Capacity building involves strengthening nonprofit organizations so they can better achieve their missions. Types of capacity building include:

1. Helping nonprofits assess their needs for capacity building - so they can receive the services that will most help them meet current challenges and grow healthily,
2. Providing consultation, technical assistance and access to information or other resources needed to meet challenges and grow, and
3. Offering direct financial support, to increase fiscal stability and build the organization's infrastructure.

These services can enhance nonprofit functioning in many areas, such as administration, finance, human resources, technology and facility management.

DSYF'S INITIATIVE

In 2007 Dwight Stuart Youth Fund began a Capacity-Building Initiative, which grantmaking functions are described in our Grantmaking section.  In this section we present Capacity Building News and Youth Services News (updated quarterly), and a set of information resources to help local youth-serving nonprofits.

CAPACITY BUILDING NEWS - Resources for Youth-Serving Agencies in Los Angeles County

News

Project Grantsmanship is a partnership of Dwight Stuart Youth Fund, the Annenberg Foundation, California Community Foundation, the Ralph M. Parsons Foundation, and the Grantsmanship Center. The partner foundations underwrite 90 percent of the tuition for eligible nonprofit leaders to attend The Grantsmanship Center’s five-day Grantsmanship Training Program.  Click for further information and to register.

Publications

Building Bridges: How One Nonprofit Links Korean Americans With Health Care While numerous agencies exist for Spanish Speaking immigrants, and the Spanish language abounds throughout California, help isn’t as readily accessible for people speaking Asian languages. This article describes how one woman, driven by a vision, established a nonprofit organization, Korean Community Services (KCS), to help Korean immigrants of all ages find health care. To access the PDF, click here.

Building Nonprofit Capacity: A Guide to Managing Change Through Organizational Lifecycles In this book, authors John Brothers, Senior Fellow at the Support Center for Nonprofit Management, and Anne Sherman, of TCC Group, offer help to nonprofit leaders in figuring out how to effectively navigate change within their organizations, no matter how large or small. They use the theory of nonprofit “lifecycle advancement’ as a type of change management that can help organizations build capacities that are appropriate to each stage of their organization’s evolution. For more information, click here.

Capacity Building for Nonprofits: A Hartford Example is a paper that discusses the need for nonprofit capacity building - stressing accountability, leadership and adaptability, as illustrated in a particular community. To access and download, click here.

A Charity's Guide to Vehicle Donations covers anything an organization might want/need to know if it decides to start a vehicle donation program to add to its fundraising efforts. To access the guide, click here.

Clients at the Center: Realizing the Potential of Multi-Service Organizations is an article about the important role of Multi-Service Organizations (MSO’s) - nonprofits that provide services across multiple categories such as substance abuse, housing, and education - are uniquely positioned to provide this kind of holistic help. To access the article, click here.  

The Donor-Grantee Trap: Executive Summary explores how ineffective collaboration undermines philanthropic results for society, and what can be done about it.  It is a brief, overview guide for nonprofit leaders, their boards, and their donors. Click here to access this summary.

Effective Fundraising for Human Service Organizations is an article by Bonnie Ozinski, Director of Development for the Glaucoma Foundation. In it she points out the differences between raising funds for human service organizations as compared with fundraising for other types of organizations. Click here to read the article.

A Few Good Tools for EAdvocacy Advocacy organizations often encourage their grassroots supporters to influence politicians and corporations using different methods, from promoting a cause or opposing legislation to challenging ad campaigns or policies. A large display of public opinion can have a powerful message, and advocacy groups often help to focus and channel this support to make the most impact. It used to be done by mail, but this article shows how an organization can use internet-based communication tools to accomplish the same result. Click here to read the article.

Is "Open Source" Right for Your Organization? Lots of people seem to be talking about “open source” software these days, but for non-techies, it’s not always easy to find out more about this option. The term “open source” itself means that the actual source code written by programmers can be viewed, modified or downloaded by anyone, and the software is typically developed, marketed and distributed by a loosely organized community of individuals rather than a vendor. Click here to access the article.

The Power of Nonprofits charts the history of nonprofits in America and the impact they've had on the accomplishments, laws, and conditions and more of this country. Click here to access.

Quick Tips for Getting Your Job Search Together is a guide created by Kristin Saulnier, based on the information shared at a workshop of the Boston Chapter of Young Nonprofit Professionals Network, that includes Power Search Strategies, Basic Search Strategies and Takeaways. To access the article, click here.

Ten Myths About Nonprofit Boards by Blue Avocado's Jan Masaoka that explores the current assumptions about nonprofit boards and presents the correct facts to dispel those myths. They include: “Nonprofits have to comply with Sarbanes-Oxley,” “The best size for a board is 16,” and “The annual approval of the budget is the cornerstone of the board's financial oversight.” To access the article, click here.

