Table of Contents >
   Part L. Generating, Managing and Sustaining Financial Res... >
      Chapter 42. Getting Grants and Financial Resources >
         Section 1. Developing a Plan for Financial Sustainability >
             Examples - Real world situational examples. >

Developing a Plan for Financial Sustainability

  

Examples

 Contributed by Jenette Nagy Edited by Tom Wolff and Phil Rabinowitz

Example 1: Interview with Tom Wolff
Example 2: Example internal audit sheet
Example 3: Example Timeline
Example 4: Executive Summary
Example 5: Financial sustainability budget

Example #1: Interview with Tom Wolff


Tom Wolff is the director of AHEC/Community Partners in Amherst, MA, and is considered a national expert on community coalitions. Here, he discusses his ideas on how a coalition can be sustainable over the long term.

"Generally, people think about sustainability at the point at which their grant is a year from ending, at best, often three months. And they say, 'What we need now is to replace the 1.2 million, hundred twenty thousand, forty thousand dollars,' - whatever it is their grant was. They say financial sustainability is replacing that money and continuing to do what we're doing. That's the general thinking, and it's erroneous. It really is a status quo way of thinking of sustainability.

"You have to ask yourself, what have we been doing, what is worth maintaining, and how do we maintain that. One of the ways of doing that is by institutionalizing the effort. That is, you do a curriculum on domestic violence prevention and after your first year of doing it, the schools, the YMCA, or the shelter pick it up. They find a way to get a state grant or something but they keep doing it and so you've institutionalized it into some more formal part of the community. This is the most successful way of doing it, 'cause it means it will keep going.

"The second way to be sustainable is you create policy change. They recently did a policy in the courts in Massachusetts that requires all divorcing couples to go through a course on the impact on kids before you divorce. So, if you had been doing a prevention program on trying to limit the negative effects of divorce on children, you get the courts to make this mandate. You've now created a policy that will institutionalize this program.

"The third way to be sustainable is really to turn to the community and to strengthen the community in their capacity to solve the problems. This is the idealistic community development approach. I think it's the hardest and longest term, but I think it's a goal that's worth achieving.

"But generally, when people talk about sustainability, they're not thinking about any of those three. They're thinking about incorporating, getting the cash, and continuing to do what they are doing using the money. All this has a place, but only has it after you've asked yourself some questions about the other three.

"The way you should develop sustainable coalitions is when you get your funding, think about what your goals are, and how you're going to sustain your work.

You think at the beginning of a coalition what is that you're trying to do and how would you sustain the pieces of what you're trying to do over time. You don't think about it just in terms of money."


Return to top

Example #2: Example internal audit sheet


This is the example of an internal audit for a teen pregnancy prevention project in the Midwest. The group had been awarded a four year grant and had obtained significant commitments from the community for funding over the next five years. This is the audit their group came up with, based on their action plan and expected expenses.

Thanks to Chris Hampton, Jacquie Fisher, and Adrienne Paine-Andrews for their work on the development of this example.

  Internal Audit Sheet

 Year 1

Year 2

Year 3

Year 4

Year 5

Amount of Funding

Funding from Source 1:

Foundation Grant_____

$ 77,750

$77,500

$77,500

$77,500

---

grant ends

Funding from Source 2:

Health Department____

$ 21,125

$21,000

$20,500

$20,125

$20,000

Funding from Source 3:

Community Org.---___

$ 18,125

$18,000

$18,200

$18,500

$18,500

Funding from Source 4:

School District_______

$ 15,625

$16,700

$16,950

$17,105

$18,310

Funding from Source 5:

Area Churches_______

$ 4,250

$4,200

$4,100

$4,000

$4,000

Total of funding from all sources

$ 126,875

$137,650

$137,500

$137,480

$60,810

Year 1

Year 2

Year 3

Year 4

Year 5

Amount of expenses

Staff #1:

Project Director, 100%

$37,500

$38,000

$38,500

$39,000

$39,500

Staff #2:

Admin. Assistant, 50%

$11,250

$11,500

$11,750

$12,000

$12,250

Staff #3:

Outreach Coord., 75%_

$25,000

$25,300

$25,600

$25,900

$26,200

Staff #4:

Outreach Coord., 75%_

$25,000

$25,300

$25,600

$25,900

$26,200

Staff #5:

___________________

  ---

---

---

---

---

Total Personnel Costs (list title and % FTE)*

$98,750

$100,100

$101,450

$102,800

$104,150

Program #1:

