Sustainability Plan for NonProfits

What is a Sustainability Plan for NonProfits?

C. L. Beard
4 min readDec 27, 2022
Photo by Tim Tebow Foundation on Unsplash

In most grant proposals sustainability is overlooked. Many of the people who are approached by funding organizations are asked about how to sustain their work. They want your life saved after the period of investment is over. The nonprofit should rest assured that they won’t be closed until they send them monetary support.

It seems obvious to an organization to raise money to help. Yeah! Certainly, this isn’t sufficient. Until you take a good look at the sections in this guide, this indicates an inefficient funding plan. In grant writing, it is best to have a plan to maintain the organization.

The sustainability section of a grant writing proposal is becoming something that is more and more important for funders to see in the proposal. It helps funders understand how their financial support will go.

At the same time, environmental sustainability is also important.

This sustainability in maintaining your nonprofit. How do you keep it going while you wait for grant funding to come through? In funding a project most funders want to see in the proposal how you plan to develop some kind of revenue from other sources.

Philanthropy is growing an increasing interest in project sustainability.

More sponsors are focusing on this project. The donor requested a sustainability strategy but the donor wants more and is focused on the sustainability of the project itself. Many nongovernmental organizations view it as an afterthought and not an urgent issue, but sustainability is really very important.

Programs with success in writing a funder often demonstrate how the team will implement continued investment time in the project. They show this by showing progress on their programs and giving evidence they can explain their grant proposal. As well as show further funding sources and funding strategies to sustain the organization.

Why do I need a sustainability plan?

The sustainability section describes the long run of a project. This grant writing section will outline how your program will survive. How it will be maintained after the grant funds are completely used?

The Sustainable Plan has grown in importance due to the desire of sponsors to invest in projects capable of staying long-term. In a sustainability plan, the various factors that a project should sustain are described for its long-term survival and operation. The sustainability plan describes your project’s future prospects. It helps prevent the loss of money.

How do you ensure the sustainability of a program?

Engage key stakeholders in the development of programs: A second important factor to ensure sustained development is significant involvement in the development process by all stakeholders if possible. As part of your project activities, you may initiate a dialogue workshop for stakeholders that engage people with your project.

How do you write sustainability in a project proposal?

Grant writing sustainability section planning should concentrate solely on sustainable projects. You must address sustainability for your projects in three areas: financial sustainability, organizational sustainability, and community sustainability. Pay close attention to these areas.

These three areas are the focus of the nonprofit sustainability section

What is financial sustainability?

Financial stability is how your project can sustain its costs in a financially responsible way. You need to tell me what funds will help support this project to maintain its finances. There are two choices: to use external sources and to use internal sources. Generally, external funding means funds come largely from outside organizations and are not raised for projects. These can also include grants or government money or donations.

What is organizational sustainability?

This describes how well an organization is capable of surviving. The donors have the desire to form an effective partner and want to know if your business will continue to exist in 10 years. This is done through external sources like long-term grants or through a variety of internal sources. This section of the sustainability plan shouldn’t be overlooked because it shows the donors you have great partnerships and can count on you for their future needs.

What is community sustainability?

Community development aims at ensuring community involvement in projects. It also details what communities will do if they can’t get a new grant from donors. This portion became increasingly significant after the recent recognition that the project had no possibility of surviving without the support of a community. Even though the community feels they own the project with an adequate funding strategy, the project could be abandoned. How can I improve my community’s sustainability?

What are some ways to make your nonprofit sustainable?

Sustainability Plans are essential to achieve tactical goals. Here are some ideas of how to answer the sustainability section.

  • Can you charge clients a fee for the services provided? This can be a flat fee or a sliding fee based on individual income.
  • Consider revenue from thrift shops, retail stores, coffee stands, the sale of greeting cards, or other merchandise.
  • Is there a way to create a membership program that charges dues? Or an annual fund campaign to reach donors interested in this kind of charitable program?
  • Major gifts program. Can you identify, cultivate, and solicit donors that have the potential to make significant gifts?
  • New donor acquisition program. Consider starting a direct-mail campaign to add new donors and thus increase your income.
  • An online giving program that includes monthly giving. Individual contributions are often a good resource for covering your development staff, for example.
  • Can you partner with corporate and business sponsors, especially for fundraising events such as galas, golf tournaments, or charity runs?
  • Tap employer-based fundraising. Can your agency participate in employer-based fundraising campaigns such as the United Way or other federated funds?
  • Cause Marketing, One of the fastest growing ways to fundraise, cause marketing can be successful even for small nonprofits.

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C. L. Beard
C. L. Beard

Written by C. L. Beard

I am a writer living on the Salish Sea. I also publish my own AI newsletter https://brainscriblr.beehiiv.com/, come check it out.

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