NGOs Can Be Self-Sustaining

Nonprofits continue to spring up that aim to raise and deploy capital with the intent to solve problems that affect many people. Commonly referred to as NGOs (non-governmental organizations), the basis for this standard setup is built around the fact that the entities rely on the generosity of both individuals and businesses to fund their ongoing projects and overall operations. What is often missing from the long-term vision is the concept of sustainability outside of perpetual generosity.

So, what typically happens if the funding faucet turns off? The lack of revenue-generating infrastructure rears its ugly head and the NGO fails with their mission remaining unresolved — not unlike a for-profit business that can’t figure out how to generate enough revenue.

There is, however, another way to look at and tackle the sustainability issue inside the nonprofit world.

A Hundred Years from now
I recently attended an event at a forward-thinking digital agency in Los Angeles called A Hundred Years. The agency started out chasing the big brands on digital advertising campaigns with a singular focus — to drive quarterly revenue by selling more product, any product. Then, according to its founder and CEO, Marc Mertens, it “shifted to partnering with organizations on projects that had purpose at their core and long-term thinking as a strategy.”

The A Hundred Years mantra is based on asking yourself an important question, “What is your 100-year vision?” Mertens says. “Everything seems possible in a 100 years, so it’s both useful and important to focus the big vision around actionable steps for today, next month and next year.”