21 Strategies For a Killer Sustainability Plan
You may have heard of the term "seed money.
" Basically, it refers to how funders prefer to fund a project the first time, planting seeds for future growth.
Funders expect that you will be able to sustain the program once it has started.
Why? Donors are not interested in adopting a project indefinitely.
Funders want insurance that the project they fund - and the benefits it generates - will endure over time.
Ask yourself 2 questions...
In this article, you will learn 21 strategies to create a sustainability plan that will leave your competitors in the dust.
But, first, allow me to share my personal experience with Sustainability Plans, or lack thereof.
I learned the "sustainability" lesson the hard way.
Here's my story...
In 1993, the $2.
5 million in federal grant funding (my first grant) came to an end.
I didn't realize until it was too late that the Fed's were serious about only giving grants for five years.
We had no sustainability plan in place.
Sadly, I had to let go of 25 teachers and tell 3,000 students - newly legalized immigrants - that they no longer had classes.
We were able to sustain some classes on a fee-for-service basis.
However, the heart of the program died with the funding.
I was devastated.
I hadn't realized until it was too late that getting grant "seed money" is a blessing AND a curse.
On the one hand, the money can create many great projects and do great things.
On the other, you are responsible for coming up with your own ways to sustain your efforts after they've started, if you know how.
Now, you do...
21 SUSTAINABILITY STRATEGIES Here are 21 "proven" strategies to choose from for your sustainability plan...
Apply for other grants from other sources.
Keep in mind that other funders may not want to keep a program going either.
Let the organization absorb future funding responsibilities (if it is large enough).
This happened in the case of a Single Parent - Displaced Homemaker program at the local college.
The President and college administration found ways to use more secure state funding combined with various federal and state grants to keep the program going, but only after it had proven itself.
Use fee-for-service.
Charge the clients a portion of the cost as tuition or fee, even a "sliding scale" if necessary.
When my first grant funding dried up, we convinced the county and city to fund a portion of the cost of the classes.
We charged the students the rest.
This reduced students' costs.
Use sponsorships or 3rd party subsidies.
For example, a local summer camp for handicapped children gets corporations and individual donors to "sponsor" a kid for the summer.
Create an adopt-a-_____ campaign, like adopt-a-pet, adopt-a-school, sponsor-a-child or adopt-a-whale.
Start a for-profit enterprise.
Put your clients to work.
Our local disabled adults do projects like running a clothing story, putting labels on envelopes for large mailings, and even helping with horticulture projects.
Do annual fundraisers.
Select a "high return on investment" fundraiser that you can do on an annual basis, like a golf tournament, celebrity event, concert, raffle, dinner, or roast.
Develop recurring revenue models, like membership programs.
For example, create a "membership website" that takes what your agency does and shares something every month with members (your monthly donors).
One local nonprofit records interviews of visiting monks and scholars and provides these as MP3's for member donors month-after-month to download from their membership website.
Create an Endowment campaign.
Most large charities have caught on that one of the best ways to sustain programs is by creating an endowment fund.
Basically, an endowment fund invests money received and spends 5% or so every year from the interest made from the investment of its assets.
This is how many foundations work.
You're able to spend the interest from investing your assets each year without touching the principal.
Create a Planned Giving program.
Planned Gifts may be referred to by other names like a "will" or "bequest.
" These are prepared prior to the end of a person's life.
The gifts are given when the person transitions.
According to Giving USA, over $22.
66 Billion was given in bequests in 2008.
Create a Development office, if you don't already have one.
In addition to grants, a Development office can coordinate Planned Giving, an endowment campaign, various campaigns, and other forms of fundraising.
Create a special campaign.
Capital campaigns are popular initiatives to pull resources and people together to focus on raising money to build a building.
You can also create a campaign for almost anything, like a new wing of your medical building, a scholarship fund, or to fund hip replacement surgery for a local dancer without insurance (that's happening right now for a friend).
Create a scholarship office, if you don't have one already.
Pool your efforts to assist students or clients in finding grants and loans to pay for their own education or programs.
Consolidate everything in a one-stop location.
The university from which I received my first Bachelors degree says that at least 86% of its students receive scholarships.
I love how students personally get involved in helping other students find scholarships.
Get state funding or create a special tax initiative.
Connect with a U.
S.
or state Senator or Representative who is sympathetic with your project.
Brainstorm with them how to get state funding or start a tax initiative.
