| CADCA Makes Sustainability Make Sense
Cover of CADCA’s Working Together, Building Safe and Healthy Communities. |
There was a time when you could apply for a grant and hope
your short-term plan would be enough. Funders may have felt
that your short-term plan was fine, and you were
awarded the money.
The problem with this scenario is that it happened all too
often. Success would turn into failure because organizations
were shortsighted and programs faded or cycled in and out of
effectiveness.
No more, say all sides. The buzzword “sustainability” is being
used with good reason. Funders are now looking for more accountability
from grantees, and grantees are realizing that long-term planning
is in their best interest.
Community Anti-Drug Coalitions of America (CADCA) is working
with Weed and Seed to get the message of sustainability across
to coalitions and sites. Much of the Weed and Seed strategy
parallels the goal of sustainability. Working together in a
systemwide approach over a long period to effect change is
the way Weed and Seed sites are designed to function. To make
changes in the community, CADCA says that community groups,
both formal and informal, need to take on specific responsibilities
and form partnerships to effectively implement their plans
and better guarantee sustainability.
CCDO and CADCA have worked together since 2003 to provide
additional training and technical assistance to Weed and Seed
sites.
CADCA believes that sustainability is not just about funding
but about ensuring communitywide support and resources. In
its literature, CADCA states that sustainability can be achieved
by “establishing relationships, securing training and coaching
to help members master collaboration, and arranging for technical
assistance to strengthen weak areas in their infrastructure.”
Having a new understanding of what sustainability entails
seems to be difficult for people to catch on to, according
to Kareemah Abdullah, Deputy Director of Training and Technical
Assistance for CADCA's National Coalition Institute. “Sustainability
has always been there, but it's been, ‘Where's
my next grant?' It's always been about the money,” she
said.
A paradigm shift is necessary for communities to realize that
their plans must involve sustainability. “Foundations are looking
for sustainability more than they used to, and federal funders
are moving to more accountability,” Abdullah
said.
The institute suggests using core competencies—proven, evidence-based
strategies that assist with program planning and implementation.
They include community assessment, analysis of the issue, development
of a strategic plan, community action and intervention, social
marketing of ideas or practices/media advocacy, evaluation,
and sustainability of the effort.
Another key factor to a sustainability plan is that it must
not only effectively address problems that the community currently
cares about, but also adapt to community needs as they change.
The problems facing a community change over time, CADCA says,
and to stay relevant, your organization needs to periodically “take
the temperature” of the community at large.
Leadership roles must be rotated to get fresh perspectives
and to help other members develop leadership skills. In addition,
members with leadership roles feel more productive and are
generally more committed to the coalition. Relying on just
one charismatic leader is not a good idea, according to Abdullah,
because if the leader leaves, the whole group will suffer.
“There has to be a group IQ,” she said. “From the bottom
up and the top down, there has to be depth and breadth.”
The changes have been long in coming, Abdullah and other CADCA
leaders say. But they believe coalitions and organizations
are getting the message that times have changed.
For further information, contact:
Kareemah Abdullah
www.cadca.org
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