Sustaininability in the Nonprofit World
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By Patricia Kimball
According to Wikipedia (“the free encyclopedia”), sustainability is the capacity to endure. While most commonly associated with environmental concerns, we hear it often in the nonprofit world, as well.
The last question on most grant applications asks the applicant organization to explain how they will sustain their project once the funding for which they are applying ends. Let’s be honest, for many of us, this section of the grant application often receives less than its share of our attention. It is energizing to talk about how we are going to get a project off the ground, how we are going to bring our great initiative into being…but how we are going to create a project that has the capacity to endure? Ouch, that is tricky.
Ultimately, many people answer that question by referring to future fundraising efforts, including ongoing grant writing. We say, in short, that in order to sustain our project after grant funds end, we are going to find more grant funds. But this is a bit like begging the question, isn’t it?
I challenge you to think about sustainability a bit differently.
In the fall of 2008, I was fortunate to work with a group of people to host a conference entitled “The Mystery of Sustainability”. The genesis of this conference was our realization as non-profit leaders that in order to be truly effective in creating solutions to our most pressing problems, we need to think differently – more broadly – about how to sustain the impact of the projects we are launching versus simply sustaining project themselves. Sustainability, we said, is not only about enduring programs, it is about enduring change.
To begin to explore this question – how do we sustain social impact — I offer a few different strategies for you to think about:
1) Social Marketing. The goal of social marketing – in essence – is to change behavior to impact the social good. If you raise awareness among the broader community regarding the issue your project is intended to address and people collectively change their behavior in support of this issue, the social impact of your program has been sustained, regardless of whether your project continues to exist or not.
2) Advocacy. If you are running an after-school program, one way to continue that service indefinitely is to continue to find more grant funds. A non-renewable resource, yes? But, what if you challenge existing local, state or federal systems and ultimately through your advocacy you get money built into local or state budgets for after-school projects? Then, your service is around indefinitely. Not only have you raised capital to continue a service, you have created advocates for your service by raising awareness of its importance. It seems a lofty goal, but take even a small piece of this and ponder the possibilities….
3) Capacity Development. Education is the ultimate sustainability strategy, isn’t it? If you enhance the capacity of individuals or communities to address their challenges through training, support, technical assistance, leadership development, mobilizing….you create communities with the capacity to endure. True sustainability.
These are three examples and certainly there are many more.
Thinking about sustainability as it relates to your specific program gets easier when we step really far back from the program for which we are seeking funding. Really far back. Once you are so far away from your program you can only see it by squinting, ask yourself a few important questions:
What is the potential social impact of your program? What truly needs to be sustained in order for the social impact of your program to endure? What systems, laws, resource allocation, behaviors, individuals need to change? What is the root of the problem you are trying to solve? When will you know you have solved it? What will the world look like when this problem is gone? Who – ultimately – are the best torch bearers for your program?
See what you come up with for answers. Through the process of asking these questions, I think you will find the answer to developing projects that create social impact with the capacity to endure.
In the end, we owe sustaining the impact of our projects as much enthusiasm as we put forth in creating the projects in the first place.
Patricia Kimball is the founder of Ideactive Solutions.