A Vital Source for Information on Scaling

Here is a website that goes into detail about scaling:

http://occrl.illinois.edu/projects/tci/scaling-toolkit/

This might be the format we need for a large group face-to-face convening in March 2016 to work with all TAACCCT grantees to develop and implement a process for sustainability and scaling what works!

Six Strategies for Sustainability

Leadership – Achieving lasting systemic change requires leaders with vision, skills, and knowledge of how to promote change within systems.  Effective, visionary leaders articulate problems and describe solutions to engage a broad base of stakeholders while guiding the decision-making necessary for successful program implementation. Those assuming leadership roles must be able to select and prioritize the changes that will produce positive lasting outcomes and plan for those changes throughout the program’s duration.

Financing – Far too often, sustainability is equated with obtaining additional program funding. Although money may be required to sustain your program’s positive outcomes, it is often possible to sustain outcomes with less funding than the original grant provided – and sometimes possible to sustain outcomes with no additional funding. Financial planning will help you identify the resources you need to sustain program outcomes. Community colleges are using an increasing array of revenue-generating strategies to support previously grant-funded programs.

Evaluation – It is important to present your evaluation data and findings to the groups your project serves and those in positions to support your work. Policymakers and stakeholders need to know what problem your program addresses and what evidence you have that the program is working. Presenting key funding from your evaluation can gain your support including funding. Understanding the concerns of stakeholders care about can help you decide what to present. For example, show a dean that your program has increased retention translates directly into dollars earned and more qualified graduates – both of which are important concerns for college administrators.

Partnerships and Collaboration – Partnerships or collaborations among agencies or programs are most effective when connections are established early in a project and cultivated throughout its life cycle. Strong partnerships involve others who are interested in the goals of your project, are affected by the problems you are addressing, and can provide essential support and resources. Leadership of a partnership involves clarifying roles, running meetings, and defining a shared vision of how to work together towards the partnership’s goals.

Implementation – Excellence of program implementation that includes capacity building and policy change efforts can create sustainable programs and services without requiring continued funding. This level of implementation requires the participation of college and community leadership, and an understanding of how to support lasting change in how the college staff does their work. Training staff in program content and processes is just the first step towards creating lasting change in practice.

Communication/Marketing – Using communications and outreach skills to inform others about you program’s goals and successes is a key way to create and maintain a base of support that can contribute to sustaining your program and its functions. Linking you communications plan to your overall strategic plan can help you reach your sustainability goals. Successful outreach and communications initiatives engage program participants and key college staff, stakeholders and decision-makers. Developing an adaptable presentation about the problems your program addresses and how your program is reducing or eliminating those problems can help publicize your program and gain support and partnerships. Using social marketing to reach your target audience may also help to sustain your program my making your approach or intervention part of the college’s norms and traditions.

Sustainability Processes

CADCA Sustainability Processes

The following are some thoughts from “Community Anti-Drug Coalitions of America” about sustainability. Think about the steps involved in sustainability planning for your TAACCCT project when the grant money ends.

Elements of Sustainability Planning:

1.     Clearly identify what must be sustained

2.     Clearly identify what resources are required

3.     Match the need with appropriate source and strategy

4.     Do not rely on one source or strategy

5.     Use “reverse planning” – begin with the end in mind; this allows you to let go of activities whose time as passed. It will help you be more creative about sustainability options.

Six steps in Sustainability Planning:

1.     ID what must be sustained

2.     ID what resources are required

3.     Create “case statements” for sustainability – explains why this focus area is needed in your college and community: benefits, consequences and importance. It defines what resources are required for success

4.     Determine funding strategies (share, charge, ask, and/or earn)

5.     ID potential partners

6.     Develop an action plan for contacting potential partners (both internal and external) – “identify who will do what by when requiring what resources and who should know (communication)”

Transitions - The New Beginning

Bridges poses two important questions in the transitions process:

·      “How do I know when the ending is complete and when I’ve been in the neutral zone long enough?”

·      How do I know which path before me represents a genuinely new beginning or which footprints represent a real path – or even which marks in the dust represent real footprints?”

He says that we look for external signs that point us in the right direction, but in reality it’s the “inner signals” that let us know of the new beginning. There is a sort of an inner realignment that seems to motivate one to the new reality. The quote from Eleanor Roosevelt will help students to understand this transition from endings to the neutral zone to the new beginning:

“Somewhere along the line of development we discover what we really are, and then we make our real decision for which we are responsible. Make that decision primarily for yourself because you can never really live anyone else’s life, not even your own child’s.”

Another important point is to be aware what undermines one’s decisions and make one doubt his/her decisions. These can come from people you know well; do they see you on an actual new beginning or just reliving an old pattern. A second consideration is inner: are you doing something just to avoid the actual new beginning.

