Capacity Building Grant Program Updated with Your Feedback

Last fall, Archstone Foundation commissioned an independent review of our Capacity Building and Innovations (CBI) grant program. And the constructive feedback we have received from past grant applicants has informed our next request for proposals, which was announced on January 21–with letters of inquiry due February 18.

We hired an outside consultant, Gregory Hall of Principia Planning & Consulting, to talk with both grantees and a group of applicants we have declined since the program launched in August 2020, to explore what’s working well with the program and identify opportunities for improvement.

Confidential phone interviews were conducted with the 10 capacity building and innovation grantee organizations (14 interviewees in all) and with seven randomly selected declined applicant organizations (an additional 11 interviewees) from the first three funding cycles. An analysis of the findings was reported to the Foundation’s staff and Board of Directors in December 2021.

Background on the Capacity Building Program
Capacity building grants are intended to help nonprofits achieve new levels of organizational strength and effectiveness. The Foundation’s goal is to improve the leadership and management of organizations directly serving older Californians by helping them strengthen internal systems and find new resources.

These grants may be for as much as $50,000 and last for one year. They are restricted to organizations serving older adults in California.

Four sets of these grants have been awarded:

• Round 1 General Capacity Building (November 2020, three grants totaling $120,884)
• Round 1 Supporting Diverse Communities (February and March 2021, three grants totaling $150,000)
• Round 2 General Capacity Building (May 2021, four grants totaling $194,000)
• Round 2 Supporting Diverse Communities (November 2021, four grants totaling $200,000)

In April 2021, we also made an $80,000 grant to Catchafire to provide added capacity building support beyond those organizations receiving a grant. Catchafire matches professionals wanting to donate their expertise with nonprofits looking for skilled project support. To date, 110 capacity building projects have been completed by Catchafire volunteers, representing an estimated $380,000 in donated professional services.

What We Learned
So what did we glean from our review? Our grants so far have succeeded in strengthening grantee infrastructure and effectiveness through relatively small Foundation investments. In addition, most Catchafire projects were viewed as positive and beneficial by those organizations participating in the partnership.

Grantees generally express satisfaction with the program and grant proposal process. Most like the two-stage process, with an initial letter of inquiry potentially leading to a full proposal. Declined applicants were less satisfied with the process, and there was marked disappointment and frustration among organizations that did not receive a grant after submitting a full proposal.

Most grantees said they would have proceeded with capacity building efforts even without Archstone Foundation support. But they said they likely would have done so in a more piecemeal and less robust fashion; over a longer time; with more interruptions and challenges along the way; or only after securing funding from another source. In short, grantees felt Archstone Foundation funding had helped kickstart, improve and expedite much-needed internal capacity building efforts.

Additional Feedback–And What We’re Changing
While the capacity building program was judged valuable overall, interviewees made important suggestions for improving the application process and enhancing the program. We’ve taken that feedback to heart and made changes to improve the program.

• The intent of the stand-alone “innovations” funding opportunity was unclear to most. Consequently, innovations is now a sub-category of capacity building, with a more explicit focus on implementing or adapting an existing evidence-based program – rather than creating a new model from scratch. We’ve dropped “Innovations” from the name to reflect this change. The program is now “Supporting Communities Serving Older Adults Through Capacity Building.”
• Most described the Letter of Inquiry application as having too many questions and requiring too much time relative to the potential maximum grant of $50,000. So, we’ve made these changes to streamline the process:
  • The application takes more of a fast pitch approach, with organizations asked for three pages at most explaining the need for and main elements of their capacity building project.
  • Organizations will select one type of capacity building from a drop-down menu, so it’s clearer to both the applicant and the Foundation what sort of activity is being proposed.
• Recognizing the time and emotional energy required of longer applications, we will be inviting fewer LOI applicants to submit full proposals. While we still don’t anticipate funding all full proposals, we will be more selective about inviting full proposals. And for any project, we commit to being available to discuss declination reasons with the applicant.
• To optimize grantee time, we will replace the midyear written progress report in favor of a check-in call when appropriate to the project goals and scope. This will allow for more meaningful and productive updates and for time to brainstorm and share ideas.
• Given the three-to-one return on investment, and popularity with many of our grantees and declined applicants, we have renewed the Catchafire partnership for a second year.
• To maximize access to the capacity building grants program and to reach new organizations, we now require grantees to wait two years before applying for another such grant.

We are pleased with the results of the program so far. But we recognize there are always opportunities to improve. We’re indebted to the grantees and declined applicants who participated in our review. Their candid feedback allowed us to pause and reconsider the program, and to make adjustments that promise a better applicant and grantee experience.