HSNF 3 | Building Sustainable Revenue in Human Service Organizations 101

Thursday, January 28, 2027, 6:00 PM–9:00 PM ET through Thursday, February 4, 2027, 6:00 PM–9:00 PM ET

Online via Zoom

Continuing Education Offered

• 6 hours regular live interactive online

Description

This six-hour course provides a practical, plain-language introduction to how human service organizations can strengthen and grow their revenue in a challenging and uncertain funding environment. Participants will explore how mission, programs, and finances connect, and why many well-run organizations still struggle financially. The course focuses on real-world funding structures in human services, including government contracts, foundation grants, individual giving, and earned revenue, with attention to the risks and tradeoffs of each.

Rather than emphasizing theory alone, the course equips participants with tools to assess their current funding mix and identify realistic opportunities to diversify revenue without compromising mission or values. By the end of the course, participants will leave with a clear framework and a short-term revenue action plan they can apply within their own organization.

Objectives

1. Describe and compare major human service revenue streams (government contracts, foundation grants, individual giving, and earned revenue), including their typical requirements, timelines, and risks.
2. Explain how mission, programs, and financial structures are interconnected and identify common reasons financially stressed organizations struggle despite strong program performance.
3. Analyze their organization’s current funding mix to identify revenue concentration risks, structural constraints, and underutilized funding opportunities.
4. Evaluate the tradeoffs of different revenue strategies by assessing their alignment with organizational mission, values, and operational capacity.
5. Select and justify practical revenue diversification strategies that are feasible within their organization’s size, staffing, and funding environment.
6. Develop a short-term (6–12 month) revenue action plan that outlines priority strategies, responsible roles, timelines, and next steps.

Agenda

Thursday, January 28, 2027

• 6:00pm–6:30pm The Reality of Human Service Funding. Why revenue is unstable in this sector and why diversification matters.
• 6:30pm–7:00pm Mission, Programs, and Money Alignment. Connecting services, outcomes, and funding in a way funders and payers understand.
• 7:00pm–7:30pm Understanding Your True Costs. Full cost accounting, indirect costs, and why underpricing harms sustainability.
• 7:30pm–8:00pm Mapping Current Revenue Streams. Government contracts, foundations, individual donors, earned income, and other sources.
• 8:00pm–8:30pm Risk Analysis of Funding Sources. Dependence, volatility, compliance burden, and political or economic exposure.
• 8:30pm–9:00pm Government Funding and Contracts. How to maximize reimbursement, manage compliance, and decide what not to pursue.

Thursday, February 4, 2027

• 6:00pm–6:30pm Foundation and Institutional Giving. What funders actually look for and how to position programs for success.
• 6:30pm–7:00pm Individual Giving Basics. Major donors, small donors, storytelling, and relationship-based fundraising.
• 7:00pm–7:30pm Earned Revenue and Fee-for-Service Models. When earned income works, when it doesn’t, and common pitfalls in human services.
• 7:30pm–8:00pm Blended and Creative Revenue Strategies. Mixing funding streams, partnerships, social enterprise, and cross-subsidization.
• 8:00pm–8:30pm Infrastructure That Supports Revenue Growth. Staff roles, data, evaluation, systems, and board involvement.
• 8:30pm–9:00pm Building a Practical Revenue Action Plan. Prioritizing strategies, setting realistic targets, and identifying next steps.

Instructor

Sue Ann Savas, MSW

CE Approval Statement

The University of Michigan School of Social Work, provider #1212, is approved to offer social work continuing education by the Association of Social Work Boards (ASWB) Approved Continuing Education (ACE) program. Regulatory boards are the final authority on courses accepted for continuing education credit. ACE provider approval period: 5/15/2026–5/15/2029. Social workers completing this course receive 6 general continuing education credits.

Please see the CE Policies page for more information about continuing education.