Introduction to sustainable funding

Achieving sustainable funding

The kind of funding an organisation needs comes down to what it does, who it does it for, and how it plans to develop in the future, using the right income streams to drive development at the right time.

To achieve ongoing growth and development organisations need to use the right income streams to drive development at the right time. This involves understanding when one type of income is most useful and when other income streams would actually be more suitable and, ultimately, sustainable.

There are no magic answers to becoming sustainable, no simple solutions and no pots of gold, every organisation is unique.

Equally, there are no guarantees of survival, but planning effectively, avoiding reliance on one source of funding, building organisational skills and capacity, and choosing income streams that are appropriate for the work an organisation does and goals it wants to achieve, go a long way towards it.

Effective planning and management

To get the most out of your financial resources and achieve sustainability you'll need to successfully manage all your funding and financing sources in an overarching strategy for your organisation.

Planning should be the cornerstone of everything an organisation does.  Sustainability begins with planning and effective management of resources. Before you start thinking about money you need to decide what the mission, aims and goals are for your organisation and plan how you will achieve these.

Only once an organisation knows what it wants to achieve, and has planned accordingly, can it determine which income streams are most appropriate for meeting its aims, and begin to pursue them.

Work your way through our guides to sustainable funding: