Planning for Sustainability
Essential Elements for Constructing
Viable and Vital Community Prevention
Initiatives
November 2013
Planning for Sustainability is designed to offer resources, tools,
and an organizing structure for developing community
prevention initiatives that have long-term viability and vitality.
We will explore topics including
defining what must be sustained,
determining resources required,
recognizing community resources,
communicating return on
investment, and outlining what
your coalition members need to
know and do to support a diverse
and robust sustainment plan.
Essential Elements of Sustainment: An Overview
The Power of Relationships: Involvement and
Engagement
Enhancing Coalition Infrastructure and Capacity
Sustainment Workgroup Structure
Addressing Operational Expenses
Lunch
The Tipping Point: Connecting Interests
Developing and Sustaining Resources
Responding to Perceptual Barriers
Diversifying Your Sustainment Strategy Portfolio
Sustainment Planning: Checklist and Next Steps
Taking the Temperature of Your
Resource Development Capacity
Working individually or with
others in your organization, take
a moment to create a visual
depiction gauging the strength
and diversity of your current
sustainment approach.
What are your top 2-3
strengths?
What are 2-3 areas for growth?
Sustainable Coalitions and
Grassroots Prevention
Initiatives
What are the elements that make
coalitions effective?
Grants can sometimes be a
boon or a barrier for coalition
effectiveness. What are some
of the pitfalls associated with
grant funding?
The key to avoiding the grant trap is
developing a flexible and adaptive
organization that balances essential
infrastructure, engaged and
contributory members, and strong
community relationships.
7 Habits of Sustainable Coalitions
• Guard your capacity
(membership,
relationships, leadership,
and organizational
knowledge, experience,
and strength).
• Track your progress,
communicate your success.
• Maintain an outcome
focus, not program focus.
7 Habits of Sustainable Coalitions
• Think “local first” for
securing sources of
support.
• Always add value;
demonstrate it through
outcomes.
• Tell stories, connect
outcomes to real people.
• Hold a commitment to
being a learning
organization.
Nurture and Sustain Internal Capacity
1. Foundational prevention
Which of these elements is
knowledge and
your coalition most
understanding.
effective at nurturing?
2. Leadership development and
Which are areas to target
succession planning
for enhancement?
3. Recruitment and orientation
4. Formalizing member roles
Draft preliminary next steps
and responsibilities
to incorporate into your
5. Workgroup establishment
and accountability
sustainment plan for
6. Creating two-tiered strategic developing strong internal
plans
capacity.
Nurture and Sustain Prevention
Processes
What are the key
activities and
processes
associated with
each SPF step?
Draft a timeline for
ongoing capacity
development and
sustainment of these
actions based on your
current phase.
Sustainment Workgroup
Structure and Function
Working at your table, list the essential skills that are
important to have represented on a Sustainment Workgroup.
What existing skill sets are present in your coalition, and
what are ones that are most needed at present?
Fueling Engagement and Energy
Build and maintain momentum with incremental
goals and “small wins.”
Harness the power of “legitimate peripheral
participation.”
• Create many ways to participate
• Enable different levels of participation
• Weave and nurture relationships and
partnerships
Know when the time comes for a strategy to
“leave the nest.”
Overcome issue “silos.”
Operating Costs and
“Keeping the Lights On”
Keep it lean.
• Some coalitions make the mistake of building more
infrastructure than they can reasonably sustain.
• Paid staff can unintentionally make a coalition less
robust by taking over coalition member and partner
roles.
• Heavy organizational structure often wants to
become the reality rather than a fluid condition.
• Delineate operating costs versus strategy costs,
itemizing strategy costs.
Operating Costs and
“Keeping the Lights On”
Think flexibility.
• Options expand or contract with the ability to
innovate and think creatively about resource
acquisition.
• Find hidden energy, ideas, and talents in volunteers,
interns, students, and other groups.
• Share staff, cross-train potential implementers.
