Recipe for a Sustainable Program

A study was conducted by the National Afterschool and Community Learning Network(Peterson & Spitz, 2003) to examine sustainability issues in-depth. Thirty-one 21st Century Learning Center programs from 16 states were surveyed regarding the crucial funding resources they utilized. Program coordinators were asked to also provide practical advice to those starting programs about how to insure a program’s survival.Respondents were asked to rate 11 sustainability strategies on a 10-point Likert scale, with 1 = “nice” 5-6 = “important”, and 9-10 = “critical”. The following table represents the average ratings from most to least important:

· In kind resources from a school district (e.g., space, supplies): 9.4

· A half-time coordinator paid for by the school district: 8.7

· A meaningful contribution from a local foundation: 7.5

· Financial support from city or county government: 7.0

· College work-study students and college volunteers: 6.9

· A sliding fee or volunteer hours supplied by parents: 6.5

· Cultural groups daily supplying artists and music instructors: 6.1

· High school students doing community service every week: 6.1

· A specific portion of a person’s time donated by two or three youth serving organizations (e.g. YMCA or 4-H): 6.1

· A corps of senior citizens who help every week: 5.7

· One of the items partially funded by the United Way: 4.9

Note that none of the eleven were rated below a 4.9, suggesting that all of the strategies are seen as quite important. However, the first two strategies on the list were rated as critical to a program’s sustainability. In fact, those two strategies approached a statistically significant difference from the rest of the items on the list.

Respondents were also asked to share their ideas for those who are interested in starting an afterschool or summer program. Their responses fell in to three distinct categories: 1. Create a quality program coupled with constant outreach, 2. Collaborate and develop win-win partnerships, and 3. Identify and build a portfolio of funding. Experience, along with this study, illustrate that if an afterschool program is operating from one grant, and it does not involve partners from inside and outside of the schools, then this program will most likely terminate when the grant runs out. Participants in afterschool programs in the filed from across America tell us it does not have to be that way. Although sustainability does not happen easily or by accident, afterschool programs can be sustained and improved.

Source: Spring 2004 Occasional Paper by the National Afterschool and Community Learning Network.