Sustainability Audit
Best for
Organizations approaching a funding cliff, preparing for a major grant renewal, or questioning whether their programs are financially sustainable.
What you get
- A program-by-program scorecard showing which programs are making a real difference in people's lives and which are costing more than they're worth
- A dollar-value figure for what each program returns to the community per dollar spent, along with a clear diagnosis of what to fix when a program is not hitting that bar
- A sustainability roadmap that tells you which funders to pursue long-term, how to adapt as your community's needs evolve, and how to keep your data structured so every future funder conversation starts from a position of strength
- Concrete recommendations on which programs to grow, which to redesign, and where to run leaner, along with a map of the funders, grants, and contracts your evidence base makes you competitive for
How we do it
Most organizations doing real community work lose funding not because their programs fail, but because they cannot prove they succeed. Funders stop renewing grants when reports are anecdotal and results are thin. Programs that drain resources continue unchecked because no one has measured what they actually return. The problem is rarely the work itself. It is the absence of a rigorous measurement infrastructure behind it.
Our audit is built around three questions every sustainable organization needs to answer.
Are your programs making a measurable difference?
We review your existing data and program operations to understand how well your organization is demonstrating its impact. This identifies gaps between what you currently measure and what funders increasingly expect to see, allowing you to strengthen future grant applications before funding is at risk.
Are they worth what they cost?
We evaluate how each program uses staff time and organizational resources. Where the data supports it, we estimate the social value each program creates by comparing community benefits against delivery costs. Our process draws from Success Measures, RBA, and SROI, established frameworks that funders and federal agencies recognize and trust.
What changes will make your organization stronger?
We translate our findings into practical recommendations: which programs to protect or redesign, where to direct resources, and which funding opportunities best fit your demonstrated impact. Your leadership leaves with the evidence and clarity needed to thrive long term.
By the time this engagement closes, your leadership will have the clarity and evidence needed to make the decisions that position your organization to thrive long term. Which programs to invest in and which to wind down. Where to direct operational resources for the greatest return. Which funders to pursue and how to make a compelling case to each of them. And how to build an organization that does not just survive the next funding cycle, but is positioned to grow through it.