Non-Profit Sustainability

“Sustainability” has become a commonplace word in nonprofit circles. When such powerful words are employed mostly to suit the need of the speaker or writer – whose purpose might be little other than to display their trendy vocabulary – the meaning is watered down and becomes worthless over time. (Be sure to leave a comment below on YOUR opinion or use of the word, “sustainability.”)

The Mocomi Kids , from an interactive-learning website in India, have a short video offering their take on sustainability. And, they pose an interesting question: How do you know if something is sustainable? The answer: Ask yourself, “Can I do this FOREVER?”

In nonprofits our desperation for a successful project can lead us to accept money without understanding the accompanying strings that could bind our future options. Consider this example: We have a noble goal to raise funds for an orphanage. Construction materials and land are donated and money raised for its construction. However, there is no money for staffing. Our noble goal turns out to be an unsustainable project. Trained professional staff are needed as part of the project or there’s no reason to build the orphanage in the first place.

Then, while the building waits to be used, studies emerge revealing that orphans actually can be more successfully integrated into society when they are settled into a family and community. This method costs less, involves the whole community and enables the children to grow up with a sense of belonging rather than being turned out with nowhere to go when they become the next generation of adults. Could this predicament have been avoided by initially focusing on sustainability?

If you’d like to learn more from a robust discussion surrounding the orphanage question, see this Time magazine article. But if you’d like a hand with sustainability, stick with us! We have the help you need at Give Way Visioneering.