Mission Meets Market

A Sales and Marketing Playbook for Education Nonprofits

If you lead a mission-driven organization in education, you’re already feeling the pressure:
more need, fewer unrestricted dollars, and growing demand for sustainable solutions.

Mission Meets Market shows you how to meet the moment, without selling out your mission.

This isn’t just another business book dressed up for nonprofits—it’s a tailor-made playbook for education leaders who are navigating the unique challenges of funding, equity, and impact in classrooms, communities, and beyond.

Packed with frameworks, examples, and hard-won lessons from the field, this playbook gives you the tools to build financial resilience in a sector that needs it now more than ever.

You’ve got the mission. This book offers the model. It’s time to not just survive, but sustain and scale your education mission.

MAKE IT ACTIOANABLE

MISSION MEETS MARKET

Sustainability Toolkit

Get the resources that gives mission-driven organizations practical tools to put the ideas from Mission Meets Market into action.

The Toolkit expands on the book with guided exercises, worksheets, and templates that help you create a customized Sustainability Plan. Inside, you’ll find tools to clarify your value proposition, map your revenue model, strengthen your sales process, set prices with confidence, and integrate philanthropy into a mixed funding approach.

You can work through the Toolkit step by step or use the modules that match your most urgent needs. Each one includes practical guidance and ready-to-use templates so you can move directly from ideas to action.

We suggest beginning with the Revenue Model Health Check, a quick way to see the strengths and risks in your current funding approach. From there, you can build out the rest of your Sustainability Plan with confidence.

What’s Inside the Toolkit

For more comprehensive support, organizations should consider engaging EdSolutions as a thought partner.

Get a Preview of the Book

Before you commit, dive into the first two chapters to see how Mission Meets Market can transform your approach to sustainable funding and mission-driven growth.

CHAPTER 1: UNDERSTANDING THE EDUCATION SECTOR

How K–12 Markets (and Beyond) Really Work

Your program works. Teachers love it. Students thrive.

So why does growth stall?

The first chapter uncovers the hidden rules of the education market—who actually makes decisions, how funding really flows, and why timing matters more than features.

It’s the clarity every nonprofit leader needs before scaling.

Chapter 2: Your Theory of Change

The Foundation of Organizational Stability

Revenue should serve your mission, not steer it.

This chapter helps you get clear on your “why” and turn it into a practical theory of change — the roadmap that connects your work to measurable outcomes and sustainable growth.

It’s the foundation for every sales and revenue strategy that follows.

Meet the Author

Jay Bakhru is a founding partner at EdSolutions, where he helps education nonprofits and mission-driven organizations grow their impact through strategy and innovation. A former teacher turned executive, Jay brings experience from across the education and business sectors, with a deep commitment to improving outcomes for underserved students.

Jay has led a diverse portfolio of client engagements, helping organizations clarify their positioning, craft messaging and sales strategies, and build market-informed strategies. He’s known for his collaborative approach and his ability to synthesize complexity into clear, actionable insights.

Jay began his career as a middle school English teacher and holds degrees from Brown University, the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania, and Teachers College at Columbia University.

Mission Meets Market