Bridges has advice for the last phase of a transition:

·      “Very simply, to stop getting ready and to act.”

·      “Begin to identify yourself with the final result of the new beginning.”

·      “Take things step by step and resist the siren song that sings about some other route where everything goes smoothly and events are always exciting and meaningful.”

·      “Shift your purpose from the goal to the process of reaching the goal.”

“Endings and beginnings, emptiness and germination in between: That is the shape of the transition periods in our lives, and these times come fare more frequently in adulthood and cut far more deeply into it than most of us imagined they would.”

As site coordinators and participant coaches it’s important to listen to your students and help them through the transitional periods, to help them understand where they are, what they might be feeling and thinking, and offer support and guidance.

Transitions – Neutral Zone

William Bridges compares the neutral zone to swinging on a trapeze. You have let go of one bar and yet have not grasp the next bar. You are in “limbo” and it can be a scary and lonely time. Students may have let go of the old job or their old way of life and are now in the midst of classes; they may not quite see what their new life could be, or if they are even capable of achieving the certificate or the new job. Bridges has a series of suggestions for handling this transitional time; these suggestions might provide insights as site coordinator or participant coach for you to help students through this unsettling time.

1.     “Accept your need for this time in the neutral zone.” Let your students know that this change process will take time and that things might seem to be dragging.

2.     “Find a regular time and place to be alone.” You might suggest they find a place where, when they need to, they can sit and “be” and think.

3.     “Begin a log of neutral zone experiences.” They might begin a digital journal or even a blog about working their way through their coursework.

4.     “Take this pause in the action of your life to write an autobiography.” The students might use this to reflect on their lives and see how they were successful in the past and could use that as motivation to continue on their journey.

5.     “Take this opportunity to discover what you really want.” The coursework and the coaching sessions might help them to clarify and solidify their career and life goals. Talking with you as the coach could be a great benefit for them.

6.     “Think of what would be unlived in your life if it ended today.” You can help them imagine what will lie ahead for them when they complete the certificate and move into a skilled 

position, with higher income.

7.     “Take a few days to go on your own version of a passage journey.” Encourage students to maybe take a day to just think about what their future could be if they completed their coursework and found that position they have always wanted. 

Transitions by William Bridges (2004) 

Helping Students with Transitions - Endings

      As your students complete their Diversified Manufacturing Technology certification or otherwise decide to leave the world of education for the world of employment, they are undergoing a transition. Transitions, as we all know, are difficult, and for your students shifting from being a student to a full-time worker in manufacturing, or shifting from a temporary job to a full-time position, this change may be especially hard. It's scary; it's complicated; and it may overwhelm them if they don't know what's going on. They feel that everyone else is handling change so smoothly and they are encountering so much turbulence. These ill feelings may lead them to remain where they are, job-wise and career-wise, because it's "safe." It's easy to say: "life is either a daring adventure or it's nothing," but without knowing what lies ahead, "nothing" may be what happens. 
     William Bridges in this book Transitions (2004) explores the world of life changes. Knowing what to expect is the first step in successfully navigating the myriad of challenges and opportunities that lie before students. Bridges puts the change process into three seemingly simple steps: endings, a neutral zone and new beginning. It is deceptively simple.
   With endings, the student may have completed his/her coursework and feels a sense of accomplishment and at the same time a sense of trepidation. What happens next and why am I feeling all of these uncomfortable feelings? Bridges writes about five such natural ending processes: disengagement, dismantling, disidentification, disenchantment, and disorientation.

• Disengagement - he/she is no longer a student with the day-to-day tasks of studying, working in a lab setting, taking assessments and completing homework. That work is over and he/she is thrust out into the "real world."
• Dismantling - in a sense, the student is "unpacking" the identity of being a student and all the attributes associated with college work and life.
• Disidentification - the student is losing the old ways of defining him/herself. He/She is no longer in the world in which he/she can identify. There is a quote in a Western town that sums it up: "I ain't what I ought to be and I ain't what I'm going to be. But I ain't what I was!"
• Disenchantment: this may be the first feeling to emerge. "I thought employers would be beating down my door to hire me, but they're not!" However this feeling is a signal that the transition is moving ahead. 
• Disorientation - this feeling is really an opportunity to "re-orient" oneself into a new frame of mind. It's not enjoyable; the student must deal with a sense of emptiness and seek healthy, positive ways to fill the void created by the lack of classes, studying, and testing. 

     The role of the participant coach, site coordinator and instructor is to help students navigate students through these tough times by letting them know what emotions they might encounter and that it is normal and natural to feel this flow of uncomfortable feelings. They need to listen to their students and talk with them about what's going on, without jumping into "advice-giving" or into platitudes. Just Listen.

