Strengthening Nonprofit Performance: A Funder's Guide to Capacity Building

Get the most out of your grantmaking

Authors Paul Connolly (Vice President, Conservation Company) and Carol Lukas (President, Fieldstone Alliance) synthesize the most recent capacity-building practice and research into a collection of strategies, steps, and examples that funders can use to get started on or improve their funding to strengthen nonprofits.

Who this book is for:

• Funders new to capacity building, looking for step-by-step guidance
• Funders with years of capacity building experience, looking for new approaches and examples of other funders' approaches
• A range of grantmakers, including venture philanthropists, community foundations, family foundations, corporate foundations, and government funders
• Funders wishing to expand their work to address community needs locally, nationally, or outside the U.S.
• Consultants, trainers, management support organizations, and other capacity builders

Benefits you'll get:

• Learn compelling reasons for investing in capacity building
• Understand the basic types of capacity building activities
• Find out what other foundations are doing
• Get a range of costs for various types of support
• Clarify your roles and responsibilities in using power and resources, developing expectations, and coordinating with others
• Follow a 4-step process to develop, implement, and evaluate a grantmaking plan for capacity building
• Choose among 7 widely-used strategies for building the capacity of nonprofits
• Discover how to coordinate the roles of funder, nonprofit organization, and capacity builder

This hands-on guide also includes dozens of examples, worksheets, and contact information for organization assessment tools, capacity building providers, and publishers. Get Strengthening Nonprofit Performance and build the capacity of nonprofits and ultimately, the communities they serve.

Paul Connolly is senior vice president at the TCC Group (formerly The Conservation Company), a firm that provides management consulting, strategic planning, and evaluation services to nonprot organizations, private foundations, and corporate citizenship programs.