't make the decision for you. It makes the trade-off visible — so the choice to sustain, grow or let go is a deliberate one, taken together.