Resources

We are considering making a grant to help relieve a mid-sized organization’s debt (from building purchase), and would be interested in hearing others’ experience and lessons learned in this area.

Member Story: United Way of Winnipeg

Nonprofits need certain capacities in order to deliver results. These include things like strong leaders, financial management, technology and office space, as well as softer things like communications, adaptability and relationships.

It can sometimes be difficult to pinpoint the leadership capacity needs of grantees and develop strategies to effectively address them. By listening closely, considering the full context in which nonprofits operate and clarifying desired goals, grantmakers can find ways to improve their support for nonprofit leadership. The expanded answer outlines a framework to help guide grantmakers’ thinking about the different levels and domains leadership development support can cover.

Nonprofit leaders have complex jobs. In order to excel in their roles and drive results, these leaders need ongoing support from funders and key partners. While there are no perfect leadership development approaches, GEO has found three key characteristics make them most effective: focusing on developing collective leadership of teams within and across organizations, ensuring that leadership development support is contextual, and providing continuous support for growth.

Nonprofits need skilled leaders, strong systems and the flexibility to continuously improve their work. As funders, we can play a key role in building the capacity of grantees, and we can offer this support in a number of different ways to boost nonprofit success. This piece offers an overview of how grantmakers can structure initiatives that seek to build grantee capacity.

How Should We Approach Capacity-Building Work?

This special supplement was created to capture the latest thinking about how nonprofit organizations, grantmakers, public funders and social entrepreneurs can increase the impact of successful solutions to urgent social challenges.

Member Story: Jewish Community Federation of San Francisco, the Peninsula, Marin and Sonoma Counties

There is not one “right way” to provide capacity-building support because each leader and organization is unique and circumstances are always changing. Grantmakers should keep “The Three Cs” in mind when providing capacity-building support: make it contextual, continuous and collective.