Taking Sustainability Seriously
Some foundations don’t treat sustainability as seriously as they should; they should not make grants without a clear idea about how continuation will be achieved.
Many funders that have launched community-based initiatives have experienced the challenge of sustainability in one form or another. As funders increasingly seek to engage and improve economically struggling neighborhoods, achieving sustainability is even more important. This report explores how funders and grantees think about sustainability, and how to best prepare and support promising projects for post-grant sustainability.
As far as pholantrhopy is concerned, a focus on sustainability should come early on, as part of the original design of community-based initiatives. Sustainability plans should be included in original funding applications.