Organisational sustainability

Community and voluntary groups start out with great enthusiasm and energy. But what happens after the honeymoon, when funding is drying up and people are burning out? And what can be done to help groups be environmentally responsible, leaving only the barest footprints on the planet?

Planning is essential to sustainability.

Groups must decide where they are at, where they are going, and how to get there. To do this they need to draw on financial capital, human capital and natural capital. But they must also replenish it.

Sustainable community groups

"A sustainable group considers the future, retains diversity, maintains its human, social and natural capital, recognises it is interdependent in the world and is participatory and accessible." (From Sustained Community Development: translating concepts into action.)

Arrangement of this guide

Information to help your group do this is listed under four key aspects of sustainability:

• Economic (money, buildings, infrastructure),
• Human (volunteers, staff, committees, boards, knowledge, information)
• Natural (healthy environments, sustainable natural resources)
• Review and renewal  (shared values, capacity, culture, evolution of groups, taking stock)

Each type of information (eg Resources, News etc.) is listed in the left hand menu. Click there to see the resources sorted by the four aspects.

Introductions to the key aspects

Economic - introduction

Human - introduction

Natural - introduction

Review and renewal- introduction

Back to overall Introduction