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CAPACITY BUILDING Capacity building involves strengthening nonprofit organizations
so they can better achieve their missions. Types
of capacity building include: These services can enhance nonprofit functioning
in many areas, such as administration, finance, human resources,
technology and facility management.
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. For further information and registration information, click here.
Publications Managing Executive Transitions: A Guide for Nonprofits is a book written by the staff of CompassPoint and published by the organization. It guides nonprofits through a change in leadership, and can help boards and executive directors handle leadership turnovers in a way that prevents problems and sets the organization on a path for long-term success. To read more about it and/or buy the book, click here. The Cornerstones of Successful Fundraising: Marketing and Communication is an article written by Ed Lewis, MPA, CFRE, for Southern California Center for Nonprofit Management. The article starts from the assumption that it is important for nonprofit organizations to understand the principles of marketing and communications and how they can dramatically improve their fundraising efforts. In this article the author discusses key elements of both and how these important factors should ultimately result in a written marketing plan for the organization. To access the article, click here. Boomer Volunteer Engagement: Collaborate Today, Thrive Tomorrow is a book written by Jill Friedman Fixler with Sandie Eichberg and Gail Lorenz, and published by Fieldstone Alliance. Nonprofits face increased demand for services despite decreased budgets. Meanwhile, more than 78 million baby boomers have work experience and talent to spare. Furthermore, newly retired boomers are interested in leaving a social legacy through volunteerism. More also are flocking to nonprofits because they are unemployed due to the recession. They want to share their skills and make meaningful contributions during unemployment or retirement. This convergence is an opportunity for organizational capacity-building through the utilization of baby boomers’ skills, talents, and circles of influence. To learn more, click here. Seven Turning Points: Leading Through Pivotal Transitions in Organizational Life, by Susan Gross, a book published by Fieldstone Alliance, is intended for nonprofits undergoing significant management change. The author, an organization development consultant, devotes each chapter to a turning point most nonprofits face and ends each one with a summary that lists the signs that change is needed, changes that must be made, and what tensions can arise as a result of the transition process. For example, when a longtime chief executive steps down, charities should think about hiring from the outside for a fresh perspective and avoid placing the departing leader on the organization's board for at least a few years. The author cautions that any adjustments are neither permanent nor quick and that someone must serve as a catalyst for change, be it an individual or a group. To learn more, click here. Effective Economic Decision-Making by Nonprofit Organizations is the first book produced by National Center on Nonprofit Enterprise. It presents practical guidelines to help nonprofit managers advance their mission while balancing the interests of trustees, funders, government, and staff. The authors explore core operating decisions and provide solutions that work for nonprofits of any size. Chapters cover pricing of services, staff compensation, outsourcing, fundraising costs, investment policy, commercial ventures, institutional collaboration and internet trading. For more information and to order the book, click here.
Events Third Annual MENDing Poverty Conference will be held Wednesday, June 16, 2010, 8 am-2 pm at the MEND Center in Pacoima. The conference is for leaders of the Southern California nonprofit, funder and business communities, focused on challenges of poverty services. This year's theme is “Getting People Out of Poverty - Programs, Policies and Collaborations That Work!” Conference keynote speakers are Forces for Good author Heather Grant and community leader Connie Rice. Three break-out workshops will focus on the conference theme, with an opportunity for audience feedback to shape an action paper for wide circulation after the conference. The conference is co-hosted by MEND and Valley Nonprofit Resources; co-chairs are Carmel Sella of Wells Fargo Bank and Florence Green of IdeaEncore. For more information and to register, call or email Maggie Torres at MEND, 818/688-7350.
Other Resources Communications Resources for Nonprofit Organizations is a section of The California Wellness Foundation’s website, which examines the role of communications and tactics that can help further the missions of nonprofit organizations. Included are resources on developing a strategic plan, advancing policy and advocacy issues, working with the media, creating advertisements and framing issues. To access this section of the website, click here.
YOUTH SERVICES NEWS - Resources for Youth-Serving Agencies in Los Angeles County Publications Work-Based Learning in California: Opportunities and Models for Expansion is a study funded by the James Irvine Foundation that explores this important topic. Work-based learning is an educational strategy that links academic instruction with the world of work. By itself, it is a powerful tool for motivating students and enhancing learning. But it holds particular promise in the context of multiple pathways, an approach to high school reform in California that seeks to prepare more young people for success both in college and the workplace. This report by WestEd takes a broad look at work-based learning in California: how it is practiced, what it looks like when done well and how it could be expanded to engage more students. To read the full report, click here. Centerscene, the email newletter published by The California Endowment, features in its Winter/Spring 2010 an exploration of how kids' health is affected when they are chronically absent from school. New research shows that chronic absence is a better indicator of high school dropout than test scores, and also can sometimes indicate unaddressed health problems. This issue explores efforts in San Diego, Los Angeles and the state legislature to help schools, youth and families work together to improve school attendance and overall student health. To access, click here. Grants for Children and Youth – 2010 Digital Edition is a new guide being offered by the Foundation Center. This publication reveals the scope of current foundation giving in the children and youth services field, and includes descriptions of almost 40,000 grants worth more than $4.7 billion from nearly 1,400 foundations. Grants for Children & Youth identifies prospective funders for general support or specific projects, including adolescent parent services, pregnancy counseling and prevention programs, prevention of youth violence and rehabilitation for youth offenders, youth centers and clubs, youth museums, etc. For more information or to order, click here.
Events
Other Resources AMA Foundation’s Healthy Living Grant Program supports grassroots public health projects that encourage healthy lifestyles in communities across the nation. Grants of up to $5,000 will be awarded in the following three categories: Nutrition/Physical Fitness; Alcohol, Substance Abuse, and Smoking Prevention; and Violence Prevention. Funded projects should target underserved and/or at-risk youth between the ages of 2-21. Organizations that have been in existence for at least one year and that have an annual operating budget of $500,000 or less are eligible to apply. The application deadline is July 15, 2010. Application guidelines and forms are available on the Foundation’s website. Click here for more information.
Finish Line Youth Foundation offers grants to nonprofit organizations that provide community-based access to athletics and other active lifestyle activities for youth under the age of 18. An additional focus is on camps that give kids the chance to be active, with emphasis on those that provide services to disadvantaged or special needs children. Requests are reviewed quarterly; the remaining deadlines for 2010 are June 30, September 30, and December 31. To take the Eligibility Quiz and learn more details about the requirements and process, 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. One critical step for any youth-serving nonprofit wishing to build its capacity is identifying the right resources. A referral resource for this purpose is: Los Angeles County Now in its seventh (2010) edition, the Resource Directory for Nonprofit Capacity Building in Los Angeles County describes a number of resources youth-serving nonprofits may find useful in meeting their capacity building needs. 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? Specific subject areas in which capacity building may be needed
include:
To download a PDF of this tool, click HERE Other Assessment Tools
NOTE: Appearance of activities, publications or organizations in these website listings does not constitute any type of endorsement from the Dwight Stuart Youth Fund. These listings are provided solely for informational purposes. |
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