By: Bernice Sanders Smoot

Bernice Sanders Smoot
Thu, 29 Oct 2009 22:36:30 +0000

As a DC native and a "shoestring sustainability" trainer to the federal government for social-services grantees nationwide, I am delighted to see a collective group of area nonprofits demonstrate ROI. My hope is that you won't stop there. Should you develop and produce the full picture of your cost-benefits, individually as programs and collectively by social-services sector and region, it will do much to increase local donor and government support. "Grassroots" federal grantees we've trained on our simpified approach to demonstrating the myriad social costs and savings their programs produce are now finding it easier to attract state-level funding, receive supplemental federal funding, make a compelling case for donations, and explore social-enterprise creation to generate unrestricted income -- clearly worth the effort.