Graduate teacher training

$12,875

$12,875

$12,875

$12,875

$12,875

Program #2:

Baby wait a while high school program

---

---

$6,800

$6,800

$6,800

Program #3:

___________________

---

---

---

---

---

Total Program Costs**

$12,875

$12,875

$19,675

$19,675

$19,675

Travel

$2,500

$2,500

$2,225

$2,225

$2,225

Equipment

$2,000

$1,000

$500

$500

$500

Supplies

$2,000

$2,500

$2,500

$2,500

$2,500

Printing

$2,000

$2,000

$2,125

$2,125

$2,125

Media/Publicity

$3,000

$3,000

$3,250

$3,250

$3,250

Phone/fax

$1,000

$1,000

$1,125

$1,250

$1,250

Postage

$500

$500

$750

$750

$750

Miscellaneous

$2,250

$2,250

$2,000

$2,000

$2,000

Rent/housing

n/a

---

---

---

---

Utilities

n/a

---

---

---

---

Amount paid on debt

n/a

---

---

---

---

Total of all expenses

$126,875

$127,225

$135,600

$137,075

$138,425

Expected deficit or surplus

--0--

+ $10,425

+ $1,900

- $405

- $77,615



Return to top



Example #3: Example Timeline


Nashua Literacy Coalition Timeline for Developing Funding Possibilities

Timeline for Finding Funding Possibilities

Goal

Action steps to meet the objective

By whom

By when

Renew current grant*

*current grant ends 6/2000

Write a new proposal that takes into account the foundation's new emphasis on community collaboration

Jeannie, Marcelo, Robin with input from area churches, schools, shelters, the library and Head Start

12/99

Edit proposal

Board of Directors

2/2000

Develop a fee-for-service tutoring program for high school students and high school and college who will be taking standardized tests

Look into the legal consequences of a fee-for-service program

Leslie (a lawyer on the board)

8/99

Decide fee scale, logistics

Rashma, Jeannie

9/99

Train literacy tutors for this type of tutoring

Robin

10/99

Market program at area schools

Tanisha

11/99 and continuing

Work with other organizations in town to do some of the literacy work

Meet with heads of area organizations to suggest the idea

Jeannie

10/99

Train staff and volunteers of interested groups as tutors for literacy

Robin

11 /99 and continuing

Ask city to pay for base costs as part of annual budget

Meet with council members, discuss possibilities

Jeannie with help from the board

3/2000



Return to top


Example #4: Executive Summary


Daleton Crisis Assistance Center

Plan for Financial Sustainability - Executive Summary

Current situation

The Daleton Crisis Assistance Center (DCAC), now in it's twelfth year, currently has an annual budget of $260,000. That amount can be broken down as follows:

  • $100,000 comes from the local University
  • $50,000 comes from the United Way
  • $50,000 from a grant from the Dinkerston Foundation
  • $25,000 from a grant from the Cuassa Foundation
  • $25,000 (total) from area churches
  • $10,000 (approximately) from our annual membership drive

Expenses for the center are as follows:

  • $168,750 for staff costs (5 full time staff, 3 part time)
  • $24,000 for rent and utilities
  • $30,000 office/miscellaneous (e.g., equipment, travel, supplies, publicity, communications )
  • $30,000 program costs (Community Crisis Readiness Program, Picking up the Pieces Family Support Program, Daleton Area Community Resources Directory)

For this year, the Center has a slight ($7,250) surplus.


Projected situation

Our situation remains relatively strong, with all of our money expected to continue at the same level for the next two years. However, in January 2001 the Dinkerston grant will end, and the Cuassa grant will end in August 2001. The Cuassa grant is nonrefundable.

Staff has made clear the fact that additional support is necessary, with a particular need for a director of volunteers. The Center also has two goals that will require additional funding: the purchase of a facility, and a fund to offer financial assistance for families or individuals struck by crises.


Recommendations

The recommendations of this report are as follows:

  • Set a goal to double the amount raised in the membership drive in the upcoming year, and increase the amount by 15% in each of the subsequent two years. Use this money for a down payment on a facility.
  • Consider implementing a sliding scale fee-for-service for the Picking up the Pieces Family Support Program
  • Search for additional grants; reapply for the Dinkerston grant following the recommendations of our program officer

Return to top


Example #5: Financial sustainability budget


Follow this link to a budget developed by a teen pregnancy project that had just been awarded a three year grant. Knowing they wanted to be around for the long run, they developed a budget with creative funding for the fourth, fifth, and sixth year of the project.



Return to top