Sustainability

Here are some ideas from a website "Community Toolbox." I hope it helps stimulate some thoughts on sustaining your manufacturing certification program. We may want to work as a team on developing our sustainability plans. A late Fall or early Spring get-together might help.

Developing a Plan for Financial Sustainability

• What is a plan for financial sustainability?

• Why should you complete a plan for financial sustainability?

• When should you develop a plan for financial sustainability?

• How do you plan for financial sustainability?

• Tips from the field

Sometimes, it seems like community work has a high price tag, and no one wants to foot the bill. There is so much change we want to see happen, but our finances are in such a sorry state that we're just trying to maintain what we've done so far. Staff is underpaid, overworked, and burning out; necessary programs are dropped or scaled back because there's no money; and closing the organization's doors is a constant fear in the back of everyone's mind. This goes on for years for many nonprofit groups; for others, the doors really do slam shut.
Sound familiar? Our question in this section is, how can this be avoided? Or, if this is the reality your group is faced with, how can it be changed?
Earning money - and as staff of nonprofit organizations, we do earn every grant dollar or other bit of funding we obtain - isn't a mystical process. It's not something that can only be understood by a chosen few. It's a process almost anyone can do. And with enough time and effort, it's a process that can be richly rewarding.
However, it's something that can't done well haphazardly. "If we need it, it will come," isn't a safe philosophy for members of community groups to live by. Many groups will say, "This is really important. Let's do it, and worry about the money later." Later, unfortunately, ends up meaning headaches and frustration, and being in the red.
In this section, we'll look at the basics of planning for the financial sustainability of your organization. We'll discuss what it means, why do it, and how to do it. Finally, we'll close the section with some tips from the field from folks who have been doing this work for a long time.

What is a plan for financial sustainability?

So what do we mean by a plan for financial sustainability? Simply put, such a plan is a tool used to help the organization or initiative - and more importantly, its goals - thrive. And allow it to continue thriving over the long term.
Although it might seem otherwise, a plan for financial sustainability is not just about getting money. Now, part of your plan might well be to raise some dollars. In fact, it probably will be an important part. You may raise money through donations, grants, user fees, or all of the above, to name a few examples.
But that's not the whole story. A financial sustainability plan will also include other types of resources you might obtain, such as in-kind support, volunteer staff, or shared resources from other organizations. It may even include convincing another organization to take on a project you started.

A simple rule to go by: If it helps keep your organization or its work going, and if it's something you would have had to pay for if it hadn't been a donation, then developing it fully will be part of your financial sustainability plan.

Like any other type of plan, a plan for financial sustainability includes objectives, strategies, and action steps to get and keep these resources. All of this should be made very concrete as part of your plan.
For example, a partial list of what your plan will probably include:

• A list of all items and needs of the project
• The amount required to sustain each item
• Current resources
• Required resources
• Potential matching and funding organizations or individuals, and
• Amount that will be requested from each organization, individual or funding source
• How it will be requested (and by whom, and when)

Your plan will also look at all of these things on a long and short term basis. That is, it will help you to consider your finances for six months from now, but it will also ask you to consider where you would like your organization to be in, say, six years.
Before we move on, a last important note here is what your financial sustainability plan is not. It's not the reason you are in business - it's not why you get up in the morning. If you had wanted your focus to be money, you would have gone into banking or something similar.
Planning for financial sustainability, then, is just one part of your overall plan for institutionalization. It lets you concentrate on your real purpose, whether that purpose is helping children live healthier lives or helping adults on their spiritual path. It allows you to "do more mission," in the words of author Peter Brinckerhoff.
So, while it's important to take care of the money, don't allow yourself to get so caught up in it that you forget what you are really trying to do.

Why should you complete a plan for financial sustainability?

One thing a plan for financial sustainability will take, if done right, is time. It's a long process. At least in the short term, it will take quite a bit of effort on the part of project staff. What are the advantages of taking that time and effort when you already feel overwhelmed?

By developing such a plan, your finances should become more secure, which means:

• An increased focus on your real work. You can do more of what you set out to do, because your focus can be on the mission, not just on day-to-day survival.
• Becoming more competitive in your field. For example, more money allows you to hire more and better staff, which, again, allows you to do more to obtain your mission.
• Easier transitions. A plan can assist your organization in successful transition when current funding is depleted or dries up.
• Following guidelines. Sometimes, you don't have a choice. For example, some funders require the development of a plan for financial sustainability as a condition of their grants. By having a plan already developed, you start a step ahead.

When should you develop a plan for financial sustainability?

The short answer is: it's never too early to start planning. If you need money, and you plan to be around for the long haul, you should do this from the start. Planning should take place as soon as the project begins.
Even if your organization has been around for a while and is going strong, it still makes sense to periodically dust off your plan and make sure it is still viable. Such a "check-up" might occur on a yearly basis.
On the other hand, if your organization isn't where you want it to be financially and the organization doesn't appear to be headed in the right direction, it might be time for a complete overhaul.