Twittionary: A Guide to Twitter Terms and Shorthand Abbreviations was created by Ross Penkala, a Communications Intern at Third Sector New England as a guide for staff beginning to read and use Twitter. It includes words, phrases and abbreviations that are relevant while tweeting about the nonprofit sector. To access the article, click here.

Your Nonprofit Marketing Bank is an article that describes a Marketing Bank as a a single location where all of the components needed for marketing, and that is often provided to others, is stored. Building a marketing bank will save a lot of time, because that logo, program description, color palette, etc. is readily available. Staff and volunteers can be sent right to it, saving even more time. The bank can be stored on a shared drive, ideally where others can access it remotely. To read this entire article, click here.

Events

Next Generation Organizations: Nine Key Traits is a Webinar on December 14, 2012, from 2:00 pm to 3:30 pm EST, offered by the Alliance for Nonprofit Management. This webinar will encompass a discussion of what the characteristics of next generation organizations and leaders will be. It will also review a self-reflection tool that capacity builders can use to help leaders raise the bar on mission impact by operating in a fundamentally different way. Click here for more information and to register.

Other Resources

Grants for Native American Organizations The Administration for Native Americans within the Administration for Children and Families announces the availability of funds for new community-based projects under the Social and Economic Development Strategies, or SEDS, program. This year, SEDS is focused on strengthening children, families, and communities through community-based organizations, Tribes and Village governments. Due date for applications is January 31, 2012. To view the requirements, click here.

YOUTH SERVICES NEWS - Resources for Youth-Serving Agencies in Los Angeles County

Publications

Bright Idea: Libraries Offer a Variety of Resources to Homeless Youth is an article that offers ways that an agency working with homeless youth can partner with a local library to offer services to clients. Not only are there books to read, but computers that can be used, DVD’s that can be checked out, participation in clubs and classes, and possibly many other benefits. To access the article, click here.

An Invitation to the Big Picture: Implementing a Local Collaboration for Youth in Your Community is a resource guide for local child- and youth-serving organizations to ensure that youth are ready for college, work and life. Produced by the National Collaboration for Youth, it provides step-by-step actions to form a local collaboration. To access the guide, click here.

More Bang for the Buck: Increasing Efficiency Without Hurting Quality examines how three youth-serving organizations became more efficient without sacrificing quality. Teach for America, Jumpstart, and Year Up all standardized their best practices, invested in essential people and processes, managed their costs, and tracked their progress to create "more bang for the buck." To access, click here.

Progress and Challenges in the Youth Development Field What have been the biggest changes in the United States youth development landscape over the past 10 years? What might influence the field over the next 10? These questions shaped a vigorous panel discussion during Bridgespan's 10th anniversary celebration. To access a report on this discussion, click here.

Yes! Youth Empowerment Strategies for All The National Clearing House on Families  and Youth has a collection of articles with tips on helping youth in diverse populations. They include: Working with Children of Prisoners, Working with Preganant and Parenting Youth, Working with Youth Who Have Developmental Disabilities, Working With Youth Who Have Mental Health Problems and Working With Youth Who Are At Risk of Gang Activity. To access, click here.  

Events

Other Resources

2012 FYSB Mural Contest Agencies that serve homeless and runaway youth can enter their young peoples’ designs into a contest and win the material with which they can paint the actual mural. Designs and applications are due by 5 pm on Friday, January 20, 2012. For application information and other details, click here.

Children’s Theatre Projects Support The Children's Theatre Foundation of America’s grantmaking focus is on theatre for children and youth, the utilization of drama/theatre in education for children grades K-12, and development opportunities for theatre artists working in the area of children’s theatre in the United States. The Foundation’s Aurand Harris Children's Theatre Grants Program supports small and mid-sized nonprofit theatres for premieres of promising new plays for children, the establishment of special production projects for children's theatre, and performance expenses of U.S. children's theatres to participate in national or international festivals. Grants generally range from $1,000 to $3,000. The deadline for Request to Submit applications is January 13, 2012. For additional information and an application, click here.

Foster Youth Writing and Education Project is a program that was begun by L.A. Youth, the teen newspaper, in 2003. Through the Foster Youth Writing and Education Project, which began in 2003, L.A. Youth has been publishing stories written by foster and probation youth from Los Angeles County. This project gives the youth an opportunity to reflect on their experiences and a forum to voice their concerns, while also informing others about the system and the challenges they face. To read more about the project and for access to the stories written by foster youth, click here.

