The Sustainability Formula is based on an analysis of TCC’s Core Capacity Assessment Tool.

The formula is:

Leadership + Adaptability + Program Capacity = Sustainability.

I really liked this framework (though I think there might be a few missing pieces of the definition, for example, how about something around longevity? Or resilience as in – the ability to bounce back from adversity).

I’m working on a project now with the Rhode Island Foundation’s Initiative for Nonprofit Excellence that enlists an organization assessment tool by the Marguerite Casey Foundation that is framed around the 4 Core Capacities developed by TCC. So I was particularly interested in reading this report.

But my really amazing discovery was captured in one small paragraph at the bottom of page 2. It talked about nonprofit lifecycles and offered a framework that I hadn’t bumped into before. The stages went like this:

“Stage 1: Core program development

“Stage 2:  Infrastructure development for the purpose of taking programs to scale

“Stage 3:  Impact expansion which is defined as community leadership that changes the systems and policies that affect an organization’s ability to achieve its mission.”

I was floored, I have to admit it. One of those AHA! moments.

Some people have AHA! moments by finding the wreckage of the Titanic on the ocean floor. I have them when I discover amazing new organizational frameworks or research nuggets that challenge our sector’s core assumptions. (Or when I eat some really fabulous dark chocolate)

This was SO MUCH MORE VALUABLE than the typical “Start Up, Growth, Maturity, Decline/Renewal” lifecycle model I see so often. This was a lifecycle framework that was MISSION-focused.

Be still my beating heart.

As someone who tries to pay attention to new literature on nonprofits, I kept scratching my head on how I could have missed this gem. So of course I went on a Google journey to find more details about this model.

After a nonproductive search on TCC Group’s own website (though there are lots of interesting publications there), I ended up on The Philadelphia Foundation’s website where I found the article “Characteristics of High Performing Nonprofits based on Organizational Lifecycle.” Which I spent time reading.

That article referenced a 2005 BoardSource publication, Navigating the Organizational Lifecyle: A Capacity Building Guide for Nonprofit Leaders I had seen the book as a subscriber to BoardSource but I never ordered it because I figured it was just the same old same lifecycle framework. That will teach me to assume!

Yes, you may be asking about now, other than alerting your readers to all these great resources, what is the point of this blog entry?

Okay, here it is.

I regularly encounter individuals, usually good-hearted souls, who have done little research on best practices about how to build a great nonprofit. Or how best to build effective programs that address the problems or needs they’ve taken on. I’m always curious, when there is such great stuff out there usually for free, why they didn’t take the time to look.

Maybe they’ve taken to heart the old adage about curiosity killing cats and been scared away?

My problem is just the opposite. I rarely have difficulty finding really valuable information – besides Google, I’ve got great colleagues and Twitter to keep me busy.

No, my problem is trying to tear myself away from the next great read.

So, a word of advice: Try some research. You can learn a whole lot by looking, to paraphrase the great Yogi Berra.

Have I mentioned yet how helpful the Internal Revenue Service website can be? I routinely go to the web site to double check substantiation and disclosure requirements for charitable gifts (IRS Pub 1771) or to check what might be considered unrelated business income (IRS Pub 598 ) or to get a sample conflict of interest policy for the board. They even have a special tab for Charities and Nonprofits, right on the home page.

What could be better than free information, straight from the horse’s mouth, so to speak.

It’s not often that we get to say thank you to the IRS, so thank you.

Writer? Catherine Orenstein, founder of the project, was one the panelists at the conference. She started The OpEd Project to reverse the shocking statistic that only 10-20% of newspaper opinion pieces are written by women. Why care? Because, in Catherine’s words, “the op-ed pages are enormously powerful ? they are the hub of thought leadership. The dearth of women in these spaces not only conveys the (wrong) idea that women are not leaders, it deprives us all of robust, democratic, meritocratic debate. Relying on a narrow pool of (mostly white, older, male) voices for our take on the world is both misguided and dangerous.”

At the conference, Catherine explained that most women don’t feel that they could be considered an expert, even those most accomplished in their field. Women’s humility, lack of confidence?, keeps us from stating our opinions in this most visible of public forums.

I, for one, am guilty. So, here’s my resolution for 2009 — get an OpEd piece published.

How about you? On The OpEd Project web site, you’ll find a few helpful resources for getting started.

Suddes makes the following points:

(Sigh: A man after my own heart… For transformational change is my mantra… that’s why your organization exists. And if your organization doesn’t know what transformational change it is working to create, you’ve got more work to do than just learning how to communicate better.)

You need to first talk about your IMPACT, the transformational change that your organization exists to create.

Then, Suddes implores, you need to communicate toyour donors how their “investments” (aka gifts) make that IMPACT happen.

You need to do it in simple, powerful messages.

Suddes is a big believer in the power of three (e.g. “veni, vidi, vinci”) for making messages compelling, memorable and penetrating. He suggests a 6 word WHY (the impact) a 3 word WHAT and a 3 word HOW.

There’s lots of good stuff in the interview with him. And lots of other great stuff at the Network for Good Learning Center. Check it out… it’s free.

Here’s the link to the story:

And the link to get your own Green Cleaning Party kit.

Well, thankfully there is a web site that is the “consumer reports” of nonprofit technology. It’s called Idealware.org and it is just an incredibly rich resource.

Got a question about social networking? They can help. Good databases for advocacy? Yep, check out Idealware. They even have online seminars and great articles.

A nonprofit public charity themselves, so far, their reviews are free to all (though you can help them out with a donation.)

Gayle

It’s not hard to use once you get the hang of it. You’ll amaze your boss or colleagues with your extraordinary knowledge of the nonprofit community.