How do you plan for financial sustainability?

Every organization is unique, and each will have its own way of doing things. Planning for financial sustainability is certainly no different. For most groups, however, a process like the following can be very helpful. Try it on for size, and modify it to fit your own needs.

However, before you get started on your plan, it's important to think about what you really need and want in terms of financial sustainability. Ask yourself, "Because our initial grant was for $100,000, do we need to have another $100,000 for next year?" Think creatively about what you have done and will do. Just because the program ran last year, is it worth doing again next year? Should your organization or group continue to do it, or should you try and get a different agency to take on a program?
Also, think about what taking money or earning money in different ways will say about your organization. Funding in and of itself does not guarantee success or failure - poor groups may flourish, and rich ones may falter. The way funding decisions are carried out, however, can make very different organizations. For example, if your group has a high membership fee, will those who can't afford to pay it find your group elitist? If your group has a lot of money and a beautiful facility, will some of the people you are trying to help feel uncomfortable using your services?
The lesson here? Think broadly about your funding needs from the start. With that in mind, let's look at a step-by-step method for how to develop a financial sustainability plan.

Decide who will develop the plan

If you have developed a financial sustainability committee, as suggested in the previous section, these are the folks to do the work. If you don't have such a committee in place, you might consider forming one, or at least a temporary working group. Board members are often key members of this type of committee. Developing a plan is easier, more enjoyable, and more effective with shared leadership.

Let everyone know what you are doing

Let staff, Board members, and your funders know what's going on. There are two reasons for this. First, they might have some excellent suggestions your working group wouldn't have considered. If so, your plan will be even more effective than it would have otherwise.
Second, it helps build an atmosphere of trust and mutual respect. There aren't unanswered questions, rumors in the office, or feelings of being "left out of the loop." Open communication is a very important part of any organization. Especially where money is concerned, people get antsy. Putting your cards on the table can take care of problems before they occur.

Conduct an internal audit

That is, find out what resources and expenses your organization has right now. You can't decide where you are going if you don't know where you are now. You need to know:

• How much money you currently have
• How much money you expect to have in the coming year, two years, etc.
• Where it is from
• What you do with it - how much money goes to programs, staff, etc.
• How much debt you have

You probably already have this information in your annual budget. If so, now is the time to dust it off. Make sure that all of the information is correct, and that everyone working on your financial sustainability plan understands it. If you have money coming in but haven't taken the time to write out a budget, now is the time to do so. If your project or initiative doesn't yet have any funding, of course, you can simply go on to the next step.

Determine how much money you need

This is really very similar to doing an internal audit, and you will probably use a lot of the same information. The difference is this step really asks you to think about what can be cut from what you are doing; if you absolutely needed to tighten your belt, what could you afford to lose? What would a bare-bones budget look like?
This step breaks down into two parts: listing what you are currently doing that is essential to your mission, and then looking at what each of these things costs, as well as at your general organization costs.

What you are currently doing

Make a list of what your group is doing now that is:

• Essential to your mission
• Something that your organization should be doing

The first of these points is more obvious, although there may be some disagreement as to what is essential to the mission. For example, if your group is trying to reduce teen pregnancy, is an after-school club (to keeps busy during "unsupervised" time between three and six) essential?
Decisions on what is essential will mean different things to different groups - there's not a set formula for making them. Because of this, an idea of what is necessary should be made as a group, with everyone working on the plan giving their input. It should also be clear to members that even if something a group is doing is decided to be "non-essential" to the mission, that doesn't mean it will necessarily be cut. What you are doing is trying to get an absolute base cost for your group's work.
The second of these two points - are these activities your group should be doing - is an important step that's often forgotten by community groups. Some of your activities may be very important to reaching your goals. At the same time, however, maybe they are activities that should really be done by someone else.

For example, if your group is a coalition trying to revitalize the neighborhood you live in, an important part of your project will probably be to develop a job training program to make neighborhood residents more "marketable" to employers. However, should coalition staff itself run such a program? It might make more sense, for example, for the coalition to partner with the local community college or a "jobs for young adults" program who already have a structure for this training, as well as a lot of experience in doing it.

Before you make your list of "essentials," then, be sure you have pared it what really is the minimum. You can always add to what you are doing, as money becomes available, but this list will give you something to start from.

What each of these things costs

Now, figure out how much it costs to continue doing these activities. Consider both programmatic and staff costs as you figure out this base amount. Again, this part will be very similar to your annual budget.
Along with program costs, there are also expenses that are independent of programs you are doing. Costs such as office rental, utilities, and the organization's newsletter are three examples of bills that need to be paid that are not necessarily associated with any one of your programs. Be sure to add these in as well.

