Grants
The African American Legacy Initiative seeks to improve the quality of life of individuals living in the Chicago metropolitan area by providing capacity building grants to not-for-profit organizations. The goal is to identify, encourage and nurture dynamic organizations that exhibit high potential and have promising ideas, solutions, and strategies or approaches to address important issues in the African American community.
The concept of capacity building in nonprofits is similar to the concept of organizational development, organizational effectiveness and/or organizational performance management in for-profits. In an excerpt from Evaluation of Capacity Building: Lessons from the Field by Deborah Linnell, published by the Alliance for Nonprofit Management, capacity building refers to activities that improve an organization’s ability to achieve its mission or a person’s ability to define and realize his/her goals or to do his/her job more effectively.
For organizations, capacity building may relate to almost any aspect of its work: improved governance, leadership, mission and strategy, administration (including human resources, financial management, and legal matters), program evaluation, fundraising and income generation, technology enhancement, partnerships and collaboration, evaluation, marketing, public relations, etc.
Based upon this vision, the following areas of grants are considered:
To enhance staff skills and abilities through workshops, classes, coaching, and enrichment activities.
To develop strong boards that possess the ability to effectively meet their fiscal and governing responsibilities in partnership with staff.
To encourage organizations to think strategically about their future and establish steps that support institution building and organizational growth.
To support the creation or enhancement of technology systems that will promote organizational efficiency and maximize effectiveness.
To create development plans that will contribute to long-term sustainability.
To conduct analyses and evaluations of current programs in order to strengthen community impact.
To encourage organizational and programmatic collaborations and partnerships that allow entities to better serve the community.
For real-life examples of capacity building, please read about these recent grants made by the African American Legacy Initiative and the purpose of each award.
Many organizations engage the assistance of consultants for their capacity building projects. To learn more:
Read “The Insider’s Guide to Outsider’s Advice”, available at grandvictoriafdn.org by clicking on “tools”.
Read more about working with a consultant here.
Ready to apply for a grant? Read our funding guidelines and application process here.
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