Sustainability does not mean “forever and ever.” It
means continuation in the right form, at the right level,
for the right amount of time, to achieve your goals.
Longer Levers Lead to Lasting Change
Harness the power of people and linkages
through strategic and frequent use of social
media (create a social media calendar and
action plan, too). In what ways has social media
enhanced your outreach and/or sustainment
efforts?
Resources…In-Kind and Intangibles
Let’s brainstorm
potential in-kind
resources across
sectors, organizations,
or from individuals in
the community!
Remember to make
Stone Soup!
Combo Up the Fundraisers and Events
• Broaden interest and participation by partnering with
other wellness initiatives or services to make it more
attractive and engaging.
• Mix ‘n match youth activities, sports, arts, music, or
celebrations and festivals with resources and services
available.
• Link activities to your message or targeted risk or
protective factors (e.g., three-on-three basketball
tournament to increase Community Attachment)
• Sponsorships from local businesses in return for
promotional space or banners or recognition.
• What are some examples?!?
Take a few minutes and brainstorm a couple of
ways in which a fundraising event could be
conducted collaboratively in your community,
tapping in to additional services or supports
that are linked to community health and
wellness that may generate greater public
interest and participation.
Perceptual Barriers
Two of the most common barriers to resource
development stem from perceptual blocks that must be
overcome. These include: fear of rejection, aversion to
selling, and a reluctance to seem greedy or selfpromoting.
Overcoming Perceptual Barriers
• Meet as a coalition or
workgroup to refine your
tactics and make use of the
best talents and abilities of
members.
• Follow up rejections with
questions as a learning
opportunity.
• Bring in outside experts from
other sectors.
• Think of it as educating and
inviting rather than selling.
• Learn lessons from other
organizational fund raising
approaches.
• Mobilize your champions and
key leaders, or charismatic
local figures, to support
outreach.
Elevator Speeches and Selling Points
Tailor to different sectors and connecting interests, don’t use
just one version.
Find the right person to deliver the message.
Key components:
• Explain why the coalition is needed, benefits, and successes
• What would be the loss or consequence if it were to go away?
• Why is the issues addressed important to the community
overall, and what is the connecting interest and shared
outcome (for the specific audience)?
• Indicate what resources are needed, and offer examples of
different levels of support and what that support provides.
Tailoring Communication and Speaking
Points Across Sectors
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
Parents
Youth
Education
Law Enforcement
Health
Faith Community
Business
Media
Youth-Serving
Organizations
10.Civic/Volunteer
Organizations
11.Local Government
12.Other
Audience
Connecting
Interest
Speaking
Points
Diversifying Your Sustainment
Strategy Portfolio
Share
Ask
Charge
Diversifying Your Sustainment
Strategy Portfolio
Share
Ask
Charge
• Resource and
asset sharing
• In-kind
contributions
• Leveraging shared
positions
• Incorporate
strategies into
host organizations
• Grants
• Individual
donations
• Business
donations
• Fundraisers
• United Way
• Payroll giving
• Endowed funds
• Online giving
• Fee for service
• Line item in
budget (city,
county, school)
• Social enterprise
and/or swag
• Tax/court
revenues
What are some tactics, strategies, and examples of
fundraising from other organizations in the community
that we can learn from?
Checklist for Developing a
Sustainment Plan
Establish a diverse sustainment workgroup
Build and maintain relationships
Identify and address barriers
Document and communicate your
accomplishments
Examine and update your strategic plan
Define the resources the work requires
Develop your talking points/elevator speech
Checklist for Developing a
Sustainment Plan
 Determine diverse, multiple funding strategies,
timeline, and specialization for implementation (action
plan)
 Identify potential partners, resources, or collaborators
for shared fundraisers or donated assistance
 Maintain relationships with past local supporters
 Set development goals and communicate need early
and often
 Make it easy for people to give your organization
money or resources
 Explore policy and practice change to develop a
community prevention fund
Closing Reflections