Nonprofit sustainability is a holistic approach to making good decisions for the success of your mission.
The Foraker Nonprofit Sustainability Model is comprised of four lenses that will guide you to see your organization more clearly and stay on course.
Using the lenses, you can begin to understand the dynamics of sustainability. Then, and only then, is it time to develop programs and services. That’s why they are presented at the other end of the diagram.
Programs and services are flexible – they are not sacred activities. One simple way to understand this is, “what you do is not who you are.” The strategic organization modifies programs and services, drops them, or adds new ones as it adjusts to the needs in its community – always influenced first by its mission and the factors of sustainability.
Read the book: Focus on Sustainability: A Nonprofit’s Journey
Focus on Sustainability is designed to be a guide, an inspiration, and a chance to shake up long-held theories of nonprofit management. We encourage you to return to it often and use it in different contexts, such as board and staff meetings and perhaps as the subject of a retreat. It is intended to be a useful aide for the dedicated board members and staff of nonprofits, tribes, and collaborations that serve communities every day.
Participate in a Sustainability Snapshot: We can help you to assess where your organization is on its sustainability journey. Call us to learn more.