Q: How can funders and nonprofits work together to increase organizational capacity?

Capacity building helps strengthen nonprofit leadership, management, and governance.  Funders want to know about what works well and what types of support best meet the needs of their grantee partners. They are looking at how investments in capacity building help nonprofits stay true to their mission and keep programs running smoothly in the face of limited resources and increased demand. In a project with the New Jersey Health Initiative of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, we are building the capacity of 11 "anchor" community agencies.  By working closely with each organization and understanding their individual needs, we are providing tailored resources and support to help improve service delivery to their communities and constituents. 

Q: What capacity-building activities do you find are most crucial?

 

I think of capacity building as critical to helping nonprofits get "ready, set, and GO." One-time events, quick learning, and skill-building -- activities to get "ready" -- are the most often funded. These include trainings, workshops, and conferences. Many funders also support board development and strategic plan facilitation, which help grantees get "set." Creating a plan is important, but it is just the first step. More nonprofits need tailored support implementing and learning from these plans. This is the extra propulsion to "go."     

 

This "ready, set, go" framework is a helpful way to assess when nonprofits are prepared to undertake different types of capacity building, what they need to implement these activities, and how they can foster ongoing learning and communication.

 

Q: And, how do you make sure new skills and capacities "stick?"

 

Working with Feeding America, we facilitated a peer exchange with 10 program leaders. This was an important opportunity for them to share ideas, experiences, and solutions with one another. The energy in the room was infectious! To ensure that learnings "live on," we helped each participant create an action plan -- specific steps to implement their new ideas. I am excited to see their progress when we follow-up in a few months.

 

As TCC's Director of Capacity Building, Sally Munemitsu has assisted a wide range of organizations, including nonprofit networks, private philanthropies, and corporate foundations. She currently serves on the board of the Asian Arts Initiative in Philadelphia.

Program measurement doesn't need to be a daunting or difficult task. Instead, evaluation can empower leaders and program designers with insights that can truly improve outcomes. A Research & Development (R&D) approach to evaluation provides specific programmatic information about what is and is not working -- from the perspective of those receiving the intervention. By  resolving to engage in learning through R&D, nonprofit leaders can measure success and make ongoing improvements.   

Recently, two senior centers in Pennsylvania used the R&D approach to create a shared learning system to monitor and improve their quality, relevancy, and cost-effectiveness. "The data didn't tell us about the programs as much as it told us about the people," said one executive director. "We understood more about the ways people reacted to a variety of program elements, and this helped us to make adjustments." Read more. 

Developing, implementing, and improving strategy -- be it programmatic or organizational -- is difficult. But it is also very important and worth the effort, as an effective strategy provides leaders with criteria  for making important decisions and increasing the overall quality of their work.

Join us on Thursday, October 25 at 1pm Eastern for a free webinar, "Driving Nonprofit Strategy for Social Impact." Senior Partner Paul Connolly and Senior Consultant Bonnie Mazza will discuss frameworks and offer advice to guide leaders through the strategy process. Register here. 

Please note that this webinar is intended for nonprofit leaders and board members.  We will host a separate strategy webinar for funders in November.

• Chris Cardona discusses "How Two Community Foundations Balance Head and Heart" in a recent blog for the Council on Foundations.   
• Paul Connolly and Robert Ross opine in The Chronicle of Philanthropy on "Foundations Are Wise to Offer Grants and Management Coaching."
• Chris Cardona blogs for the Council on Foundations about "Non-Superstitious Use of Data: The Missing Link Between Your Revenue Model and Your Business Model."
• Philanthropy New York shares Paul Connolly's blog on "Community Philanthropy: Using Both Sides of the Brain."
• Susan Hoechstetter discusses TCC's expertise in organizational capacity in a piece for the  Foundation Center, "Advocacy Capacity and Effectiveness: What Funders and Grantees Need to Know."