During the early years of the economic crisis, many nonprofit and government agencies were caught like “deer in the headlights.” However, over time, our leaders have become more astute at anticipating and responding to trends. And we are less frequently frozen in place. Here are some creative program and financial strategies to build sustainability that work well for many.

ROI & Social Impact Investment – Grants that underwrite activities are increasingly rare as foundations, federal, state and local government all focus increasingly on making targeted investments that demonstrate outcomes and social impact. It requires more sophisticated planning, interagency collaboration and tracking of issue specific and collective impact. This approach does create stronger frameworks, a better return on investment (ROI), and more lasting community change. A recent foundation client leads the field with this approach.

Leveraging Resources – Those community initiatives that can leverage additional resources, such as national grants and contracts, public private partnerships, social venture capital, and tax levies will become increasingly strong. One of my clients has built nationally recognized models using this approach, with excellent outcomes, growing impact, increased community engagement, and sustainability. Leveraging resources builds a more diversified base of funding, and is an important one of your strategies to build sustainability.