Decide how much money you want

This step is the opposite of step four. There, we suggested you figure a bottom dollar amount you could live with. Now, we ask you to go to the opposite extreme, and come up with a top dollar amount you would like to have.
In short, this is where you get to dream. Think about your long-term goals - what do you really want to do? If money weren't a problem, what would you like to see happen?
In this step, you will want to go outside of your planning group to get ideas. Talk with other staff members and clients for their ideas of where they would like the group to go - what they would like to see occur. The group as a whole, or members of the coordinating council, might make initial recommendations on which of these ideas are worth pursuing.
Also, even if your organization didn't add any new work or programs, chances are there are still things you would like to find money for - a copier, a full-time administrative assistant, a computer. Be sure to add these items for the organization to your wish list as well.
Next, make those dreams more concrete. What it will take (in terms of resources) to accomplish these goals? Will you need more staff, and/or better trained staff? A new building? Write down a list of what you would need over what period to make your vision happen. Then, next to each item, write down an estimate of what that would cost. Break the list down into first year costs, second year, etc. You might want to write this down over a five year period of time, or even longer.

Compare the amounts set out in the previous three steps

How far are you from your goals? On an annual basis, how much money will you need in the next five years to reach all of the goals you have set out?

Set objectives

Now, look at the information in front of you and decide how much funding it may make sense to go after at this point.
If your organization already has all of the money it needs (or is very close) this step might be very easy. You might set objectives to earn every dollar that you came up with a use for in your ideal situation.
On the other hand, however, if there is a huge gap between how much money you have and the ideal amount, you may want to make choices, so that all of your time isn't spent doing fundraising. In this case, you might look at which goals it makes most sense for you to pursue right now.
From these choices, you can set specific funding objectives, both short and long term. For example, a short term objective might be increased funding next year for two more positions; more long-term funding goals might include the development of an endowment, or buying (instead of renting) office space.

Consider the available possibilities

Brainstorm available funding possibilities.
What are different ways to obtain resources that make sense to your organization?

• Leveraging shared positions and resources
• Becoming a line item in an existing budget
• Incorporating activities and services in organizations with a similar mission
• Applying for grants
• Using existing personnel resources
• Soliciting in-kind support
• Fundraisers
• Using third-party funding
• Developing a fee-for-service structure
• Acquiring tax revenues
• Securing endowments and giving arrangements
• Establishing membership fees and dues
• Developing a business plan
• Creating a for-profit corporation to help pay for the nonprofit side
• Have programs be "picked up" by other organizations

Another way to look at it: Finding funding from partners
Most of the possibilities listed above are things your organization can do on its own to try and raise money. However, most community groups work with other community agencies to reach common goals. And different groups have different resources available that might be shared. A good bet, then, is to work with other groups in your community to see how things can best get done, and what resources they can obtain for your group.

For example, if you are doing a violence prevention program, the police department may be able to get money your group is not eligible for directly. However, they might share those resources with you to get the job done. The local school district may have money available for substance abuse prevention programs, and so on.

What possibilities exist in your community?

Decide which funding possibilities you will follow up on

Now, consider which of these possibilities make the most sense for your organization. Questions that might help shape your decision include:

• What will be easiest for us to do?
• What possibilities hold the highest likelihood of success?
• What would we enjoy doing?
• How would any of these funding strategies change what we do?
• What is most in keeping with our mission?

Strategize how to get what you want

Who will you need to work with to implement your funding strategies? What would make them want to help you? What can you do for them?
Sometimes, we'll complain that everyone just wants to know, "What's in it for me?" Those of us working in the nonprofit sector often have the idea that there shouldn't need to be anything in it for them - that donors should simply give from the goodness of their hearts.
When you think about it, though, that attitude might be a little naive. All of us have reasons for the things that we do, or we simply wouldn't do them. Those reasons may be simple - to make us feel better, to avoid negative consequences, or just out of habit. But however simple they might be, those reasons do exist. When planning for financial sustainability, we can't afford to expect potential donors to be any different. Many want recognition; others want to spread their values or interests in the community; other might simply want to feel good about what they are doing.
Find out what potential donors want and how you can give it to them. For example, foundations often say they are most upset to receive applications from people who have clearly not read their guidelines. Knowing this, you can be sure to follow granters' guidelines to the letter.
By knowing what potential donors want, you will have a better idea of know what you will ask for, know how to ask for it, and understand what you can offer in return. See Tool #2 at the end of this section for ideas of what potential donors might want and how your group can give it to them.

Develop a timeline

The timeline should indicate the various actions to be taken, when they should occur, and who should do them.

