Explore three areas where resilience is key to sustainability

Explore 5 areas where you need the right tools so sustain your organization.

Is funding the work of your organization one of the greatest challenges you face? Are you always looking for creative and innovative funding for your program? Do you wish you could just get that one big grant to alleviate your worries and fears? Maybe that one big grant isn't all it's cracked up to be. Perhaps there is a better way.

Explore three areas where collaboration affects sustainability and three questions that may exist in funders minds pertaining to your collaborative involvement.

I think every nonprofit organization exists to make some type of impact for the clients, communities, and/or causes they serve. Yet so many organizations struggle to understand let alone articulate the impact they are making.

Does your organization more closely resemble a one-man band or a symphony orchestra? While one-man bands are extremely entertaining and those performers are incredibly coordinated and talented; they aren’t sustainable and certainly couldn’t master the complex movements of Mozart or Mahler symphonies. Let’s mine this metaphor of the orchestra and explore three staffing practices that promote organizational sustainability.

There are several interesting parallels between lighthouses and nonprofit marketing; so many that we actually include the Lighthouse Principle as one of the 10 principles that promote sustainability. Marketing is fundamental to your organization’s sustainability and success. Unfortunately, many folks in the nonprofit world are hindered either by a misconception of what marketing is and/or a misunderstanding of what marketing is and how it works.

When the leaders of a nonprofit organization take their stewardship duties seriously and  hold themselves and the organization accountable should they be praised or are they just doing their job? Well...it depends.

Is your organization suffering from the superhero syndrome?

What's the most important question to ask regarding your organization?

There are at least 10 areas of organizational development that, at some level, are all necessary to create an environment that fosters long-term sustainability.

We’ve weathered numerous tough challenges on many fronts over the last two years. If your organization is still around, you’re a survivor. You may be weak or weary, but you’re still here. There are additional challenges in our future and we must face each of them as they come.

The year end is usually a crazy time for nonprofit organizations, especially for human service organizations. It is even more so for those organizations that are reliant on donor giving or investment for their funding.

We believe there is no one size fits all approach to sustainability and that each organization must develop a plan that is unique to their organization; seizing on their gifts, talents, abilities, and capabilities.

Shift happens! Sometimes its difficult to assess the significance of a shift when you’re in the middle of it. It’s also challenging to detect and identify shifts when there are so many concurrent shifts happening at the same time. Initially, some of these shifts may seem small, perhaps even insignificant, but in reality they are seismic in scope and have enormous impact.

To succeed, your organization needs a robust network of friends, fans, and funders. The way to build a robust relational network is to continually find, engage, and nurture relationships.

What differences are you making in the lives of the clients and communities you serve? How are those results relevant to the sustainability of your programs and organization? Let’s unpack 5 key concepts that directly tie results to sustainability strategies.

Nonprofits are accustomed to operating on shoestring budgets and making magic happen with few resources. This month, we continue exploring sustainability strategies and focus on resources.

Is your sustainability plan complete? Are you thinking in 3-D? If not, your plan is not complete. Read this article to learn about the three dimensions of sustainability.

Communications is a wonderful thing, but there are many challenges involved. One challenge is ensuring the terms discussed are mutually understood. Are we confusing sustainability with survival?

  Last month we talked about the importance of discussing sustainability. This month we discuss when you should begin talking about sustainability planning and how to start those conversations.

 Sustainability is a popular topic in nonprofit circles today. But are we all talking about the same thing? Are we engaging in the right conversations? Join us as we work towards having the right conversations with the right people.

Instead of focusing only on our difficulties and challenges, I encourage you to view your challenges in a different light or from a different perspective and try to find the opportunities that are locked within your current challenges. I challenge you to think like Einstein who said, “The pessimist sees difficulty in every opportunity. The opportunist sees the opportunity in every challenge.”

Metaphorically speaking, many organizations are encountering black ice this winter and are spinning out of control. This month, I offer some tips for those navigating travel hazards in your organizational journey this winter.

While economists and other commentators debate whether or not the Great Recession has ended or is ending and what impact the stimulus plan has had on our economy, one thing is certain: the storm is not over!

Why? That's the question many parents of toddlers grow weary of hearing and their young children never seem to grow weary of asking. they why questions never fully go away, it's just as we get older we lose some of that persistence we had as toddlers. Still, the question "why?" races through my mind in hundreds of conversations I have with nonprofit leaders.

Last month we challenged you to think about the people in your organization and consider that having the right people in the right places at the right times is essential for success and sustainability. Once you have the who settled, you then focus on the what.

The people involved in the leadership of organizations have much to do with organizational sustainability and success (or its lack). The people leading the organization either evoke confidence or concern among potential funders, supporters, and partners. It is people that make the first impression for your organization and as you know first impressions are extremely important and you only have one chance to make a great first impression.

 Sustainability is currently an extremely hot topic. Wherever you turn, it seems people are conscious about this issue and curious about what it means to their organization. This month we explore the X Factors of Sustainability and how they affect your organization.

We’ve passed the halfway point of 2009 and will use this issue as a reflective pause and encourage you to join us for a brief respite from the maelstrom and melee of this perfect storm confronting nonprofit organizations. 2009 has been and continues to be a tough year for nonprofit organizations and leaders. Much has been, and is being , written about the economic crisis and its impact on nonprofits. Suffice it to say this financial storm is lingering longer than originally hoped and its reach is farther than expected.

