Every family planning program should be concerned with making itself sustainable. A sustainable family planing program is able to continue its activities and meet its objectives year after year, to make plans for the future and fulfill those plans despite changes in the outside environment, and to develop diversified financial support so that its existence is not threatened by the loss of a single funding source. Although organizations will achieve sustainability through different means and by different routes, sustainable organizations have some common characteristics. They provide quality services to those who cannot pay the full cost of the services as well as those who can. This means that these organizations have developed mechanisms to subsidize the cost of services for the poor and underserved.
Sustainable organizations are also able to adapt to changing environments and client needs.
For example, a program that has traditionally served women in an urban clinic setting might tailor services to meet the needs of other client groups, such as adolescents. Finally, sustainable organizations seek to develop independent, diversified, and dependable sources of revenue while they become less and less dependent on external funds. Having a diversified and dependable source of funds gives these organizations greater control over their programs and greater flexibility and freedom to chart their own course. The environment in which family planning programs operate is changing at an unprecedented pace. Managers must develop suitable strategies to cope with the demographic changes as well as changes in the source and level of funding and in consumer demands.