Page 3 - 2022 July Report

Resilience
ROUND TABLE: Sustainability
I’ve always loved this graphic. Maybe it’s because I never scored that well on a standardized test. Maybe it’s because I found this to be an anthem for a successful
business plan. Maybe it’s because I heard baseball coaches in my time as a player preach the value of adjusting during the game as a key element of winning. Static behavior can find success in a moment, but prolonged success requires change and adaptation. Change is inevitable. None of us dress, eat or talk like we did decades ago. If we were unwilling or unable to adapt to the evolving environment we live in, we’d compromise our opportunityforrelevanceandimpacttoday. Change and adaptation are key elements to sustainability.
“Sustainable” is a popular term in our current culture. It often refers to sources of energy, food or building materials. Sustainable is also understood to mean an organization’s ability to continue at a certain level of effectiveness. This understanding of sustainable will be the topic of our August Round Table discussion.
At its core, sustainability shares a lot of qualities with Stephen Hawking’s statement on intelligence. Sustainability requires the ability to adapt to
Robert A. Krause
change. The change could be funding sources, leadership changes, service model relevance, or a litany of other material variations of environment. Since we understand change to be inevitable, an organization unprepared for change is vulnerable. The ability to be relevant and effective over time in its mission is at risk.
During our August Round Table, Charlotte Pelton, an expert in strategic planning, marketing and fundraising, will join as a presenter. She will share insight on understanding sustainability for nonprofits, ways to measure it, and how to integrate those measures in the evaluation process.
Charlotte’s insight into nonprofit sustainability and the discussion that follows will provide a productive backdrop to a follow-up question. How should we value or prioritize sustainability in the evaluation of potential grantee partners? From a perpetual foundation that finds its highest calling as a catalyst for change, grantee partners that can demonstrate sustainable attributes are attractive – and understandably so. Can we over value this quality at the expense of overlooking effective organizations?
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