Healing Through Humour: Mixing Mental Health, Comedy and Business

In June 2013, the founder of Healing Through Humour, a comedy school for people with mental illness, considered his options to overcome the barriers to growth for his not-for-profit organization. The school, located in donated space in the offices of the Schizophrenia Society of Saskatchewan in Regina, was designed to build self-esteem and life skills for people suffering from mental illness, to raise public awareness about mental health issues and to break down barriers of mental health discrimination in the community. The classes were free to encourage attendance by those with limited means. Money from ticket sales for the class’s public performances was used to fund performance and operating costs, but there was little left over to expand the organization’s promotional budget beyond maintaining a basic website and Facebook page. Low attendance for both the classes and the performances underlined the need to identify and access target market segments to increase community awareness of this support service, grow the class size to a critical mass and secure ongoing funding to make this health care initiative sustainable.

This case can be included in an introductory marketing, not-for profit or health care management course.<ul><li>Analyze the entrepreneurial management issues of a small not-for-profit organization and learn how to manage a small start-up operation with little management experience.</li><li>Explore the buying process or adoption process of health support services.</li><li>Learn how to raise funds by delivering entertainment that will attract an audience.</li></ul>

• Target segment selection
• conflicting goals
• small start-up
• mental health community support
• Canada