Need a plan for funding 2025? This toolkit can help.

Even though 2024 is not quite wrapped, no doubt many of you have been planning–and fretting–about funding and plans for 2025. I know we have here at the Afterschool Alliance… we’ve been making our lists, and checking them twice, or maybe four or five times, to make sure we are ready for the year ahead.

For those of you feeling overwhelmed, or needing a place to get started, we have good news! The Sustainability Workbook can help you organize your plans, and stake out key short- and long-term strategies to gain funding.

The kit is filled with:

• Templates and worksheets to help you map out where you are, where you need go, and the connections that may help you get there
• Stories from your colleagues on their afterschool funding efforts
• Tips and insight from afterschool and sustainability experts with decades of experience

The workbook focuses on three fundamental elements:

1. Building Collaboration: Strategically considering whose support you need in your community, and developing appropriate outreach efforts and vehicles for involvement in your programs, and utilizing their resources to contribute to both the quality and sustainability of the program.

2. Advocating for Support: Rallying leaders from education institutions, businesses, community- and faith-based institutions, government and other parts of the community and encouraging them to use their power and influence to generate support for your program.

3. Finding Funding: Based on the resources you need, systematically developing a variety of financing strategies and zeroing in on funding sources to provide a diverse and stable base of resources over time.

Use the Sustainability Workbook to help you get clarity on your strategies and plans, and lower your stress and worry about funding the years ahead!