Capacity Building – Nonprofit Center

An Investment in your Organization

At The Nonprofit Center, our mission is to strengthen nonprofit organizations through capacity building. That means building the competency, the capability, the bandwidth of organizations and their staffs.

Through all of our programs – from consulting to board training – our focus is on teaching, skills-transference, supporting, leadership development, resources, and coaching, to ensure that you have the capabilities, knowledge and resources needed to successfully fulfill your mission. By enhancing the efficiency of those who lead, manage, and support nonprofits, the ultimate end result is improved service delivery to those in need.

We see capacity building in three steps in which an organization learns to identify critical issues, is able to differentiate between core problems and systems, and can implement steps to resolve these issues within the organization’s core values and key operating principles. We do not do the work for you. We prepare you to be able to do the work yourself. To fundraise, to create and implement a strategic plan, to develop personnel policies, to create a succession plan, to become more effective nonprofit leaders, and more. With knowledge, tools, and a realistic plan comes greater organizational effectiveness. And ultimately, it’s about empowerment and transformation.

How its done

In all of our programs, we build capacity through sharing information that is useful, practical, and accessible — through the transference of knowledge. We offer both a theoretical understanding of a subject area as well as practical approaches that will enable you to apply the knowledge you acquire to your organization. As guides and teachers, we show you how to do what you need to become stronger and more sustainable, and to better serve your constituents.

New businesses are constantly parachuting into the nonprofit sphere professing to know it (and to know better), and offering quick fixes. We are a nonprofit who lives the experience and the culture, giving us a unique appreciation and understanding of the nonprofit experience. There may be cheaper competitors, or those who profess to be in and out in a hurry, but they can only mimic our values. Why not do it right the first time so you don’t have to redo it.

Capacity building “is not just about the capacity of a nonprofit today — it’s about the nonprofit’s ability to deliver its mission effectively now and in the future. Capacity building is an investment in the effectiveness and future sustainability of a nonprofit.”

The National Council of Nonprofits