通常情况下，组织监测和修复住房存量，改善水质，保护土地，建立环境教育计划，保护邻里资源或创造一个社区的经济活力等，需要更长的时间超过2年或三年。要有真正的影响，然后保持什么已经赢得或创造，这些努力要求团体可以维持多年的工作。
社区团体要创造什么样的组织，才能真正维持自己和他们的长期工作的关键？目前的志愿者和工作人员如何修改和结构他们的工作，使未来的领导人将有一个动态和稳定的组织？什么样的过程使群体能够适应和改变他们的社区问题的需要和背景？
下面的“要点”概述了组织领导人要考虑的关键因素，因为他们解决这些问题，并寻求创建可持续的组织。
Usually, organizational efforts to monitor and rehabilitate housing stock, improve water quality, protect lands, build an environmental education program, protect neighborhood resources or create economic viability for a community, etc., take much longer than two or three years. To have true impact and then to maintain what has been won or created, these efforts require groups can sustain their work over many years.
What does it take for community groups to create organizations that can truly sustain themselves and their critical work for the long haul? How can current volunteer and staff leaders modify and structure their work so that future leaders will have a dynamic and stable organization? What types of processes enable groups to adapt and change with the needs and context of their community's issues?
The following "ingredients" outline key elements for organizational leaders to consider as they grapple with these questions and seek to create sustainable organizations.
Ingredient #1: A Compelling Vision, Focused Mission and a Strategic Plan That Involves Many and Gets Used
An organization's purpose, vision and goals are the magnet for the people, resources and money that are needed to make the organization effective. Whether the organization is clarifying goals for the first time, or is determining a new focus after years of operation, a strategic plan is critical to success. Good strategic planning involves all the key players in the organization, plus possibly people you serve and those you wish to collaborate with. The planning process will include discussion of and decisions on the organization's vision and mission, three to five year goals, objectives and strategies for each year that will move the group toward their goals, and a workplan that implements the objectives. The strategic plan, once created, becomes integrated into the organization's work and is used regularly (at least, quarterly) to assess the organization's progress and to adjust as needed.
Ingredient #2: Effective and Focused Programs
The core of your organization's success is its program or lead projects. A good program attracts people, who then attract funding. Programs need to be well thought out, doable, and able to involve many people. Above all, programs must serve a need. Sustainable organizations are able to take a program idea and implement it by creating a strategy with measurable steps. In our rapidly changing world, sustainable organizations are able to assess program successes and weaknesses regularly and change approaches as needed.
Ingredient #3: Diverse Fundraising Efforts
The most stable and sustainable biological systems often evolved with an amazingly diverse number of species. Likewise, sustainable organizations need diverse sources of income in order to weather the harsh "drought years" and the constantly changing economy. Solid fundraising efforts create long-range plans to have money coming in from as many places and as many people as possible, and for sources to be added every year. In addition, the fundraising efforts are led by a diverse pool of people within the organization so that ownership and expertise are shared by many.
Ingredient #4: Clear and Accurate Financial Management and Budgeting
Clear and accurate financial management provides the needed management tools to make decisions and to plan for the future. The board of directors (or steering committee in an all-volunteer project) and typically the Executive director have the responsibility to create and manage the following elements of a good financial system: (1) a complete and conservative budget; (2) correct accounting record; (3) timely financial reports, at least monthly; (4) financial reports in an understand