Develop a draft of your plan

This draft should incorporate all of the information you have compiled so far, including:

• Your current financial situation, including you annual budget
• Your long and short term financial goals
• The broad strategies you will use to carry out those goals
• The timeline with specific actions
• A one page "executive summary" at the beginning of the document summarizing your work
• An executive summary is used for many types of business plans. It serves as a "cheat sheet" for anyone who is reviewing what you have done, and gets the facts out front so people don't get lost in the detail. It should be simple and concise.

Incorporate feedback on your plan

Document in hand, you're ready to get some opinions on what you have done. Key groups to have review the plan include:

• Staff members
• Board members
• Clients
• Key community leaders
• Current funders

Representatives from all of these groups can comment on the plan and make suggestions for improvement. Getting feedback at this point can be very helpful for at least two reasons. First, suggestions may be made that will make you plan stronger than it would have been otherwise. For example, something you have suggested might be impossible, and one of the reviewers might pick that out; or reviewers may have suggestions to build on your ideas.
Also, by allowing those who will be involved in implementing the plan the chance to modify it, it becomes theirs. Generally speaking, people are more willing to work on something that they created or at least believe in.

When asking folks to look at the plan, however, be sure to explain what the numbers mean. Misunderstanding financial information can lead to frustration and anger among people who are looking at it. For example, if a staff member earns $22,000 a year and sees that the annual budget is $500,000, (s)he may become very unhappy with his /her salary is (s)he doesn't understand where the rest of that money goes. Likewise, a program coordinator may be very angry about proposed cuts in her program if she doesn't have a full understanding of why they are necessary. On the flip side of the coin, if your organization carries a lot of debt, members may be led to think you are at the verge of financial collapse, and that they should be dusting off their résumés, even if that isn't the case.
The lesson here? Make sure those who are reading your plan have a full understanding of what it means. After everyone has had the opportunity to comment on the draft, the original working group can incorporate the suggestions as they see fit.

Implement your plan

With the revised plan in front of you, it's time to go do the work that has been decided on!

Monitor and evaluate your progress

When pieces of your plan have been implemented, however, you're still not done. As long as you are still in business, there is evaluation to do, monitoring of your progress, and tweaking or flat out changing things so everything works better.

Remember: planning never stops. It is ongoing, changes with the organization, and will need to be constantly revisited. This is true for all of our work in the nonprofit field. Earning money is no different.

Tips from the field

Financial sustainability is an uphill battle, and the challenge to get to the top can be one of the biggest frustrations we face in our work. Below, we have gathered a list of tips from people who have been through this process.

• It always helps to network, to keep informed about what's going on, and to develop connections with others.
• It helps to have someone in your organization who will take on the task of scouting and tracking those opportunities that might be available to you.
• If you can possibly afford it, you might consider hiring someone to do the work of writing grants for you. This can be worth the expense if your grant-writer is good, and especially if he or she is willing to work at least partly on commission. One next best alternative: find a sympathetic local professional with background both in grant-writing and in your content area to review your proposal for form and content; follow his or her advice.
• You can often find some other like-minded tax-exempt group or organization to make a formal grant application for you, if tax-exemption is needed and you are not tax-exempt yourself. That same group, often called a lead agency, may also manage grant funds received.
• If you do enter a similar arrangement, be sure and work out the relationship beforehand. Everyone's roles and responsibilities should be made very clear, as should what advantages both groups will receive from the arrangement.
• Successful fund-raising also depends upon your being in the right place at the right time, over and above the actual merits of you proposal. And funding deadlines are often short. These are even more reasons to stay connected with possible funding sources, and to have ideas and action plans developed so that you can be ready to move quickly when the right opportunity comes your way.
• Get to know your local politicians (legislators) well enough so that they return your calls, and make sure that they and other politicians understand your issue and its importance.
• Diversify your funding, so you aren't completely dependent on any one form of support.
• Continuity is important. Stick to your mission, keep doing what you're doing. It's helpful to have consistent people, consistently going out doing the same consistent thing. People know what you're all about, and it helps create the local base of support discussed in the last bullet point.

Some of these tips have been adapted from The Spirit of Coalition Building.

In Summary

Developing a plan for financial sustainability, as with any plan, takes a lot of work to be done right. It's intricately linked with the idea of institutionalizing your organization and its programs as a whole. By creating an effective financial plan, members of your organization will be able to do more to make your vision a reality and have your mission accomplished.

Contributor 

Jenette Nagy

Online Resources
Coalition building tip sheets from Tom Wolff offer tips on how to get started on building a coalition across sectors.
Nonprofit FAQs, from the National Center for Charitable Statistics, provides a wide variety of resources for several different areas of concern for non-profit, including financial sustainability.
The Nonprofit Resource Center offers comprehensive resources, from a professionally-staffed library, and access to a grant funder database, from fundraising workshops to management networking. The Center enables new and existing nonprofits to improve management, operations, fund development, marketing & public relations, board development and more.

