Sustainability and Exit Strategies in Grant Bids

Almost every grant application has a version of the same question: what happens when the funding ends? It might be called sustainability, legacy, exit strategy or long-term impact. It is often the weakest answer in a bid, because applicants either promise to find more funding without saying how, or worry that admitting the project will end will lose them the grant. This guide shows how to answer it honestly and well.

Why funders ask

Funders want their money to make a lasting difference. The National Lottery Heritage Fund, for example, lists organisational sustainability among its investment principles and, for its £10,000 to £250,000 grants, considers how your project's impact will be sustained. Garfield Weston Foundation asks capital applicants how the project will affect their ongoing running costs and how they will meet any increase.

Behind the question are a few worries:

• that the work will stop suddenly, leaving people without support
• that the organisation will come back for the same money again and again
• that a new building or service will be too expensive to keep going
• that the organisation is relying too heavily on one funder

Your answer should reassure them on whichever of these applies.

Three honest answers

There are three main ways a project can end well. Choose the one that fits, or combine them.

1. The work continues, funded another way

The project becomes part of what you do, paid for by other income. Be specific about where that income will come from:

• Earned income, such as fees, room hire, sales or contracts.
• Statutory funding, such as a council or health contract, if you have real conversations under way.
• Other grants, with named funders that fund this kind of continuation.
• Community fundraising and donations, with a realistic target based on what you raise now.

Garfield Weston encourages organisations to have a variety of income sources and not rely on any one source or funder. Show that spread.

2. The work ends, but the benefit lasts

Some projects are meant to end. A one-year training programme, an oral history project or a pilot can finish and still leave lasting value. Explain what remains:

• skills and qualifications people have gained
• volunteers who continue to run activities
• a resource, such as a toolkit, archive or website, that stays available
• evidence and learning you will share with others
• relationships and referral routes between organisations

If the project is a pilot, explain how you will use the results to decide what happens next.

3. The work passes to someone else

Sometimes the right ending is handing the work on: to a partner organisation, a group of participants who become self-running, or a statutory service. Name who, and what you have agreed with them.

Capital projects: running costs and long-term care

A building or major piece of equipment brings ongoing costs: heating, insurance, maintenance, cleaning and staff. Funders want to see that you have thought these through.

• Show the numbers. Estimate how running costs will change, up or down, after the project.
• Show how you will pay. For example, new room hire income from a refurbished hall, or energy savings from new insulation. Garfield Weston asks you to tell it if a capital project may lead to cost savings.
• Plan maintenance. The Heritage Fund, for example, says that if you buy land or buildings with its funding you need adequate plans for their long-term care and maintenance for at least 10 years after the project ends.

Our capital grants guide explains what else capital funders expect.

Plan B: what if the money does not all come in

Sustainability is also about the project itself surviving a funding gap. Garfield Weston asks applicants what will happen if they cannot raise all the money they plan to: will the work go ahead at a reduced level, can it be phased, or would you need to cancel and rethink? It says your application will be stronger if it can see you have thought about your options.

A good plan B:

• names the parts of the project that are essential and those that could be cut or delayed
• explains how a smaller version would still meet the project's main aims
• shows how you would tell the funder and adjust

Our risk register guide shows how to set this out alongside your other risks.

How to write the answer

Keep it short and specific. A good sustainability answer usually:

1. States the approach in one sentence. For example: "After year two, the lunch club will be run by trained volunteers, with costs covered by a £2 contribution per meal and a grant from the parish council."
2. Gives the evidence. What you have done already, such as volunteers recruited, conversations with the council or current income from the activity.
3. Shows the numbers. Annual running cost after the grant, and where each part comes from.
4. Names the risks and your plan B.
5. Links to your outcomes. Explain how the lasting change connects to what the project sets out to achieve. Our theory of change guide can help.

A worked example

Here is how a two-year youth mentoring project might answer the question:

"In year one, a paid coordinator recruits and trains 15 volunteer mentors. In year two, the most experienced volunteers take on the matching and support role, with the coordinator moving to two days a week. From year three, the scheme will cost about £9,000 a year. We will meet this from a contract with the local secondary school, which already pays us £3,000 a year for related work and has agreed in principle to increase this, a £2,000 grant from our town council, and £4,000 from our annual fundraising event, which raised £4,600 last year. If the school contract does not grow, we will reduce to one cohort a year, which our volunteers can run without paid staff."

It is short, has real numbers and names its fallback. That is what funders are looking for.

Words to avoid

• "We will seek further funding." This says nothing. Name the sources and your track record with them.
• "The project will be self-sustaining." Explain how.
• "We hope to continue." Funders want a plan, not a hope.

Ending well for the people involved

If a service will end, plan the ending with the people who use it. Tell them early, help them find other support, and record what you learned. Funders value organisations that end projects responsibly as well as those that keep them going.

Show it in your reporting too

If you are funded, report on the sustainability steps you said you would take. Funders notice organisations that do what they planned, and it strengthens your next application. Our grant monitoring and reporting guide explains how to build this into your reports, and our guide to how funders assess grant applications covers how assessors weigh this section.

Find funders that back lasting change

Some funders offer multi-year grants or core funding that make sustainability easier. GrantMatch lists open grants with their length and type. Browse grants for charities, or create a free profile and we will match you with funders that fit your plans.