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Building Capacity in Los Angeles County
February 2010 Update
Background
A primary aim of Weingart Foundation is to support nonprofit organizations as they grow and develop their knowledge, resources and capabilities to achieve their missions. The Foundation makes a variety of grants to support nonprofit organizations’ operational, organizational development, and capital needs, as they define them. The recent addition of core support to our grantmaking is another step in our effort to provide the type of funding that organizations need most to effectively perform and improve their program outcomes.
Our long-standing interest in strengthening nonprofit organizations has prompted the Foundation to embark on a multidimensional capacity building study in Los Angeles County. We think of capacity building as any activity that significantly strengthens the ability of a nonprofit to achieve its mission. Aiding the Foundation in this effort is TCC Group, a consulting firm known for its planning, capacity building, and evaluation expertise. We are eager to learn more about opportunities that exist to foster organizational effectiveness and improve our ability to support nonprofits. We are also interested in sharing what we learn with the nonprofit and philanthropic sectors.
Project Description
The study is assessing the strengths and needs of the nonprofit sector in Los Angeles County, the nature of capacity-building resources available, and the Foundation’s own capacity-building and broader grantmaking practices. The project began in September 2009 with an assessment of nonprofit capacity needs. Nearly 700 nonprofits representing a broad array of organizations in Los Angeles County that have applied to or been funded by the Foundation were invited to participate in a no-cost, confidential organizational assessment process using the Core Capacity Assessment Tool (CCAT). Organizational leaders can use the CCAT results as the basis for a candid discussion about ways that they can build their nonprofit’s organizational effectiveness. To date, a substantial number of nonprofits have participated in the CCAT and received information on how to interpret their results. In addition, workshops have been held on the topic of financial sustainability for nonprofit organizations.
The project has been designed to provide maximum benefit to nonprofit organizations, and participation is entirely voluntary and individualized results and comments are not shared with the Foundation. Due to the positive response of nonprofit organizations and to gain additional information for the nonprofit sector assessment, the Foundation has extended availability of the CCAT until March 2010.
Another aspect of the research deals with the availability and quality of capacity building services in Los Angeles County. Our goal is to better understand and document nonprofit sector capacity building needs and available resources at the regional level. In the latter part of 2009, nonprofit leaders were asked to assess their experiences with capacity building services through a survey, interviews, and focus groups. To gain other valuable perspectives, TCC Group also solicited the input of capacity building providers and funders who support such services.
The Foundation is also examining its own past grantmaking and exploring other capacity building models with the goal of identifying how we might improve our grantmaking, more effectively respond to requests for support, and promote organizational development. With the information generated by the research described above as well as an examination of our own efforts, we intend to strengthen our knowledge and improve our ability to support the growth and development of nonprofit organizations.
Later this year, we intend to share what we learn with the nonprofit sector, capacity-building providers, and our philanthropic colleagues so that we might be collectively better informed and able to take action on the findings.
We will continue to update this page with additional information as the project progresses. For more information, please contact Tara Westman, Associate Vice President of Learning & Special Initiatives at twestman@weingartfnd.org or Angela Carr, Program Assistant at acarr@weingartfnd.org.
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