What constitutes the perfect funder for your organization and how do you connect with them? In a nutshell, the perfect funder is a person or organization with money to give to those doing the work you do, serving the clients you serve, in the geographic area in which you live.  Sounds relatively simple, doesn’t it?  Yet, we’ve encountered dozens, if not hundreds, of nonprofits who have found the perfect grant or donor, yet failed to convince the targeted funder of this “perfect match”. Read this month's article to learn tips for convincing funders your organization is their perfect match. 

Over the past two months this newsletter has focused on major donors for many good reasons. While the current economic recession is impacting everybody at some level, major donors are among those least affected by this economy and therefore, best positioned to continue their philanthropic endeavors. If you’ve read closely, you realize that not all major donors are millionaires and not all millionaires are major donors. Major donors are simply those people who provide support at a higher level than your average donor. Their giving is of greater magnitude than other donors.

Last month’s article on Courting Major Donors raised a lot of questions about major donors and major donor development. This month we answer several basic questions about major donors, including what is a major donor and what makes major donors unique?

What’s your first response when you hear a report of a charity receiving a significant gift from a major donor? Hopefully you are able to rejoice in their good fortune and celebrate their success. I suspect many of you may think the gift was a random act and an unexpected surprise to the organization receiving the donation. Often, this just isn’t the case. It is the result of hard work and a rewarding courtship.

Mere survival is not enough for nonprofits, you must do more than survive -- you must strive for sustainability. Yet in this current crisis, survival is the immediate challenge and unless you survive, sustainability is a mere pipe dream.

In this month's article we provide 5 scenarios for you to consider your organization's sustainability during these turbulent times. We also present a worksheet on how to broach and discuss this subject with your board members.

As this year is winding down the concerns about sustainability are ratcheting up for most leaders. Instability abounds in the financial markets, the economists have now confirmed what most Americans already suspected - the US economy is in a recession. Many foundations have seen dramatic decreases in their assets and are beginning to issue warnings about decreased funding in 2009. Add to this the increased demands for services in every arena of human services and we find ourselves in the perfect storm. INow is not the time to abandon your sustainability plans and efforts. Neither is it the time to let your pursuit of excellence slide or get sloppy in your service delivery. If you do, you may lose both your sustainability and your survival. Therefore, this month we provide a few tips for weathering this storm and continuing to pursue sustainability for your organization.

During times of economic uncertainties it is even more important that nonprofit leaders focus on the fundamentals of donor relations and communication.  Don’t panic!  Communicate with clarity and confidence - confidence in the difference you make in your community and the valuable service you provide to clients and donors. This month we provide 7 recommendations for writing your donor appeal and communicating with confidence.

There is an art to asking! This article builds on the foundational principles provided in previous months and discuss the all-important subject of making the ASK.

This month we continue unfolding what it takes to launch a donor development campaign and focus on making the ASK. However before we discuss the ASK, let explore the world of donors by putting ourselves in the position of a donor.

If you are a regular reader of our articles or have attended any of our workshops you are familiar with a maxim we use frequently – Relationships are primary; all else is derivative. We believe that for nonprofit organizations, sustainability is really managing a network of relationships. This relational approach is especially true in the realm of donor development. Cultivating donors is the process of connecting with donors and developing strong bonds with them over the lifetime of their involvement with your organization. In other words, it is developing and nurturing relationships with others on behalf of your organization or cause. We’ll explore that further, but first let’s consider why people give.

We believe all 501c3 organizations have the potential to succeed with donors. However, to succeed in this area, donor development must be a priority and donors must be viewed as partners, not pawns. Please remember, relationships are primary, all else is derivative.

Let’s look at three broad categories of potential funding sources.  Within each of these categories are myriads of opportunities and approaches that we will discuss in upcoming articles, but for now let’s keep it simple and look at: Individuals, Institutions and Innovative Enterprise.

For the long-term viability, survivability and sustainability of your organization, it is imperative to take a strategic approach to funding. Each organization is unique. Your organization has a distinctive blend of leadership, talent, programs and services, systems and processes which all comprise your funding capacity. There are a myriad of funding options available to nonprofit organizations. However, they may not all be viable options for your organization.

There are Seven Hallmarks of Sustainability. Though you may feel inadequate in some of these areas - that’s okay! Begin by identifying and building your personal and organizational strengths. At the same time start networking and identifying others who are passionate about your mission, have strengths in other areas, and are willing to help you increase sustainability both internally or externally for your organization.

Before we launch into exploring various elements of sustainability, it is important that we establish some fundamental underpinnings to the whole issue of sustainability. Philosophically, sustainability focuses more on relationship development and management than task management. Granted, there are tasks that must be accomplished to develop and implement a sustainability plan. But essentially, sustainability is about developing, nurturing and managing various networks of relationships.

Sustainability: The ability of an organization or program to continue and endure indefinitely, without reliance on the original funding source.

In the not-for-profit world, sustainability usually refers to the continuation of benefits after major assistance from the donor has been completed (Wikipedia). When grant makers or donors inquire about your sustainability plans, they are asking about your capability to continue programs or services over the long haul and after their initial funding is complete. The bottom line of sustainability is ensuring your organization and programs do NOT disappear, even if the original funding source does.