When a new project or initiative launches, it is so exciting. You get funding, you do all the hard work to launch the thing, and you celebrate. Of course you celebrate! Maybe you even monitor the program’s initial positive impacts for the first little bit. And maybe you even share preliminary good news stories with your team, your funder, and your community.
But what happens when the initial funding dries up? Or when key personnel move on? We see this happening so often with our clients, especially when new initiatives are grant-funded or reliant on “year-end dollar” funding, leading to a precarious existence.
Far too often, hard-won improvements in community health, community wellbeing, or social services can dissolve when programs aren’t sustainable. This is why program sustainability capacity – the ability to maintain programming and its benefits over time – is absolutely critical.
At Collective Results, we believe that true success isn’t just about launching a program, it’s about embedding sustainability within it for long-term impact. This means actively planning for its future from day one. Without a focus on sustainability, even the most innovative and impactful initiatives risk becoming fleeting efforts as opposed to lasting solutions.
The Power of Proactive Sustainability Planning
So, how do you ensure your programs stand the test of time?
First, start early. Don’t wait until the last month before your grant or other funding source runs out to start thinking about sustainability planning. Sustainability planning can start as early as program planning (pre-launch) and should be repeated at intervals throughout the program’s implementation. Twice a year probably suits most programs, but it could also be done quarterly if you’re operating in an environment where the context is changing quickly.
Second, gain a comprehensive understanding of the factors that contribute to sustainability. This isn’t just about securing funding; it’s about a holistic approach that considers various organizational and contextual elements that increase the chances that your initiative will have a lasting impact.
This is where sustainability planning tools like the Short Program Sustainability Assessment Tool (PSAT) come in. Developed by Washington University, St. Louis, the short PSAT is designed to help programs assess their current capacity for sustainability across a range of specific factors. By using this free tool, you can identify your sustainability strengths and areas that need attention, guiding your action planning for long-term success.
The PSAT evaluates eight key domains that are crucial for program longevity:
- Environmental Support: Ensuring a supportive internal and external climate for your program. This includes having strong champions who can garner resources and leadership support from outside the organization.
- Funding Stability: Establishing a consistent financial base for your program through diverse, stable, and flexible funding sources.
- Partnerships: Cultivating strong connections between your program and its partners, including community leaders and ensuring community engagement in program development.
- Organizational Capacity: Having the internal support and resources needed to effectively manage your program and its activities, including adequate staff and integrated organizational systems.
- Program Evaluation: Regularly assessing your program to inform planning and document results, and demonstrating successes to funders and other interested parties.
- Program Adaptation: Proactively adjusting your program to new science, environmental changes, and evolving needs to ensure its ongoing effectiveness.
- Communications: Strategically communicating the program’s value, increasing community awareness, and demonstrating its necessity to the public.
- Strategic Planning: Guiding your program’s direction, goals, and strategies, including planning for future resource needs and outlining roles and responsibilities for all partners.
The PSAT provides a structured way to assess your program’s sustainability capacity, allowing you to identify strengths and challenges and then guide your action planning. The domains with lower average scores indicate areas where your program’s capacity for sustainability could be improved.
A Real-World Example: Sustaining a Community Mental Health Promotion for 2SLGBTQ+ Youth
Imagine a community organization that launched a mental health promotion program specifically designed for 2SLGBTQ+ youth, initially supported by a time-limited grant. The program quickly gained traction and demonstrated significant positive early outcomes. As the grant period drew to a close, they faced the critical challenge of ensuring this much-needed support continued for the community.
By utilizing the PSAT, they were able to:
- Identify gaps: The assessment highlighted that while they had strong program evaluation processes demonstrating clear impact and highly engaged community partners, their funding stability was heavily reliant on a single source. They also recognized a need to more proactively adapt to evolving needs within the 2SLGBTQ+ youth community.
- Prioritize actions: Armed with this insight from the PSAT, they developed a targeted sustainability plan. This involved actively diversifying their funding streams by applying for additional grants, exploring partnerships, and even launching a community fundraising campaign. They also implemented a formal process for incorporating feedback from 2SLGBTQ+ youth and community leaders to ensure the program’s strategies remained relevant and effective.
- Secure the future: As a result, the organization successfully secured funding from a combination of sources, ensuring the program’s continuity. Their proactive adaptation strategies also led to the introduction of new culturally relevant workshops, further strengthening their connection with the community and their ability to report positive outcomes back to funders. This vital program, once at risk of ending, is now a sustained cornerstone of support for 2SLGBTQ+ youth.
Your Path to Lasting Impact
Understanding these critical factors allows you to build program capacity for sustainability and position your efforts for long-term success.
Ready to assess your program’s sustainability and build a roadmap for lasting impact? You can learn more about the Program Sustainability Assessment Tool and access this free resource at http://www.sustaintool.org.You can go ahead and use this tool with your initiatives right away, or if you’d like help facilitating sustainability planning conversations, CR would love to support you.
Let’s work together to ensure your programs create not just immediate results, but enduring change.
