Dear “H.” --- I expect it is safe to say that you are referring to a fund-raising development plan, when asking about obtaining a sample of a “sustainability plan,” i. e., an overall plan to solicit financial support to pay the cost of operating your non-profit organization.It’s OK to a point, to ask for, obtain, and try to adapt samples of others’ plans, thinking that such models could be directly and wholly adapted to your situation.
However, it is not that simple. Since each fund-raising plan should be determined by the objectives, costs, resources, priorities, responsibilities and timelines emanating from your long-range, strategic plan, it is obvious that a one-size-fits-all fund-raising plan document can only be used in a broad and general way. Refinement, flexibility, and consensus, are but a few of the components which each plan must accommodate and they are unique from one organization to another.
I have an article which can help you to adapt the guides and outlines provided so that you can develop your own general development plan, and then to craft specific fund-raising campaign plans, such as the basic Annual Fund Campaign and others.
Each campaign plan works within the general development plan, which in turn must fit into your organization's strategic plan---with the Mission Statement being the center of it all.
So, your overall development (sustainability) plan must be:
--- a plan,
--- within a plan,
--- within a plan.
Thus, the road map to success begins with a strategic plan, which is your organization's blueprint for carrying out its mission statement. If your organization is not so positioned, I urge you to develop an understanding of the process and to make sure your organization has a strategic plan.
A strategic plan, which should cover at least three years, is a prerequisite for establishing, first, the general development plan effort we have been discussing and, subsequently, specific fund-raising campaigns. It identifies institutional priorities, plots a course for achieving goals and objectives, lays out performance assessment, and provides for midcourse corrections.
It is the first step in establishing your organization's budget. Knowing what is to be done and how it will be accomplished allows cost to be determined. Then, income can be balanced against expenses. The shortfall---the amount you plan to spend minus anticipated income---is the operational deficit. It represents the money your organization will have to raise, usually through contributed income, to balance its budget.
A general development plan identifies how and from what sources an organization will acquire and maximize contributed income. It encompasses all potential sources, identifies the tactics which will be used, and communicates that information to your organization's staff, volunteers, and influential supporters.
Along with the step by step guidance provided in the article for you to develop your own---tailored---sustainability plan, you can review examples of plans to assist in your plan development.
--- “Develop Your Fund-Raising Plan With Consensus”
http://www.raise-funds.com/111204forum.html
Tony Poderis
Fund Raising Forum Library: Forty-Seven Articles to Date
Current Article: When Should a Non-Profit Organization Hire its First Development Director?
http://www.raise-funds.com/library.html
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