Voices of Transformation - National Empowerment Center

Voices of Transformation: Developing Recovery-Oriented Statewide Consumer Organizations
SUSTAINABILITY: KEEPING THE ORGANIZATION ALIVE
We have touched previously on many aspects needed to keep the organization alive
and thriving. It is important to cover some of those things again with a particular
focus on sustainability. Three key elements of sustainability are vision, leadership,
and funding.
Vision
When the organization started, the planning team took care to gather input to
articulate and implement a vision. Many organizations make the mistake of relying
on that original vision long after they have been established. For the organization to
be a thriving, sustainable entity, it must change and grow in response to various
elements both within and outside the organization.
A tension between sustainability and organizational growth may occur within the
SCO. Some members may resist change, wanting to remain true to the original
vision. While others may ask, “What are we sustaining? Is our organization still
relevant to the issues of today?” A question to ask is, “Are we open to new ideas,
opportunities, partnerships, and approaches?”
It is wise to engage in a new visioning process periodically, perhaps every three to
five years. This would be the time to revisit your mission and value statements and
your business plan. Evaluate what has been working well that you might want to
expand on. Also, look at the areas of the organization’s focus that are weak or need
adjusting or rethinking. Is your organization welcoming to new people and is it
culturally diverse and open to differences? Have you identified new needs that you
were unaware of at first? Have you made new allies or community contacts that
open some new possibilities? All projects generally unfold a little differently than
the original plan. Visions look good on paper, but real life often has problems,
issues, and roadblocks that you hadn’t considered. Along with problems, new
opportunities and perspectives may emerge as well. A thriving organization is one
that can reassess and change direction to avoid pitfalls or to take advantage of a new
opportunity.
It is also important for the organization to stay current as social, political, and
economic climates change. In the developmental stage, establish a plan for a future
visioning process. In the initial five-year plan, you might build in a strategic
planning process for assessment and future visioning.
Nurturing New Leaders
To prevent burnout among leaders and the team and to create a viable statewide
presence for the long term, the SCO must have a plan for ongoing leadership
development. Some SCOs use CONTAC’s Leadership Academy, NEC’s
National Empowerment Center 82