Print Resources

Berkowitz, W., & Wolff, T. (1999). The spirit of coalition building. Washington, DC: American Public Health Association.

Brice, H. (1987). Financial and strategic management for nonprofit organizations. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall, Inc.

Brinckerhoff, P. (1996). Financial empowerment: More money for more mission. Dillon, CO: Alpine Guild.

Herman, R. (Ed.). (1994).The Jossey-Bass handbook of nonprofit leadership and management. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.

Human-Centered Design - Kit

I just watched a webinar on customer-centered design. Here is a bit of an introduction:

Embracing human-centered design means believing that all problems, even the seemingly intractable ones like poverty, gender equality, and clean water, are solvable. Moreover, it means believing that the people who face those problems every day are the ones who hold the key to their answer. Human-centered design offers problem solvers of any stripe a chance to design with communities, to deeply understand the people they’re looking to serve, to dream up scores of ideas, and to create innovative new solutions rooted in people’s actual needs.

At IDEO.org and IDEO, we’ve used human-centered design for decades to create products, services, experiences, and social enterprises that have been adopted and embraced because we’ve kept people’s lives and desires at the core. The social sector is ripe for innovation, and we’ve seen time and again how our approach has the power to unlock real impact. Being a human-centered designer is about believing that as long as you stay grounded in what you’ve learned from people, your team can arrive at new solutions that the world needs. And with this Field Guide, you’re now armed with the tools needed to bring that belief to life.

I encourage you to go to the website and scroll through to find the Human-Centered Design Kit. You can download it in PDF.

Getting Things Done

Getting Things Done: The Art of Stress-free Productivity by David Allen

            In my quest to find useful information about managing your programs and considering ways of sustaining and scaling your program into 2016 and beyond, I’ve found another very useful source. The book discusses five steps in mastering workflow.

            “We (1) capture what has our attention; (2) clarify what each item means and what to do about it; (3) organize the results, which presents the options we (4) reflect on, which we then choose to (5) engage with. This constitutes the management of the horizontal aspect of our lives, incorporating everything that we need to consider at any time, as we move forward moment to moment.”

The book offers practical methods related to each of the five steps, with detailed chapters on how to implement these steps. Some examples include the following:

The Six-level Model for Reviewing Your Own Work:

Ground: Current Actions

Horizon 1: Current Projects

Horizon 2: Areas of Focus and Accountabilities

Horizon 3: Goals

Horizon 4: Vision

Horizon 5: Purpose and Principles

The Natural Planning Model

1. Defining purpose and principles

2. Outcome visioning

3. Brainstorming

4. Organizing

5. Identifying next actions

The book offers step-by-step directions on how to utilize the steps outlined in each chapter. In addition it has a number of examples on how these ideas have been used by other successfully. It also is peppered with motivational quotes.

I would highly recommend it to help anyone wanting to enhance his/her ability to manage projects. It is highly readable and very useful.

A good maintenance technician is hard to come by

Tuesday, June 30, 2015

9:49 AM

Plant Services

Home / Articles / 2015 / 'A good maintenance technician is hard to come by'

'A good maintenance technician is hard to come by'

In this Big Picture Interview, Amanda Saam, a recent Somerset (Ky.) Community College graduate, wants more women to recognize the strong career opportunities in the industrial maintenance field.

Jun 12, 2015

Stearns, Ky., native Amanda Saam graduated in May from the Industrial Maintenance Technology program at Somerset (Ky.) Community College. Earlier this spring, she was a featured speaker at "Learn How to Get More Women in the Picture," an event that took place as part of a National Institute for Women in Trades, Technology and Science workshop in Versailles, Ky. The event was sponsored by AMTEC (Automotive Manufacturing Technical Education Collaborative) and the Kentucky Community & Technical College System's professional development office. Saam recently spoke with Plant Services for a Big Picture Interview about what led her to the program as an adult learner, her experience as the only female graduate in her class, and the opportunities available for women in the industrial maintenance field.

PS: Tell me a little about your journey and how you arrived at Somerset's program.

AS: It's been a wild ride. It took me a little bit of time to figure out what I wanted to be when I grew up. I've had so many types of different jobs, and some of them were a good fit; some of them weren't. When my ex-husband and I divorced, I found myself needing a better job to take care of my kiddo and myself, and I had so many people that I knew that had graduated from different programs who just couldn't find work in their field. So I did some research to see what exactly people were looking for. Come to find out, not only are there not enough women in this field, but there really aren't enough men, either. A good maintenance technician is hard to come by.

That's when I decided, well, you know, I do have a natural inclination for mechanical things, so why not? And then I found out what they made (in terms of income), and it was like, "We don't let all the doctors be men, and we don't let all the lawyers be men. Why are we letting all of this money be made by men?" So it really became a different kind of mission.

