Leveraging Your Assets to Support
Nonprofit Capacity Building
Thomas W. Knowlton
Director of Corporate Practice
TCC Group
strategies to achieve social impact
Session Overview
Why Support Capacity Building?
What is it and Why Does it Make Sense for Corporations?
Introduction to Capacity Building
• Definition, Activities
• Lessons Learned, Benefits for Company
Examples from the Field
• Goldman Sachs, Pfizer, Wachovia
• Issues to Consider
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Introduction to Capacity Building
What Is Capacity Building?
Any activity that strengthens
nonprofit performance and impact.
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What is Nonprofit Organizational Capacity?
Organization
Adaptive Capacity
Monitoring, assessing, and responding to
internal and external changes4
• Networking/collaborating
• Assessing organizational
effectiveness
• Evaluating programs
and services
• Planning
Leadership Capacity
Management Capacity
Organizational
Culture
• Visioning
• Directing
• Inspiring
• Innovating
• Prioritizing
• Modeling
• Decision-Making
• Ensuring effective and
efficient use of
organizational resources
Technical Capacity
“Doing” the work of the organization, delivering programs
and services
• Technology
• Accounting
• Budgeting
• Fundraising
• Facilities development and maintenance
• Marketing/communications
• Evaluation/research
• Legal
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Capacity-Building Activities
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Organizational assessment (e.g., CCAT)
Strategic planning
Collaborations/strategic restructuring
Evaluation
Leadership development and human resources management (e.g.
succession planning, building cultural competency)
Board development
Fund development
Facilities planning
Financial systems
Technology upgrades
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Methods of Providing Capacity Building
Assistance
•
Publications
•
Training and education
•
Peer exchanges
•
Convening
•
Mentoring
•
Coaching
•
Consulting
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The Nonprofit Organizational Lifecycle Model
Mature
Stagnant
Adolescent
Start – Up
Defunct
This model is adapted from Susan K. Stevens’ Nonprofit Lifecycles: Staged-Based Wisdom for
Nonprofit Capacity (Stagewise Enterprises, 2002.)
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Mixing and Matching Capacity-Building
Services
Participating
Organizations
Consulting
Mesa Grande
Multi-service
Center
■
Big Brothers –
Big Sisters
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Coaching
Peer
Exchange
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YWCA
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YouthForce
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Training
Convening
■
■
■
■
■
■
■
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A Sample Model for Tiered Levels of
Participation in a Long-Term Initiative
12 Participants receive:
•Grants
•Consulting
•Coaching
30 Participants receive:
•Peer exchange
•Training
•Convening
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Capacity-Building Strategies
Funders
General
operating
support
grants
Program
grants that
address
organizational
effectiveness
Direct
management
assistance
Grants
specifically to
increase
organizational
effectiveness
Capital
financing to
capacity builders
and
intermediaries
Capital
financing
Grants to
Grants to
researchers,
educators, and
conveners
capacity
builders
Capacity
builders &
intermediaries
Knowledge &
information
is shared
Knowledge &
information
is shared
Researchers, educators and
conveners conduct research,
evaluate, educate, train,
organize peer networks &
convene NGOs
to NGOs
Capital
financing Capacity
building
to NGOs
services to
NGOs
Knowledge &
information
is shared
Nonprofits
Improve their organizational effectiveness and performance, resulting in a stronger
nonprofit sector and stronger communities
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Lessons Learned by Corporate Funders
•
Start by listening and learning from the community and conducting
organizational assessments
•
Build on nonprofit strengths
•
Do no harm—use your power wisely
•
One size does not fit all
•
Commit for the long haul
•
Set priorities for what type of organizational capacity you intend to
build
•
Ensure that capacity-building services are culturally appropriate
•
Consider supporting advocacy efforts to create systemic change
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Reasons for Corporate Funders to Invest in
Capacity Building
Build deeper relationships with
key stakeholders
• Overcome cynicism
• Create good will
ambassadors; credible thirdparty advocates
Enhance program impact
Increase nonprofit and
community sustainability,
helping to reduce disparities
Leverage philanthropic dollars
Utilize unique skills and
resources
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Examples from the Field
Goldman Sachs
The Capacity Initiative
Goldman Sachs is committed to helping businesses grow
and succeed and helping clients achieve their goals. We
take the same approach with the nonprofit sector, and
over the years have dedicated staff and resources to
provide nonprofits with advice and support. This enables
the firm to strengthen its relationships in those
communities and drive their growth.
Goldman Sachs continued this tradition with the launch of
The Capacity Building Initiative, a program that helped
nonprofit organizations increase their impact through
capacity building assistance. The program focused on
areas that aligned with core competencies of the firm and
the expertise of Goldman Sachs people, including
leadership development, strategic planning, financial
management and technology. The program provided two
levels of support:
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Goldman Sachs
Capacity Academy
Through the Capacity Building Initiative Academy,
organizations in New York, Chicago and London received:
• Organizational capacity assessments, and
• Workshops on specific areas of capacity building, including board
development, program evaluation, financial management,
strategic planning and staff development.
Capacity Partners
A select number of organizations in the US and Europe that
demonstrated they could achieve significantly greater results with
targeted assistance were chosen as Capacity Partners and
supported with cash grants to finance services and consulting to
strengthen their internal capacity.
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Pfizer and Wachovia
Both Pfizer and Wachovia provided capacity building
support to their grantees through:
• Conferences and Convenings
• Assessments
• Networking Opportunities
Both companies engaged senior leadership in their major convenings;
communicated commitment to grantees about support of the program.
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Issues to Consider
• What skills and resources are available in your
company?
• What obstacles do you face in utilizing those skills and
resources for capacity building for organizations?
• Which groups of grantees would you like to target with
capacity building?
• Are there “low hanging fruit” opportunities?
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Thank You!