Sustainability Plan Example for a Grant Proposal

Below are two complete sample sustainability plans for grant proposals, each followed by notes on why it works. The first is for a foundation grant to a small nonprofit; the second is for a federal grant to a community health organization, where the funder's criteria shape the structure. Both organizations, their partners, and their figures are fictional and illustrative. If you want the underlying method first, read how to write a grant sustainability plan.

Example 1: foundation grant, youth literacy program

The applicant is requesting a two-year, $180,000 grant. Timing is stated relative to the grant period, the way you would write it once you know your start date.

Sustainability Plan

Northside Youth Literacy Initiative: continuation beyond the grant period

The Initiative is designed so that its annual cost falls by roughly 45 percent between year one and year three, and so that the reduced cost is met from four sources already in development rather than from a single successor grant.

Reducing the ongoing cost. Years one and two carry one-time costs that do not recur: curriculum development ($22,000), tutor training design ($14,000), and assessment tools ($9,000). Once complete, these assets belong to the Initiative and are reusable. From year three the annual operating cost falls from $90,000 to approximately $49,000: a site coordinator at 60 percent time, materials, and evaluation.

A second reduction comes from the volunteer tutor model. In year one, paid staff deliver 70 percent of tutoring hours. The training curriculum funded by this grant allows trained volunteers to deliver 60 percent of hours by year three; our volunteer records show an average tenure of 11 months.

Diversified successor funding. Against a year-three requirement of approximately $49,000:

Source	Target	Status
County community foundation, education portfolio	$20,000 a year	Letter of inquiry invited a full proposal, due in month 15 of the grant
Local school district, Title I partnership	$15,000 a year	Memorandum of understanding signed, conditional on year-one outcomes
Annual donor appeal, restricted to literacy	$9,000 a year	Raised $7,400 last year from an unrestricted appeal
Regional bank, corporate sponsorship	$5,000 a year	Verbal commitment; bank's giving committee decides in month 6

No single source exceeds 41 percent of the year-three requirement, so the loss of any one does not end the program.

Committed partner contributions. The school district provides classroom space at three sites, valued at $18,400 a year, under the signed memorandum of understanding. The public library provides meeting space and materials storage at no cost, confirmed in the attached letter of support.

What continues and what does not. Tutoring, volunteer training, and the annual assessment continue past the grant period. The family engagement workshops, the most staff-intensive component at $16,000 a year, will end after year two unless the district partnership expands. Our board approved this scope decision before submission.

Governance. The board's development committee reviews progress against these four funding targets every quarter. The first review that could trigger a scope change falls in month 12, a full year before grant funds end.

Why this version scores

It reduces cost rather than only replacing revenue. Most weak plans answer "how will you replace $90,000?" This one answers "why will you not need $90,000?" by separating one-time investment from recurring cost. It also argues for funding the grant in the first place: the money buys durable assets.

Every source has an amount and a status. Compare:

• Weak: "We will pursue additional foundation funding and expand our individual donor base."
• Strong: "County community foundation, education portfolio, $20,000 a year, letter of inquiry invited a full proposal, due in month 15."

The second can be checked. Reviewers trust what they can check.

No source dominates. Stating that no source exceeds 41 percent answers the reviewer's next question before it is asked, and shows the applicant thinks about concentration risk.

In-kind support is valued and documented. Classroom space worth $18,400 under a signed memorandum is a real contribution; our guide to valuing donated space and other in-kind match explains the method.

It admits something ends. The paragraph on the family workshops is the one inexperienced writers delete, and it does the most for credibility. A plan where everything continues at full scale on 55 percent of the budget is not believable.

Someone is accountable, with a trigger date. A quarterly review and a decision point a year before the money stops tell the reviewer the plan will be watched.

Example 2: federal grant, community health worker program

The applicant is a community health center requesting a three-year federal grant to add community health workers who help patients with uncontrolled diabetes. The notice of funding opportunity asks applicants to describe how the project will continue after federal funding ends, including financial and partnership strategies. The plan follows that prompt in order.

Sustainability

Financial strategy. By the end of year three, the community health worker program will cost approximately $210,000 a year for three positions, supervision, and travel. Grant-period costs that will not recur include workflow redesign, electronic health record template development, and initial certification training for the workers (combined $64,000).

Ongoing costs will be covered by three sources. First, the health center will bill for community health worker services that are reimbursable under the state Medicaid program and our contracts with two Medicaid managed care plans; based on our patient mix and the visit volumes recorded in year one, we will confirm projected reimbursement in month 18 and report it to the program officer. Second, a value-based contract with one of those managed care plans pays a per-member incentive for diabetes control measures; the program's results will be presented to the plan at its annual contract renewal. Third, the health center's operating budget will absorb the supervisor position at the start of year three, as approved by our board finance committee.

Partnership strategy. The county public health department has agreed in writing to train new community health workers at no cost after the grant period, replacing the external certification course funded in year one. Two food pantries will continue to accept referrals and host monthly outreach, as described in their letters of support.

Program integration. Community health worker visits are documented in the electronic health record using templates built in year one, and referral criteria are written into the clinic's diabetes care protocol. The program no longer depends on any one staff member's knowledge.

Contingency. If reimbursement covers less than two positions by month 30, the program will continue with two workers focused on patients with the highest hemoglobin A1c readings, and the third position will end.

What to notice in the federal version

It follows the funder's headings. Federal reviewers score against criteria, so the plan mirrors the prompt's order and wording. Check your own notice of funding opportunity; where it lists required elements, its structure overrides any template, including this one.

Revenue claims are framed as things the applicant will confirm and report. Reimbursement rules for community health workers vary by state and by plan. The plan does not assert a dollar figure it cannot prove; it names the mechanism, the evidence it will use, and the date it will know.

A partner replaces a one-time cost. The health department taking over training is a cost reduction, not just a revenue source.

The contingency is specific. It names the threshold, the date, and exactly what shrinks.

Adapting these to your proposal

The structure carries over to most programs: separate one-time from recurring cost, list sources with amounts and status, document partner commitments, say what continues and what ends, and name who monitors it. Fill each block with your own facts and dates once your grant period is known.

Pull the cost figures from your budget so the two documents agree; our free grant budget tool separates one-time from recurring lines. Make sure the outcomes you promise to sustain match the ones in your logic model's outcome columns, and if partners are making commitments, use our letter of support template to get them in writing.