It’s been my experience in mission-driven organizations (nonprofits, associations, libraries, educational institutions, and government organizations) that we often leave project approvals to those who control the money and resources.

Because our projects are often only feasible with grants or special funding, we adopt our funder's approval process or grant application process as our project approval process. If we get the money or resources, the project’s approved!

But when we put too much reliance on funding approvals as our only approval process, we often miss other important considerations.

As part of project approval, mission-driven organizations should consider:

1. Project Alignment - How well does the project align with our strategic priorities and objectives?

2. Project Feasibility - Is this project feasible, given our existing staff and resources? if not, and we need to build capacity in some way or get funding or resources, is that feasible? And if we already had that capacity or those resources, is this how they'd be best put to use by our organization?

3. Project Impact - What are the short-term and long-term impacts of the project and its outcomes on our team, organization, and community? Who will the project itself impact? Who will be impacted by what the project is going to create? Are we able to sustain the outcomes that the project will build?

Even if your project can’t move forward without a funder’s approval, I recommend having a project approval process that considers alignment, feasibility, and impact as a precursor to pursuing funding.

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