Successful Sustainability in Nonprofits
Sustainability has a lot of definitions these days. Sometimes it refers to ecology and the environment. Other times it refers to economics and fiscal stability. And still at other times it refers to humanity and society itself. As of 2001 an entire field of science originated that has dedicated
itself to the advancement of understanding systems and their dynamics relating to sustainability (2001, Kates, R., Clark, W., Corell, R., et. all; and 2010, Harvard). In fact, there are many non-profit organizations and non-governmental agencies dedicated to the aforementioned definitions of sustainability. However, the most profitable definition would be one that identifies the capacity to endure. A definition that allows for continuation. A plan for an organization to become self-sustainable.
Self-Sustainability is the ability to indefinitely produce more than your organization consumes.
Read that again!
The key word is indefinitely. On a regular basis we want to have more available for use than what we actually can use. Day after day, month after month, year after year, if our organizations produce more than they consume, they will be sustainable. They will continue. They will endure.
But what do we want to produce more of?
As an organization we need to produce more resources, more time, more money, a more positive image, and more tangible results in order to ultimately produce more of our mission!
Why do we want to become self-sustainable?
Recent interviews with major donors conclude that they no longer want to give automatically…unless they see the evidence of how the entity will survive if they stop giving. (2009-2010, Personal Communications)
Additionally, our organization’s resources need to become more residual. If we stay still, if our organization, our mission, our resource engine stays stagnant, if these items do not progress, by default we are going backwards as others surpass us. As other groups develop and move further forward than we do we are losing ground. We are losing the capacity to deliver on our mission.
Finally, self-sustainability is important because without you and your organization, your mission would not get accomplished!
As Simon Sinek proclaims (2010), success is achieved through being inspired by the thing you’re pursuing. When applied to sustainability, success means that entities can achieve self-sustainability through community and relationships. As Harvard’s Sustainability Science Program identifies, by focusing on the dynamics between systems, sustainability can be achieved. In organizations, by focusing on relationships and community building, Self-Sustainability can be achieved.
Stayed tuned for further articles related to Community and Relationship Building for Self-Sustainability. Please also check out the modules of this presentation, originally delivered in Portugal, May 2010, on Slideshare.net.
References
Harvard sustainability science program. (2010). Retrieved from http://www.hks.harvard.edu/centers/cid/programs/sustsci
Kates, R., Clark, W., Corell, R., Hall, J., Jaeger, C., Lowe, I., McCarthy, J., Schellnhuber, H-J., Bolin, B., Dickson, N., Faucheux, S., Gallopin, G., Grubler, A., Huntley, B., Jager, J., Jodha, N., Kasperson, R., Mabogunje, A., Matson, P., & Mooney, H. 2001. Sustainability science. Science 292(5517): 641–642.
Sinek, S. (2010, July 20). What will You sacrifice? [Web log message]. Retrieved from http://sinekpartners.typepad.com/refocus/2010/07/sacrifice.html