PS: When you were growing up, what cultivated your interest in mechanical processes?

AS: I've always watched my dad work on things, and I've been the kid who takes something apart to see how it works and tries to get it back together. In my child's school once, they were discussing different roles, and they said, who cooks in your house? She said, "Mommy and Daddy." "Who cleans?" "Mommy and Daddy." "Who fixes things?" She said, "Mommy."

PS: What led you to this particular program?

AS: I have an uncle who has worked in the field for a number of years at a local factory, and I just asked him, how difficult would it be for a woman to get a job in this field? He said that really they are looking for women.

This (program) is not far from where I live, so I still have the support system from my family. The commute wasn't bad, and once I got into the program and met the instructors – I honestly can't say enough about the support I've received from the instructors in the program. They never made me feel like the girl in the program. They expected the same from me as they did from the males. It just is such a wonderful program; I really cannot speak highly enough about this program.

PS: Tell me a little about how the program was structured, and what a typical term might look like.

AS: I started out on the electrical side. We spent about half of the semester in lecture learning how electricity works, and then the other half of the semester we spent in the lab drawing schematics and wiring motor controls. We learned about bearings and lubrication and the importance of that. And of course the first thing they teach is safety, because it can be such a dangerous job. Then the next semester we did programmable logic controllers. We had to draw schematics and program little robots to do things.

PS: What was a favorite thing that you did in the program? Was there a moment where you thought, "Wow, I'm definitely in the right place"?

AS: I very much enjoyed fluid power, hydraulics. That's been a very interesting thing. And I've also very much enjoyed machining. It's so amazing to look at this raw piece of metal, and somewhere hiding in there is this tool you're going to make, or a bit. I've always been an artistic soul in a way, so it seems like a metal art to me.

PS: Were there other women in your program?

AS: I started out with one other female, but she went on to something else. Out of my graduating class in this program, I was the only female.

PS: You say the instructors were all amazing – did you feel like it was very collaborative and cooperative with your classmates as well?

AS: Yes. I never had any problems with anyone. As a matter of fact, once, I turned in some paperwork with the financial aid office, and the lady at the desk looked at the program I was in and said, "Are you really in our industrial maintenance program?" And I said, "Yes, ma'am." And she said, "I didn't know we had any women in that program." I said, yes, there's a couple of us. She said, "Do they give you a hard time?" And I said, "No, ma'am; I give them a hard time." It's all in good fun. They've all been fantastic.

PS: What were some of the things you learned in the program about the dynamics of the field and the opportunities that are out there now for both men and women?

AS: It does seem to be that they are trying to seek out and attract more females. But maybe (more women would enter the maintenance field) if we could inform more women that, look, you're going to receive support; you don't have to have a background. Because I hadn't done anything like this before, but you can excel. As long as you show up and you're determined, and you're eager to learn, there's room for all of us to be successful.

PS: What's next for you?

AS: I've submitted a lot of resumes. The doors are cracked, and I'm just waiting to see which opportunity to take.

PS: You would say coming out of this program that you're very excited and optimistic about your prospects?

AS: Yes, I really am. I feel very equipped for success. Some of the instructors, they really build up your confidence, and it's not, you know, an empty foundation. I'm certain that I will be successful.

PS: Was there a time in your classes when an instructor went above and beyond?

AS: I know that my fluid handling instructor, anything that I've ever needed, whether I just wasn't getting something or I needed to clarify something, he has been there. He was always saying, "You're going to kick (butt), girl." He says: "I'm very proud of you. You're a wonderful student." He's constantly building me up. And it's not just me. I've seen him be this way to a number of students. It's almost as if we're all his kids, and he's going to make sure that we fly.

PS: What are some of the hang-ups that you think might keep women from participating in this type of program?

AS: I think that a lot of times it's so intimidating to go into a male-dominated field, especially if you don't have that background. It's hard to know whether or not you can keep up with the boys or whether you're going to be having people roll their eyes at your attempts. But I have not run into any of this. And I just think that if more women knew that they could have a very positive experience... I've even thought about trying to get something started as far as a scholarship opportunity for women to enter a student program, because that would help. Being a single mom, a recently divorced single mother, I needed whatever I could get to help me through this. A scholarship or a grant or a loan or a work program, whatever I could get my hands on, I needed. And I really felt supported from every direction. It wasn't easy. And it's not going to be easy. But anything worth having, you have to work hard for. I'd be the mom sitting on the sidelines of my kid's volleyball game with homework spread out in front of me, cheering one minute, and figuring heat calculations the next. But hopefully I'm teaching her and showing her. My ultimate goal is to be the type of woman that I want her to grow up to be. And that's someone who, you see what you want, and you go get it, one way or another.

Read more Big Picture Interviews with industry leaders

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