Friday, December 18, 2015

The Nonprofits Strengthening Project

Imagine if you could offer your grantees a fully customized capacity building and technical assistance program that would:
  • Focus on Diversity, Equity & Inclusion
  • Foster Collaboration
  • Leverage Technology
  • Build New Donor In-Roads
  • Celebrate Hard Work
All for the cost of a single program. 

If you haven’t yet figured out an affordable way to incorporate capacity building and technical assistance into your 2016 grantmaking budget, we have the answer. 

The Nonprofits Strengthening Project is an innovative solution from Charities Review Council that enables funders to be responsive and responsible grantee partners. Each project includes carefully designed programming that leverages community and technology, with the goal being to strengthen the capacity of our nonprofit partner's ability to pursue their mission.

Learn more about the Nonprofits Strengthening Project here.

But don't take our word for it, check out Rudy Guglielmo's blog post* below highlighting our long standing partnership with Youthprise and their grantees.
*Originally published April 20, 2015

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Youthprise & Charities Review Council's Strengthening Project

by Rudy Guglielmo Jr., Program Officer at Youthprise


Rudy Guglielmo Jr.
I am pleased to share the results of our Nonprofits Strengthening Project with Charities Review Council (the Council) to build capacity for the nonprofits we fund. The project was very successful, engaging more than 35 Youthprise grantees. 

Upon project completion, 26% of participating grantees had successfully completed the Accountability Wizard®, thus earning the Meets Standards® seal, a visual marker of nonprofit strength; 63% of participating grantees had completed the Accountability Wizard® and were working on tangible action steps needed in order to meet all 25 of the Council’s Accountability Standards®.

Building on the success of the 2012 project, the 2014 Nonprofits Strengthening Project engaged an additional 21 Youthprise grantees. Currently, 9% of participating grantees Meet Standards®, and 57% are working on action steps needed in order to Meet Standards®. We anticipate that the remaining organizations will Meet Standards® by 2016.

I believe this was accomplished through the Strengthening Workshop Series, access to the Council’s online capacity building tool, the Accountability Wizard® and its customized one-on-one support.

We also learned that compliance with the Charities Review Council’s Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Standard was a challenge for Youthprise grantees. Grantees reported a need for information on best practices and a leader to promote the value of work in diversity and inclusion. In response, future capacity building efforts will focus on tools to assess racial participation. We are excited by the potential to influence the nonprofit sector at its approaches for diversity and inclusion.

You can read the full report, prepared by Charities Review Council, here.
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This blog is published with permission from Rudy Guglielmo, Program Officer at Youthprise who's mission is to champion learning beyond the classroom so that all Minnesota youth thrive.