THERE’S NO SUCH THING AS SUSTAINABILITY… · 2020-01-01 · Valley Corps, Seattle) STRATEGY +...

THERE’S NO SUCH THING AS SUSTAINABILITY…AND WHAT TO DO ABOUT IT

ASU Lodestar Center2015 Annual Conference on Sustainability StrategiesOctober 15

Strategy + Action/Philanthropy www.strategyplusaction.com

There’s no such thing as sustainability?!?!

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Tip of the hat

ASU Lodestar Center

Vu Le, Blogger, Nonprofit With Balls (and E.D. of Rainier Valley Corps, Seattle)

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Caveats

“Leadership is the art of disappointing people at a rate they can stand.”*

*John Ortberg

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Caveats

Nonprofits: You’ll be disappointed if you’re looking for the secret sauce

Funders: You’re not going to like what I’m going to say

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Caveats

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So why do I do care about this?Reviewed of hundreds of proposalsWorked with thousands of grantseekersRecommended 10s of millions of dollars in fundingDeveloped grant strategies and evaluationsPartnered with family foundations, community

foundations, corporate funders, public entities

And through it all….the illusion of sustainability persists!*

*And I’ve been guilty of this too!

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Sustainability isn’t a natural state

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Sustainability doesn’t exist

Average life span of Fortune 500 company is 40 years*

Only 44% of small businesses survive 4 years or more**

*Ron Mattocks, The Zone of Insolvency: How Nonprofits Avoid Hidden Liabilities and Build Financial Strength (Wiley, 2008)

**Maureen Farrell, “Risky business: 44% of small firms reach Year 4,” Forbes.com article for MSNBC, 2007, www.msnbc.msn.com/id/16872553/

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Why is this conversation important?

Change – real change – takes time, a long time

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Real change takes time

US Poverty Rate stuck at 12% for 40 years*

*Dan Pallotta, TEDX Talk, March 2013

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Real change takes timePrichard Committee for Academic Excellence:

Statewide effort began in 1980 to move Kentucky from bottom tier of states

By the 2000’s Kentucky in mid-tier on some measures

Now aiming for top-tier by 2020 on 20 education measures

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Real change takes time

RAND Corporation study:

Making long-lasting, significant change in a single school building takes 3 to 5 years

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So what’s the challenge?

We face long “arcs” of work to tackle problems

The illusion of the sustainability conversation hampers the work

And here’s how that happens…

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So what’s the challenge?Philanthropic policy and practice

Unsolicited proposals not acceptedNo funding for start-upsNo multi-year grantsLengthy proposal review processConstrictive grant application rulesOnly one grant at any one timeGrantee must wait a year to re-apply after receiving a grantLimitations on types of support (ex: no gen op, no capital, no

advocacy, etc.)

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So what’s the challenge?The “question” from funder to recipient:

How will you continue/sustain the project/program/organization after our funding?

The “answer” from recipient to funder:

We’ll do x, y and z!

Actual result: Funder A passes off recipient to Funder B

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So what’s the challenge?Change in interest and direction

Intel began sponsorship of Science Talent Search in 1998; will end sponsorship in 2017 (NY Times, 9-9-15)

Bonfils-Stanton Foundation (Denver) shifts all funding from science, health, human services, arts to focus just on arts (Chronicle of Philanthropy, 8-12-15)

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So what’s the challenge?Change in interest and direction

For every 100 new donors gained in 2014, nonprofits lost 103. (Chronicle of Philanthropy, 10-2-15)

Public funding: See Planned Parenthood and First Things First

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So what’s the challenge?Change in leadership

Ford Foundation (Darren Walker): Focus on 6 “thematic areas” to address global inequality. “…will result in fewer grants, and, most likely, fewer grant recipients.” (7-23-15 post)

MacArthur Foundation (Julia Stasch): Focus on impact investing. Ending 20 years in juvenile justice and 15 years in affordable housing. (Chronicle of Philanthropy, 8-13-15)

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So what’s the challenge?Change in leadership

Nathan Cummings Foundation (Simon Greer): Focus on reducing income inequality and fighting climate change; fired in 2014. New president, Sharon Albert, starts in November…stay tuned.

Raymond John Wean Foundation (Jeff Glebocki): Focus on larger grants, reframed approach to early childhood, sharpened attention on economic development and education

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So what’s the challenge?Donor fatigue

Foundation’s ADD – provide support for 1 to 3 years, then…well….???

“We’ve been funding the same thing for awhile, they do good work, but…”*

“Are we making a difference?”

*Actual quote from funders

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What to do about it?

How about a honest conversation between funders/donors/foundations and nonprofits?

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What to do about it?Darren Walker, new president, Ford Foundation

“…our aim is to ask not, ‘How do we make this grant successful?’ but rather, ‘How do we make this organization successful?’”

7-23-15 post

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What to do about it?

In ecology, sustainability is the capacity to endure

Wikipedia, “Sustainability,” 10-15

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What to do about it?Funders:

Focus on the long-term context and arc of real problem-solving

Change the dialogue with grant recipients and partners

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What to do about it?Funders:

Explore the many options of how to build the endurance of your grantees to really solve problems

Transcend the limitations of application guidelines and procedures

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What to do about it?In the meantime….what can nonprofits do?

Be aware of The Golden Rule* but question it when possible!

Reframe your story - dream big, shoot for the stars, expand the possibilities

Organize, organize, organize

*the other Golden Rule

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What to do about it?In the meantime….what can nonprofits do?

Diversify your funding streams

Don’t chase the money, but do analyze and prioritize new funding opportunities and techniques that work for you

Envision, plan and work in the long-range – and bring your supporters along (manage up!)

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Jeff GlebockiStrategy + Action/Philanthropyjeff@strategyplusaction.com

480.794.0871

www.strategyplusaction.com

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