Sustainability Plan Template
Funders ask what happens when the money runs out, and the standard answer, that you will apply for more grants, tells them nothing. A sustainability plan is a realistic account of which parts of the work continue, how they are paid for, and what genuinely ends. Saying that plainly is more persuasive than an optimistic plan nobody believes.
See the coursesEverything on this page is yours to copy and adapt. The courses cover the decisions behind it: what to charge, what to promise, and what to put in writing.
What yours needs to cover
- ✓ What continues after the grant period, separated from what is time-limited by design
- ✓ The financial plan: earned income, other funders, contributions, or absorbed costs
- ✓ Capacity that outlives the funding, such as trained staff, systems or partnerships
- ✓ Partnerships and commitments, with a note on which are documented
- ✓ The risks to continuation, and what you would do about each
How to use it
- Decide honestly which components are meant to be permanent and which are not.
- Attach a funding route to each continuing component, and say where it stands today.
- Name any partner commitment you can evidence, and leave out any you cannot.
- State the main risk to continuation, because a plan with no risks in it reads as a plan nobody stress-tested.
What the funder is really asking
When a funder asks how the project will be sustained, they are asking whether their money will leave something behind. They know most nonprofits depend on a mix of grants, and they do not expect a guarantee. What they want is evidence that you have thought about which costs recur, where that money will come from, and what happens to participants if it does not arrive.
Separating what continues from what ends
Begin by sorting the budget into three groups. Start-up costs, such as training staff, buying equipment or building a curriculum, are spent once and do not need to be sustained. Recurring costs, such as salaries, supplies and rent, continue every year the program runs. Some activities are designed to end, such as a pilot or a one-time study, and saying so is perfectly acceptable.
For each recurring cost, name the realistic route to paying for it after the grant, and state where that route stands today. Examples include a line in the organization's operating budget, fees for service on a sliding scale, a government contract, a corporate sponsor or a pool of individual donors. A route with a signed commitment is worth more than three routes that are only hopes, so label them honestly as confirmed, in discussion or planned.
Capacity that stays when the money goes
Some of the most convincing sustainability evidence is not financial. Trained volunteers who can keep delivering, a curriculum the organization now owns, data systems that stay in use and partnerships written into memoranda of understanding all outlast the grant. Name them specifically. Unit 8 of the Advanced course looks at how private funders read this section and how repeat funding relationships are built.
It also helps to show the funder a simple timeline. Year one is fully grant funded, year two draws a third of recurring costs from a confirmed contract, and year three relies on the organization's operating budget for the remainder. A reviewer can test a timeline like that against the budget in a minute, which is exactly the kind of reading you want to invite. Where a step in the timeline depends on something unconfirmed, say so beside it rather than in a footnote.
A filled-in example
| One-time costs | Refrigerated van fit-out $8,000 and volunteer driver training, not needing renewal |
|---|---|
| Recurring costs | Part-time driver coordinator $18,000 a year, fuel and insurance $4,000 a year |
| Confirmed support | County aging services contract covering $6,000 a year from year two, signed |
| In discussion | A regional grocer sponsoring fuel costs, meeting scheduled |
| Capacity left behind | Twenty trained volunteer drivers and a delivery route system |
| Main risk | If the county contract is not renewed, delivery drops from five days to three |
Mistakes to avoid
- Answering with we will seek more grants. Every applicant says it. Name specific prospects, earned income or commitments, and say how far along each one is.
- Promising the program will run forever. Funders know that is unlikely. A candid account of what continues and what ends reads as more trustworthy than a promise.
- Listing partners without commitments. A partner who has not agreed in writing is a hope. Distinguish documented commitments from conversations.
Sustainability Plan Template FAQs
What if the project genuinely ends with the grant?
Say so, and explain what remains: the people trained, the evidence gathered, the system installed. A pilot that produced a usable answer is a legitimate outcome, and pretending it will run forever is the weaker position.
Does "we will seek further funding" count as a plan?
On its own, no. It is the answer every applicant gives. Naming specific prospects, an earned income route, or a commitment already in place is what makes the section worth reading.
Is sustainability the same as an exit plan?
They overlap. Sustainability asks what continues and how it is paid for, while an exit plan sets out how the funded party withdraws without harm. Some funders ask for one and mean the other, so read the prompt carefully.
More grant writing templates
Get every template, plus the training
Ten documents, one course that covers the thinking behind all of them, from the first quote to the contract you hand a commercial client.
Choose your course