One community college and high school in Florida combined their efforts along with state representatives to secure $1 million in a "planning grant" to build a new tech center that could be shared by high school students by day and college students by night and weekends.
Time your initiative well, so you don't overburden tax payers.
Do what you do best.
Delegate the rest.
Perhaps some of the aspects of your program could be picked up by another organization.
For example, your intake could be picked up by an agency that specializes in that.
Your marketing could be absorbed by another agency who has the expertise to do that.
Then, you specialize in what you do best.
Create a Facebook "Cause" .
This social media fundraiser online is especially helpful when someone on the board is having a birthday.
One way to celebrate the birthday is by promoting and giving to the cause online.
Let other businesses raise money for you.
A local grocery chain features a different nonprofit every month.
A certain percentage of all purchases on a certain day goes to the nonprofit.
You may see this a lot in the fall (I do) when businesses donate office supplies and needed items to children, based on purchases.
Engage clients in your campaign.
Empower clients to get involved in Pay It Forward or other campaigns that get them involved in fundraising and giving back.
For example, take a look at alumni organizations for colleges and universities.
This can take place "after" clients have received your services.
Or, it can take place "during" the time when clients are receiving services.
This is great because clients have a vested interest in keeping the funding coming and the program continuing.
Create and sell products online.
The Food for Everyone Foundation has written some great books on organic gardening.
These are available online with proceeds going to the Foundation.
Create products - like eBooks, MP3's, Special Reports - using your nonprofit's expertise.
I produced a CD of a "live" presentation done by a thought leader on a topic of much interest.
50% of all proceeds go to the Foundation for Conscious Living.
Do a telefundraiser.
One mentor and colleague interviews different thought leaders every month.
People pay $20 to listen in.
All proceeds go to micro-finance loans for entrepreneurs in third world countries.
This colleagues interest is entrepreneurship, so this is a perfect fit.
Become an affiliate.
Align yourself and your agency with a product or service in your area.
Then, when you refer someone, your agency receives a commission.
It's important that the affiliate product or service is aligned with your mission and that you check with your accountant.
In the worse case, the revenue may be counted as "taxed" and not "tax-exempt".
Apply for membership in federal fundraising initiatives.
For example, apply to the United Way for ongoing funding from corporate donations.
" Basically, it refers to how funders prefer to fund a project the first time, planting seeds for future growth.
Funders expect that you will be able to sustain the program once it has started.
Why? Donors are not interested in adopting a project indefinitely.
Funders want insurance that the project they fund - and the benefits it generates - will endure over time.
Ask yourself 2 questions...
- What kind of assurance can you give that the idea or project you're proposing will endure over time?
- What strategies can you implement that will increase chances that what you start will be sustained and maintained over time?
In this article, you will learn 21 strategies to create a sustainability plan that will leave your competitors in the dust.
But, first, allow me to share my personal experience with Sustainability Plans, or lack thereof.
I learned the "sustainability" lesson the hard way.
Here's my story...
In 1993, the $2.
5 million in federal grant funding (my first grant) came to an end.
I didn't realize until it was too late that the Fed's were serious about only giving grants for five years.
We had no sustainability plan in place.
Sadly, I had to let go of 25 teachers and tell 3,000 students - newly legalized immigrants - that they no longer had classes.
We were able to sustain some classes on a fee-for-service basis.
However, the heart of the program died with the funding.
I was devastated.
I hadn't realized until it was too late that getting grant "seed money" is a blessing AND a curse.
On the one hand, the money can create many great projects and do great things.
On the other, you are responsible for coming up with your own ways to sustain your efforts after they've started, if you know how.
Now, you do...
21 SUSTAINABILITY STRATEGIES Here are 21 "proven" strategies to choose from for your sustainability plan...
Apply for other grants from other sources.
Keep in mind that other funders may not want to keep a program going either.
Let the organization absorb future funding responsibilities (if it is large enough).
This happened in the case of a Single Parent - Displaced Homemaker program at the local college.
The President and college administration found ways to use more secure state funding combined with various federal and state grants to keep the program going, but only after it had proven itself.
Use fee-for-service.
Charge the clients a portion of the cost as tuition or fee, even a "sliding scale" if necessary.
When my first grant funding dried up, we convinced the county and city to fund a portion of the cost of the classes.
We charged the students the rest.
This reduced students' costs.
Use sponsorships or 3rd party subsidies.
For example, a local summer camp for handicapped children gets corporations and individual donors to "sponsor" a kid for the summer.
