How Did They Do It? Rippleffect’s Strategic Approach to Financial Sustainability

The financial landscape of the past two decades has been nothing short of tumultuous — from economic recessions to a highly disruptive pandemic to federal funding rollbacks. Few nonprofit organizations have come out of this period unscathed, and many continue to test out strategies for securing longer-term sustainability.

In this challenging financial moment, Portland’s Rippleffect seems to have found a way forward.

By transitioning from large, one-time federal and state funding sources to smaller, ongoing funding streams, the environmental youth development organization has done what many nonprofits are working hard to do: achieved financial stability and the ability to plan longer term. Here’s how the organization did it.

An Inside Look at Rippleffect

With a 26-acre eco-campus on Cow Island and a range of environmental programs, Rippleffect’s primary goal is to use adventure to develop the next generation of leaders.

“Our main focus is to be a program of access to outdoor experiences for any child in Maine,” says Adam Shepherd, executive director. “We want to lower the financial, cultural, and operational barriers that exist.”

To achieve this goal, the Rippleffect team offers low- or no-cost adventures, including zip lining, kayaking, and climbing, as well as a robust gear store and boat charters around various Casco Bay islands. The Rippleffect Outdoor Leadership Education (ROLE) program, supported in part by an Onion Foundation grant, uses team-building activities to help students grow their collaborative problem-solving skills and learn what it means to be a leader to oneself, one’s peers, and one’s community.

Facing Financial Strain

Rippleffect’s lineup of programs is truly robust, spanning locations and serving more than 4,000 youth each year. The financial investment needed to run the lineup successfully is also hefty.

But like most organizations, Rippleffect was hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic. Many of the organization’s programs weren’t compatible with social distancing protocols, which required it to pause some revenue-generating activities. Program shifts led to financial strain, especially as federal and state funding became even more difficult to obtain.

The Rippleffect team leveraged federal Paycheck Protection Program loans to fill in the revenue gaps — but they remained vigilant about how they used those funds, knowing they wouldn’t be available long term.

“We worked really hard to be conservative in how we utilized that funding, and we tightened our belt fiscally to enable us to maintain our staffing structure,” says Shepherd. “If we had trimmed our staff, we would’ve lost a generation of programming knowledge.”

As the pandemic unfolded, the organization took advantage of various federal and state granting and loan programs to ensure it remained afloat. Simply staying afloat, however, wasn’t the goal. Building lasting sustainability was.

Building a Better Budgeting System

Shepherd knew that large, one-time funding wasn’t the pathway to sustainability: “I would rather do less programming on $90,000 of grant funding than expand with $180,000 for a particular funding program that’s going to end in a year.”

Federal grants and loans, while useful, could only serve as bridge funding while Rippleffect built a more stable funding approach. So the team worked to diversify their revenue streams, improve revenue-generating activities, and layer in philanthropic funds to cover their core operating costs. Several intentional decisions led to the organization’s success:

1. Planning Ahead

Rippleffect began creating a sustainability strategy in 2021, with the goal of balancing revenue generation and grant funding to secure about $150,000 each year — the total needed to sustain programming in addition to its regular budget, which was largely supported by revenue. Getting ahead of the issue before it impacted staffing and programming decisions was critical, as it allowed the organization to:

• Gradually make the shift from one-time funds to smaller philanthropic streams without disrupting programming

• Separate operating costs and programming costs, ensuring grant funding went directly to the programs and the people those programs served — which helped the team more effectively make the case for program support to private funders

• Forecast costs and address potential funding gaps before they occurred

• Treat any opportunistic federal or state funding programs as supplemental to the overall budget — not something critical for it to financially survive

Because of its meticulous, proactive planning, Rippleffect was able to make the switch over time. By 2025, the organization hit the sweet spot, with a wide range of smaller philanthropic grants from multiple funders that would cover program costs for years to come.

2. Layering Grant Funding

It’s tempting for nonprofit organizations to apply for as many grant funds as possible as early as possible. But staggering applications and awards can be a better sustainability strategy. “We created a grants calendar to ensure that we’re not tapping all of our funding sources in one year, but instead have them staged over time,” says Shepherd. “I can now look at my budget and project ahead.”

When the organization reestablished the ROLE program after a pandemic-related hiatus, for example, the team planned out years of potential grants to ensure long-term stability for the program. “We feathered in grants over time so we could enact the program operationally without jumping from government funding into applying for all of our grants at once.”

This strategy requires more patience and long-term thinking, but as Rippleffect exemplifies, it often leads to a greater long-term success.

3. Building Relationships With Funders

Part of what works for Rippleffect’s approach is the team’s intentional relationship-building with grant funders, which enables them to truly connect with the funding sources that resonate with the organization’s goals.

“We want to operate in good faith, understand what funders’ priorities are, and ensure that what we do aligns with their priorities,” says Shepherd. “We look at these granting organizations as true partners in the work.”

Engaging with program officers prior to grant cycles helps Shepherd gain a strong pulse on whether his team is on the right track with grant applications. It also helps him better understand the funding landscape and make more informed financial decisions.

4. Staying Focused on North Star Goals

“There’s a temptation for rationalizing mission creep when you’re trying to secure some of those big pockets of funding,” explains Shepherd. “But that can impact culture and bring about a negative turning point.”

As Rippleffect illustrates, focusing on smaller pockets of funding from grantmaking sources that connect well with the organization’s mission enables teams to ground their decisions in their specific niche.

Previously, Rippleffect brought in significant revenue by hosting weddings on Cow Island. Yet, the impact to staff wellbeing was far too great, leaving staff members burnt out before the youth education programs opened up. After putting the financial and cultural impacts in conversation with one another, the Rippleffect team quickly decided to cut the wedding events program and invest in other revenue-generating activities to fill the financial gap.

“Always ask: Is this in service to our mission?” advises Shepherd. “If you can’t answer that with an emphatic yes, then you should let it go.”

Flexibility, Agility, and Sustainability

Since switching up its approach to funding, Rippleffect has achieved full financial stability without relying on large federal or state programs. The organization is far more agile now, too — smaller funding changes require smaller adjustments, not dramatic cuts.

As the Rippleffect team looks ahead to what comes next, they’re redefining growth altogether. What’s possible with a sustainable foundation? Anything.