Funding Available for Equity Programs for Women and Girls The American Association of University Women (AAUW) Educational Foundation works to advance educational and professional opportunities for women in the United States. The AAUW Community Action Grants program provides funds to individuals, AAUW organizations, and local community-based nonprofit organizations throughout the country for innovative programs or non-degree research projects that promote education and equity for women and girls. Special consideration is given to projects focused on K-12 and community college girls' and women's achievements in science, technology, engineering, or math. One-year grants of up to $7,000 provide seed money for new projects; two-year grants of up to $10,000 provide start-up funds for longer-term programs that address the particular needs of the community and develop girls' sense of efficacy through leadership or advocacy opportunities. The application deadline for both types of grants is January 15, 2012. For additional information and an application, click here.

Grants.gov Youth Funding Opportunity Grants Youth serving opportunities and partnerships at the state and local level report that using Grants.gov to find funding opportunities to serve youth and their families is a challenge. FindYouthInfo.gov has a new tool  that helps to solve this problem by allowing users to search for grants for programs that specifically serve youth and their families. The search tool taps into the Grants.gov database and allows users to customize their search results by applying keywords and filters for youth-related topics (such as bullying, mental health, and substance abuse) and grant-providing agencies. For more information and to access the new tool, click here.  

Grants that Encourage Environmental Stewardship Programs for Youth: The Captain Planet Foundation supports educational programs that enable youth to understand and appreciate our world through hands-on projects to improve the environment. The Foundation is interested in funding innovative programs that inspire youth to participate in community service through environmental stewardship activities. An additional priority is to fund programs that encourage environment-based education in schools. All funded projects must involve young people ages 6-18 (elementary through high school). Nonprofit organizations and public schools are eligible to apply for grants of up to $2,500. Applications are reviewed three times per year; the first deadline for 2012 is January 15. For additional information and to apply, click here.

Library-Based Literacy Programs Recognized: The Better World Books/National Center for Family Literacy (NCFL) Libraries and Families Award recognizes innovative library-based literacy programs for families. Library programs throughout the country with a strong intergenerational approach to helping parents and children learn together are encouraged to apply. Programs that serve communities and families with high literacy and socioeconomic needs are of special interest. Both previously existing and new programs are eligible for the award. Three libraries will win a $10,000 grant and a trip to NCFL's annual conference. The application deadline is February 6, 2012. For additional information and an application, click here.

Scholastic Art & Writing Awards The Alliance for Young Artists & Writers invites creative teens in grades 7-12 to submit work in 28 categories of art and writing, including film and animation, video-game design, sculpture, photography, fashion design, poetry, journalism, humor, dramatic script-writing and science fiction. Past winners include Andy Warhol, Sylvia Plath, Truman Capote, Richard Avedon, Robert Redford and Joyce Carol Oates. Due date is January 15, 2012. For more information and to apply, click here.

Teen Line is a counseling service, staffed by trained teens who listen with a sympathetic ear and can offer sound advice. Frequently teens have problems they’re uncomfortable talking about to adults, and this is a way to be able to bounce the problems off of someone in the same age group. Teen Line is accessible by phone, online, through texting and several other ways of communication. To learn more about the services offered, click here

REFERRAL RESOURCES

Capacity-building services are available from various organizations and individuals throughout Los Angeles County. Some are offered on a fee-for-service basis. Other services are offered at reduced cost or free of charge to nonprofits (often because they are underwritten by a third party), or are offered directly by a funder (foundation, business, individual donor, religious institution or government agency) that pays for them.

Any youth-serving nonprofit wishing to build capacity needs to identify the right resources to assist in that process. One referral source for this purpose is the Resource Directory for Nonprofit Capacity Building in Los Angeles County (eighth edition, 2011), which describes funders, consultants, management support organizations and other resources that can help build capacity.  To download a free copy of this Directory, click here.

ASSESSMENT RESOURCES

To build capacity, nonprofits first need to do a careful needs assessment, looking at the organization as a living system and figuring out a strategy for how to strengthen it. Basic questions about capacity building, which any nonprofit might use to start a discussion among staff or board, are the following:

1. What kinds of needs for improvement do we have at the present time?
2. Are we ready to build capacity to meet these needs better?
    - Do we have the resources (financial, personnel, etc.) to undertake capacity building?
    - Are we agreed among staff, board and executive director about the need for capacity       building and the right way to do it?
    - Is anything else happening in our organization or in the community that we should       take account of in planning for capacity building? (other major changes or
      capacity-building efforts happening at the same time, a crisis or problem that
      is absorbing all our energy, etc.)
3. Who will lead the capacity-building work inside our organization?
4. How will we find the capacity-building information or technical assistance to help us?
5. How will we know when we succeed?

Specific subject areas in which capacity building may be needed include: