We all want our nonprofits to be sustainable. We want a regular source of donations, income, program participants, board members and staff. And for many people, achieving all this is their definition of sustainability. But our guest today, Laurie Wolf, would argue that having it all is just the start. Sustainability comes in the maintaining of all of this. And the job of "maintaining" is never done. Or as Laurie puts it, "Sustainability is not a goal, it is a journey".
Laurie is the CEO of the Foraker Group, and she explains that sustainability begins with "Focus". And that focus includes your purpose, your mission and you values. This focus is the foundation you use to add on the other important pieces of sustainability. These pieces include, the right people, partnerships, unrestricted funds and programs/services. You can see the Foraker model of sustainability at: forakergroup.org/index.php/our-business/sustainability-model.
This podcast interview goes into detail about how to set your nonprofit up for a sustainable future. And just remember, sustainability is not the goal, it's the journey.
Foraker Group: Visit their website
The book: Focus on Sustainability
Also mentioned in this podcast:
