Youth Venture

Youth Ventures are unique because they are designed to be ongoing rather than one-time projects or events. This means that these Ventures have the power to make a lasting impact. Even if you do not plan to be involved with your Venture forever, it’s important to plan for your Venture’s future. Below is a list of some different aspects of Venture sustainability for you to think about. The Youth Venture “Sustainability Worksheet” can be used together with these questions.

Membership:

How are you going to recruit new members? How will you keep members interested and involved in your Venture? Here are some quick membership tips:

• Ensure that members feel needed and encouraged.
• Find out what members hope to accomplish and make that happen!
• Recognize hard work and acknowledge or reward it.
• Take advantage of what new members bring to the Venture such as energy, ideas, and new contacts.

Leadership:

How will you put new leaders into place when the current leaders leave? Who will be the driving force behind your Venture? Plan for sustainable leadership by:

• Giving members opportunities to gain more experience and responsibility.
• Sharing leadership roles with newer/younger members.
• Creating a system to choose a new leader. For example, your may want to hold yearly elections or have co-leaders.

Fundraising:

Youth Venture grants must be used in the first year of the Venture. How will your team raise money after YV funds are spent? You could decide to:

• Sell a product or a service.
• Request in-kind donations.
• Apply for grants or ask for individual donations.
• Hold fundraisers for your Venture.

Knowledge Management:

How will your Venture stay organized? How will your successes and lessons-learned be remembered? It’s important to keep records so new leaders don’t have to start from scratch. Here are some strategies:

• Create a “Venture Binder” full of information on strategies, events, contacts, passwords, finances, and other relevant information.
• Record reasons for successes and failures.
• Write up short “tutorials” or guides that teach new members how to do activities central to the Venture, such as updating your website.
• Create a logical organizational system that can be easily understood and used by many different people.

Sustainability Worksheet

Youth Ventures are able to make a lasting impact on their communities because they are designed to be ongoing clubs and businesses rather than one-time projects or events. The downloadable pdf. "Sustainability Worksheet" will help you plan for your Venture’s future, which may be beyond the current team’s involvement. Write your responses to the questions in the blank spaces. If you need additional space, photocopy or reprint the sheet.

© Youth Venture, 2007. All rights reserved.