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Planning for Program Sustainability

Tip Sheet

Sustainability practices help ensure programs persist and succeed in the long term. These practices can help 

organizations continue their impactful work after funding periods end. Previous AmeriCorps-funded programs 

have demonstrated that efforts toward financial and nonfinancial sustainability require ongoing planning and 

collaboration. See the “About This Tip Sheet” box for more information. 

This tip sheet defines sustainability, offers recommendations for when to plan for sustainability, and provides 

best practices for implementing sustainability efforts.

Defining Sustainability

Organizations can approach sustaining their programs in a variety of ways. For example, they can continue to 

implement their program in the future as it was implemented at inception (programmatic sustainability). They 

can identify program elements and weave them into the organization’s daily practices (organizational 

sustainability). Programs may also embed their services in existing external systems (systems and policy 

sustainability). Regardless of how organizations plan to sustain their programs, they need to consider the 

financial and nonfinancial strategies they will implement to sustain them. 

Financial sustainability strategies can include: 

Nonfinancial sustainability strategies can include: 

What your organization can do: 

• Identify one or more sustainability approaches to pursue: Continue a program, weave elements of a program into the

organization, and/or embed program services in current systems.

• Plan for financial sustainability: Develop a pipeline of funding, set aside additional organizational funding, find

efficiencies, and/or implement revenue-generating models.

• Plan for nonfinancial sustainability: Improve data collection, build evidence, expand leadership capacity, collaborate,

and scale.

When to Plan for Sustainability

Sustainability planning should begin at program launch or the submission of a grant proposal. Implementers

should develop program sustainability indicators, establish best practices for reaching data goals, and use 

networks to identify potential future grantors throughout implementation.

Seeking additional 

grant funding

Incorporating into 

organizational budget

Generating revenue with 

new payment models

Providing more 

cost-effective services

Improving data 

collection and analysis

Building evidence

Expanding 

leadershipp 

capacityy

Collaborating with 

partners

Scaling

the work
Produced and published at US taxpayer expense.

What your organization can do:

• Establish pre-award or early indicators of organizational capacity to sustain the work. Revisit these indicators to ensure

their accuracy as predictors of sustainability.

• Plan early by setting sustainability goals and milestones, sharing best practices, and identifying partnership

opportunities and data needs.

• Plan from the outset for long-term funding and build a pipeline of potential funders or other revenue sources.

Using Evaluation and Evidence to Support Sustainability 

Rigorous evaluation practices and a growing evidence base can demonstrate the value of a well-resourced 

program continuing into the future. Continuous evaluation help organizations validate their programs’ 

effectiveness and implement cost-effective improvements to support sustainability. Organizations can also use 

this information to make informed decisions about which program elements should be sustained and 

demonstrate their impact to other organizations, policymakers, and/or potential funders.

What your organization can do:

• Analyze outcomes to identify evidence of effectiveness. Reevaluate whether to sustain elements that lack evidence of

positive outcomes.

• Embed expertise acquired—such as evaluation skills—into practices within the implementing organization to produce

more rigorous results that will make the case for sustaining programming demonstrated to be effective.

• Identify stand-alone services proven to be effective and embed them within the organization’s programming to ensure

they become integral elements of the organization’s activities.

• Implement programmatic changes and organizational efficiencies to deliver services in a more effective and/or costefficient way.

• Demonstrate the benefits of proven practices and encourage their implementation at the policy level and by other

organizations.

Collaborating with Partners

Established relationships with a variety of partners are critical for sustaining work. Engaging other interested 

parties can be part of a long-term strategy to help ensure uninterrupted service delivery. The benefits of these 

collaborations include fundraising assistance, service delivery and continuation on behalf of partners, and 

enhancing best practices for sustainable programming through partner support.

What your organization can do:

• Build relationships with partners, peers, service providers, and the local community to garner buy-in and support for

sustaining the work, whether through partnership with a community-based organization or through a network of

collaborating organizations.

• Link demonstrably successful elements of a program to other programs and services within and across organizations to

broaden and sustain service provision.

• Identify formal and informal opportunities to engage with peers and share best practices to increase the financial,

programmatic, and organizational capacity needed to sustain the work.

About the Office of Research and Evaluation 

The AmeriCorps Office of Research and Evaluation assists AmeriCorps and its partners in collecting, analyzing, 

and disseminating data and insights about AmeriCorps programs and civic life in America. 

About AmeriCorps 

AmeriCorps, the federal agency for national service and volunteerism, provides opportunities for Americans to 

serve their country domestically, address the nation’s most pressing challenges, improve lives and communities,

and strengthen civic engagement. Each year, the agency places more than 200,000 AmeriCorps members and 

AmeriCorps Seniors volunteers in intensive service roles and empowers millions more to serve as long-term, 

short-term, or one-time volunteers. Learn more at AmeriCorps.gov. 

About This Tip Sheet

This tip sheet was based on research sponsored by the AmeriCorps Office of Research and Evaluation that collected 

data from five grantees and two subgrantees from the Social Innovation Fund (SIF). The SIF issue brief was originally 

developed by ICF (authored by Lara Malakoff and Janet Pershing) and published in 2017 as a deliverable of the SIF 

Classic National Assessment and synthesized for this document. If you have any questions, please reach out to 

evaluation@cns.gov.