Frankly Inspired

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Nonprofit Sustainability Self-Assessment

21 quick questions across all seven InstitutionalOS Health Index dimensions: strategy, program and impact evidence, revenue, leadership, operations, partnerships, and governance and risk. Takes about 7 minutes. Each answer is a level of evidence, from “not in place” to “verified,” the same rubric the paid diagnostic checks. Your answers stay in your browser unless you choose to email yourself the results. Four of these areas also have a deeper, dedicated tool if you want to go further afterward.

Section 1 of 7: Sustainability Strategy

How to answer: choose the level you could show evidence for
1 · Not in place
We don't do this.
2 · Talked about
Discussed or planned, but not started.
3 · Informal
It happens, but isn't written down or consistent.
4 · Documented
Written down and in regular use; you could show it.
5 · Verified
Routine and reviewed; it would hold up if a funder or board checked.

If you're between two levels, pick the lower one. An honest score is more useful than a flattering one. How scoring works.

1. Sustainability Strategy

Our organization has a clear, written strategic plan that guides major decisions.
Leadership regularly reviews organizational risks and has a plan to address them.
We have a defined sustainability roadmap for the next 1-3 years.

2. Revenue Diversification

We track how much of our budget depends on any single funder, and act before one source grows too large a share.
We have active strategies for grants, corporate partnerships, and earned or contracted revenue.
We track and forecast our revenue pipeline at least quarterly.

3. Leadership & Organizational Development

Roles and performance expectations are clearly defined across the organization.
Leadership has a plan for developing staff and building bench strength.
The board and executive team agree on strategic priorities in writing and revisit them together at least once a year.

4. Operations & Infrastructure

We use consistent systems (CRM, project management, etc.) to track our work and data.
We have KPIs or dashboards that leadership reviews regularly.
Our operational workflows are documented well enough that a new hire could follow them.

5. Partnership & Ecosystem Strategy

We maintain active partnerships across sectors (education, workforce, government, corporate, community) and know what each one contributes.
We have a deliberate strategy for building and stewarding partnerships, not just ad hoc relationships.
Our key partnerships are formalized (MOUs or agreements) where appropriate.

6. Program & Impact Evidence

Based on the Performance Imperative framework from the Leap Ambassadors Community and standard outcome-measurement practice.

Each major program has a written logic model or theory of change linking its activities to the outcomes we expect.
We regularly collect outcome data (changes in participants’ lives), not just outputs such as people served or sessions held.
We use our results to improve or change programs, and could show a funder an example of when we did.

7. Governance & Risk

Based on the governance questions in Part VI of IRS Form 990 and BoardSource research on board practice.

Our board has adopted the core policies Form 990 asks about: conflict of interest, whistleblower, and document retention.
The full board receives our Form 990 before it’s filed and reviews our annual financial statements or audit.
The board formally evaluates the executive director at least once a year.