A BluePrint for Success: Case Studies of Successful - Educational ...

A Blueprint for Success
Sustainability
Every program has to deal with issues of sustainability. In a perfect world, these programs would put
themselves out of business if we, as a society, were able to meet all the needs of the students they
serve. Alas, there is more need than there exists support. Attracting funding for program operations
is always considered one of the most challenging tasks for directors and boards. And even if those
funds are sought and won, sustaining them from year-to-year is equally challenging.
The critical key that most of our case studies point to is the importance of diverse funding portfolios
to protect the program and also engage a larger constituency. One of the programs, College Bound
St. Louis, told us that they have over 330 separate funders, from governments and philanthropies to
individuals. This diversity of approach has helped protect them against any one major funding loss.
Most of us have either been directly involved or heard of programs that had great funding from one
source, only to see that funding disappear in an instance, putting the program in a reactive mode.
Bridges to a Better Future (BBF) is fortunate to receive half of its funding through a program endowment.
Still, they have to find the other 50 percent in the community, most of which comes from
foundations, donors, grants, and corporations.
Many programs go directly to the community and solicit private funds from individuals to diversity
their revenue stream. Others select influential board of directors to mount an aggressive funding
strategy. One director noted that the availability of high-level data on their program was an important
“calling card” for philanthropic organizations, providing a trust factor for the benefactor.
Lessons Learned
We asked programs specifically about their “lessons learned” during the process or starting and operating
a college outreach program. Here are some of the responses:
Replication
Because these programs have been very successful, several are concerned with the pressures of replication:
the pressure to replicate and expand as well as the pressure to do it well without reducing the
impact of their current efforts. For instance, The College Road wonders how to scale up without
diluting the program or diminishing impact and outcomes, and, in their words, are “actively talking
about and struggling with the best ways to expand our capacity to directly serve more children or
how we can help other organizations replicate our program.”
Bottom Line is in the process of building an “instruction manual” to assist with replication. One of
their goals was to replicate their Boston program in New York City. Because of differences between
the two, especially due to differences in the college systems, they have to be cognizant of what ser-
Educational Policy Institute xi www.educationalpolicy.org