Nonprofit sustainability is not about writing a better grant, or finding that one product or service for which you can charge a fee. It's about delivering outcomes that people value.
One of the more effective ways to demonstrate this, especially to boards and potential funders, is through Sustainability Mapping. This 3D depiction of an organization's core programs can provide the framework on which truly sustainable decisions are made. An example for an organization that helps developmentally disabled children is shown below:
The challenge in making this analysis valuable is in determining the vertical Impact values. The easy way is to go through a voting process on the more qualitative aspects of the program, which is highly subjective, and produces a vague picture of program effectiveness. A more meaningful path is to quantitatively define impact. We often find that there are many ways to use hard numbers to define impact that leadership has never before considered or thought was too difficult to quantify. This type of analysis is much more meaningful to potential funders.
A good resource on this topic is the book Nonprofit Sustainability: Making Strategic Decisions for Financial Viability, by Jeanne Bell, Jan Masaoka, and Steve Zimmerman. For more information on how we can make this truly valuable, and fundable, for your organization, see Convergent's Sustainability Tools, click here.
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"Tom's hands-on, real world approach to Sustainability Planning had a direct impact on 64 rural Georgia counties. His help led to 34 new programs that will ultimately touch the lives of some 350,000 Georgians. Including his OVP and ROI work made a complex process down right simple. Thanks Tom, you really are the "ROI Guy."
Patricia Kota
Director
Community Health Systems Development
Coastal Medical Access Project
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