What Is Nonprofit Capacity Building?
At SVP we define capacity building as the support and enhancement of core skills, management practices, strategies, and systems to enable an organization’s effectiveness, sustainability, and ability to fulfill its mission.
What’s Our Approach?
#1 Offer Resources
SVP builds organizational capacity by providing general operating funds, skilled volunteers, professional consultants, and leadership development/management training opportunities.
#2 Listen
We recognize that nonprofit practitioners are the program experts, and we aim to complement that expertise by working in partnership with those organizations. Therefore, the first step is listening to what they need and working at their pace.
#3 A commitment to working in partnership
We get that there’s a power dynamic in funding relationships. We will do our best to mitigate that. We will invite your honest feedback, own up to our mistakes, and strive to find a path that works for everyone involved.
Access to SVP's programming and knowledge events
Peer learning/connections
Lead Partner relationships
SVP staff support
Access to Partner time, ties, and talent
Our Core Capacity Building Areas Include:
1. Strategic planning
A well-articulated strategic plan supports the organization’s mission and provide a pathway to goal accomplishment. In this area we can facilitate strategic planning, prioritize areas of investment/focus for the organization, or identify measurable goals.
2. Management + leadership
Executives experienced in non-profit management are essential for organizational growth. In this area we can provide 1-1 mentorship, help develop a succession plan, or recommend resources for leadership training.
3. Governance (board development)
High-functioning, knowledgeable boards of directors provide strong and meaningful direction. In this area we can provide governance workshops; help develop job descriptions, onboarding manuals, policies, and evaluation tools; or help define staff vs. board responsibilities.
4. Human resources (including volunteers)
Involves developing or strengthening a plan for recruiting, training, developing, and retaining staff. In this area we can provide HR workshops, or support with pro-bono legal advice.
5. Fund development
Involves establishing or advancing diversified funding sources, a secure donor management system, organizational fundraising skills, and maintaining sufficient revenue. In this area we can provide 1-1 mentorship or support fund development plans, prospecting, case for support, campaign development, donor systems, the asks, special events.
6. Financial management
Includes having a sound financial plan, solid systems, and sufficient oversight to manage your financial situation. In this area we can conduct a baseline assessment of financial systems; provide 1-1 mentorship; help develop strong financial policies, meaningful budgets; or help with audit preparation.
7. Marketing + communications
Understanding your target audience(s) and preparing appropriate messages and materials to communicate with them is central to building an engaged community. In this area we can deliver workshops; help develop communications plans that includes strategy for website, social media channels, and designed emails; or advise on key messages/voice for your organization.
8. Technology
Maximize efficiencies in your organization with current, high-functioning technology. In this area we can provide a baseline assessment, develop an IT go-forward plan, or invest resources in necessary IT solutions.
9. Social impact measurement
Demonstrate the effectiveness of your mission through good, local data. In this area we can provide a baseline assessment; develop a monitoring and evaluation plan; or support in the creation of realistic systems to capture data.