Create an adopt-a-_____ campaign, like adopt-a-pet, adopt-a-school, sponsor-a-child or adopt-a-whale.
Start a for-profit enterprise.
Put your clients to work.
Our local disabled adults do projects like running a clothing story, putting labels on envelopes for large mailings, and even helping with horticulture projects.
Do annual fundraisers.
Select a "high return on investment" fundraiser that you can do on an annual basis, like a golf tournament, celebrity event, concert, raffle, dinner, or roast.
Develop recurring revenue models, like membership programs.
For example, create a "membership website" that takes what your agency does and shares something every month with members (your monthly donors).
One local nonprofit records interviews of visiting monks and scholars and provides these as MP3's for member donors month-after-month to download from their membership website.
Create an Endowment campaign.
Most large charities have caught on that one of the best ways to sustain programs is by creating an endowment fund.
Basically, an endowment fund invests money received and spends 5% or so every year from the interest made from the investment of its assets.
This is how many foundations work.
You're able to spend the interest from investing your assets each year without touching the principal.
Create a Planned Giving program.
Planned Gifts may be referred to by other names like a "will" or "bequest.
" These are prepared prior to the end of a person's life.
The gifts are given when the person transitions.
According to Giving USA, over $22.
66 Billion was given in bequests in 2008.
Create a Development office, if you don't already have one.
In addition to grants, a Development office can coordinate Planned Giving, an endowment campaign, various campaigns, and other forms of fundraising.
Create a special campaign.
Capital campaigns are popular initiatives to pull resources and people together to focus on raising money to build a building.
You can also create a campaign for almost anything, like a new wing of your medical building, a scholarship fund, or to fund hip replacement surgery for a local dancer without insurance (that's happening right now for a friend).
Create a scholarship office, if you don't have one already.
Pool your efforts to assist students or clients in finding grants and loans to pay for their own education or programs.
Consolidate everything in a one-stop location.
The university from which I received my first Bachelors degree says that at least 86% of its students receive scholarships.
I love how students personally get involved in helping other students find scholarships.
Get state funding or create a special tax initiative.
Connect with a U.
S.
or state Senator or Representative who is sympathetic with your project.
Brainstorm with them how to get state funding or start a tax initiative.
One community college and high school in Florida combined their efforts along with state representatives to secure $1 million in a "planning grant" to build a new tech center that could be shared by high school students by day and college students by night and weekends.
Time your initiative well, so you don't overburden tax payers.
Do what you do best.
Delegate the rest.
Perhaps some of the aspects of your program could be picked up by another organization.
For example, your intake could be picked up by an agency that specializes in that.
Your marketing could be absorbed by another agency who has the expertise to do that.
Then, you specialize in what you do best.
Create a Facebook "Cause" .
This social media fundraiser online is especially helpful when someone on the board is having a birthday.
One way to celebrate the birthday is by promoting and giving to the cause online.
Let other businesses raise money for you.
A local grocery chain features a different nonprofit every month.
A certain percentage of all purchases on a certain day goes to the nonprofit.
You may see this a lot in the fall (I do) when businesses donate office supplies and needed items to children, based on purchases.
Engage clients in your campaign.
Empower clients to get involved in Pay It Forward or other campaigns that get them involved in fundraising and giving back.
For example, take a look at alumni organizations for colleges and universities.
This can take place "after" clients have received your services.
Or, it can take place "during" the time when clients are receiving services.
This is great because clients have a vested interest in keeping the funding coming and the program continuing.
Create and sell products online.
The Food for Everyone Foundation has written some great books on organic gardening.
These are available online with proceeds going to the Foundation.
Create products - like eBooks, MP3's, Special Reports - using your nonprofit's expertise.
I produced a CD of a "live" presentation done by a thought leader on a topic of much interest.
50% of all proceeds go to the Foundation for Conscious Living.
Do a telefundraiser.
One mentor and colleague interviews different thought leaders every month.
People pay $20 to listen in.
All proceeds go to micro-finance loans for entrepreneurs in third world countries.
This colleagues interest is entrepreneurship, so this is a perfect fit.
Become an affiliate.
Align yourself and your agency with a product or service in your area.
Then, when you refer someone, your agency receives a commission.
It's important that the affiliate product or service is aligned with your mission and that you check with your accountant.
In the worse case, the revenue may be counted as "taxed" and not "tax-exempt".
Apply for membership in federal fundraising initiatives.
For example, apply to the United Way for ongoing funding from corporate donations.