Member-only story
Making funded projects more sustainable
Shift your short term thinking
Having dedicated my career to the third sector and social enterprise sector, I have seen a lot of funding pass through either the organisation I’ve worked at or organisations around me.
These projects have been funded by a variety of grants, small local ones from the local city, larger ones from national foundations or bodies, and others valued at 6 or 7 figures from European or International funds.
I cannot deny the impact that the majority of these projects have had is excellent, however one thing that always seems to be severely lacking is the sustainability of each project. The question of sustainability is always on the funding application, usually towards the end, however the weight it carries changes from case to case.
Often the mentality on these projects is limited to the project life cycle, it is seen as part of the organisation yet doesn’t fully connect to the before or after. Most probably if there is no funding for after, the project will cease to exist, and the impact of all that money spent on developing x or y, will also stop.
What do you write in that box for sustainability? How often do you actually do what you write? Isn’t all that money a missed opportunity for lasting change?
