Sustainability: The Life of a Coalition, Part 2

In last week´s edition of Coalitions Online, we began a three-part series on sustainability planning. In this week´s second part of the series, we will discuss steps three and four in the six steps of sustainability planning. To review, the six steps are:

1. Identify what must be sustained
2. Identify what resources are required
3. Create case statements
4. Determine funding strategies
5. Identify potential partners
6. Action plan to contact and present to potential partners

After determining what must be sustained and required resources, coalitions should begin the process of creating case statements and determining what funding strategies they should explore. To obtain a copy of a case statement worksheet, go to www.coalitioninstitute.org/SPF_Elements/Sustainability/CreatingCaseStatements.doc. Case statements are used to explain why a particular focus or initiative is important to the community. It details its benefits and the consequences if it were removed from the community. Case statements should also include the resources needed to sustain what your coalition has determined must be sustained. Creating case statements is a useful process in getting coalition members to assist in determining why efforts should be sustained.

There are four areas within funding strategies that coalitions can explore. Those four areas are:

1. Share
2. Charge
3. Ask
4. Earn

When coalitions inquire about fundraising at the National Coalition Institute, we ask if they have a Sustainability Committee and if someone in the coalition is an experienced fundraiser, or at least not afraid to ask others for resources. These are two important elements within coalition structure essential to sustainability. Sharing includes asset sharing, in-kind donations and leveraging shared positions. Charging includes “fee for service”, routing penalty fines back to prevention efforts (i.e., the fine for underage drinking violations comes back to prevention through local coffers), and getting your coalition as a line item in the budget of state and/or local government. Asking includes the writing of grants, fundraisers in the community, asking people to donate to your coalition through individual, planned and payroll giving (i.e., United Way). Coalitions should also consider creating a business plan. The business of a coalition is population-level change, so earning resources through entrepreneurial activities or ownership in a for-profit venture are options to consider.

At the National Coalition Institute, we find that coalitions simply dread the thought of having to develop a sustainability plan and once they begin the process of creating one they only consider how to save people’s jobs and how to get money. Solidify in your mind that your coalition is going to be around no matter what, because the work you are committing to and implementing is vital to your community. Make it impossible for your coalition to go away because you have dedicated people with passionate ideas that must come to fruition. From there, begin to consider what it will take to sustain the initiatives important to your community and see sustainability as a process to healthy longevity for your coalition. Sustainability is not the enemy. It is the life of your coalition.

This is Part II of a three-part series on sustainability. Next week’s issue of Coalitions Online will discuss steps five and six of the six steps for sustainability planning. To access technical assistance for your coalition on sustainability or any other issue, contact Shannon Weatherly at 800.542.2322, ext. 240 or via e-mail at sweatherly@cadca.org.