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The blunt fact is that it is much easier to get a new program started than it is to make sure it is sustainable over the longer term. The more planning you can do up front about long-term sustainability, the better. Children and youth, and their parents, are looking for programs that will be there in the longer term, and are consistently of high quality. Often, they are also concerned about having consistent staff and volunteers to relate to.
When you think about the long-term sustainability of your Big Brothers Big Sisters program or Boys and Girls Club, the chances are you will think first of funding. How are you going to make sure there is enough money to keep the program going? But, sustainability is about more than money. It is about all those things that allow your program to endure and to maintain excellent services over time: funds, ideas, people, markets, risk management, collaborative relationships, and credibility.
Sustainability includes paying attention to:
- Standards and best practices
- Program evaluation and on-going learning
- Collaborative relationships.
These are the focus of this chapter.
Program sustainability also includes issues of the program’s organizational home. This is the focus of the next chapter.
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