For when your organization or program is ready for sustainability.

You just realized you are probably now in the "sustain" stage of your program or organizational life structure. This critical stage is one where you get to create and implement long-term strategies and systems that will allow your organization to serve its mission well into the future. See below for the basic indicators and resources for this stage.

Basic Indicators

Your organization or program has been established for more than 2-3 years.
You have some policies and procedures in place, but they might not be clearly communicated to your team, or always utilized.
You have at least some staff, vendors, active volunteers, or a mixture of all.
You have some fundraising programs established, but might need help with better prospecting or stewardship practices. You might also be looking to diversify your fundraising and revenue streams.
You do some cashflow and have a budget, but might not have systems in place for fundraising & financial goals, and might not have a solid communication style built between your financials and the board overseeing those financials.
You might have databases setup, but perhaps you have too many! Or not enough. Maybe your systems aren't talking to each other like they should and your team doesn't quite know how to use the systems.
You might conduct strategic planning for one or more years, but are having issues making that plan actionable and creating ownership and accountability with your full team for that plan.
You have a decent understanding of the community you serve, but aren't including their voices and perspective in your planning and programming.
Perhaps you understand your immediate stakeholders, but don't have a stakeholder matrix with the multiple tiers of your stakeholders and how you engage with them.
You have started Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility programs or initiatives, but maybe haven't audited your own systems, websites, and materials to make sure they are reflective of your DEIA goals.
Your staff might be overworked and wearing too many hats. Maybe they are being underutilized or don't quite understand where their own career goals fit in with your organization's hopes and dreams.
Your key stakeholders know who you are. Your prospective donors and partners? Not so much.
You have programs, but are probably ready to consider program evaluations and strategies for consistent, effective programs.
You have social media and a newsletter...but probably need to put together an actual marketing strategy.

Resources helpful for this stage still in the works. Check back again at the end of August. In the meantime, check out our Helpful Resources page by clicking the tab on the menu at the top of this page for general resources.