Three paths to self-funding

Where each funding decision leads — what closes the gap, when, and what it costs. Figures follow the 2026 budget in the continuity brief.

Income without donations

$169,500

Contracts, platform revenue and program grants

Total 2026 budget

$224,500

As set out in the continuity brief

Gap to close

$55,000

The 2026 donation requirement

Platform revenue is the engine we control — on its own it closes the gap. A further public sector service contract, worth $80,000 a year at SD43 scale, would close it several years sooner. Both depend on capacity.

1 · Capacity funded

Trained backup in place. The ED works on the organisation — growing the platform and pursuing contracts.

Platform revenue growth

15% a year

Self-funding, platform alone

FY2031

Additional service contract

Target FY2028

Bridge funding needed

$100,000–150,000

Outcome

Donation dependence ends.

2 · Half rate

No trained backup. The ED is absorbed in delivery; platform growth halves and contracts take twice as long.

Platform revenue growth

7.5% a year

Self-funding, platform alone

FY2039

Additional service contract

Target FY2030

Bridge funding needed

$190,000–380,000

Outcome

Same destination, years later, at over twice the cost.

3 · No funding

Growth stops. Delivery continues on the reduced $194,500 contingency budget until existing commitments are met.

Platform revenue growth

Flat

Self-funding, platform alone

Never

Additional service contract

None pursued

Bridge funding needed

—

Outcome

Wind down, or hand the operation to a successor.

What scenario 3 actually looks like

Without growth and funding the contingency budget is $25,000 short, with no reserve to absorb it — registration fees are collected in advance, and at the low point of the registration cycle the account holds about one month of running costs. So this is not a slow decline: it is one program year of transition, and the decision falls in the spring registration window.

That ending would be a transfer, not a shutdown. The platform, the SD43 relationship and a ten-year delivery record are all transferable, and the aim would be to place them with a successor — the school district itself, or another operator able to carry the platform team — so the programs continue.

Basis. Figures follow the 2026 operating budget and the foundation’s financial statements; the gap shown is the same $55,000 donation requirement the continuity brief sets out. A twelve-year growth record sits alongside both. All three scenarios hold the budget at 2% growth a year, program grants flat at $19,500, and any further contract valued at SD43 scale carrying its own delivery cost. These are projections, not commitments. The platform growth rates are targets the relaunch and camp expansion are built to reach; the contract years are planning targets whose timing depends on public sector procurement cycles DWUL does not control.