Archstone Foundation is committed to supporting capacity building efforts for nonprofit organizations through its annual RFPs and by sharing resources beneficial to California nonprofit organizations. This resource list includes a brief description of organizations that support nonprofits in their capacity building needs and the resource they offer.
Catchafire
Catchafire strengthens the social good sector by matching professionals who want to donate their time with nonprofits who need their skills. Volunteering your skills is an impactful way to give back – the average volunteer project on Catchafire is worth $5,200 in professional services. Connect directly with nonprofits and make a difference. Nonprofits provide critical support to their communities, but limited budgets can block them from hiring the expert talent they need to operate most effectively. Skills-based volunteering can bridge that gap. We have hundreds of volunteer projects for every skill, time commitment, and cause area. Find the one that excites you – and complete it virtually. Their 2019 Impact Report is available here.
Board Source
BoardSource’s Board Support Program provides year-round governance guidance, resources, and leadership development to you, your board, and your organization. The Board Support Program starts with BoardSource’s Board Self-Assessment (BSA), enabling your board to reflect on what it’s doing well and where it’s more challenged. Throughout the year, your organization’s leaders are supported with educational resources and tools to further your board development goals. Armed with the insights from the assessment, your board is provided access to on-demand educational resources and our Ask-an-Expert email assistance to support its board development goals. The program provides all current board members and staff with open access to BoardSource’s comprehensive member resources.
Gianneschi Center for Nonprofit Research at California State University, Fullerton
The Gianneschi Center for Nonprofit Sector Research was established at California State University, Fullerton in 1996 as a repository for data on Orange County’s nonprofit sector and to participate at a regional level in nationwide nonprofit research efforts. In Orange County, even the most basic information about the nonprofit sector had not been available until the center’s work began. It released a report on the public benefit sector in Orange County every two years until 2010. In 2005, the center began an annual conference, the Summer School for Nonprofits, to showcase best practices and innovations by experts in the field. The conference was renamed G3X in 2018 to demonstrate a mission of “Growing Excellent and Exciting Exempt organizations." The Gianneschi Center’s mission is to use the power and resources of California State University, Fullerton and the College of Business and Economics to "Grow Excellent and Exciting Exempt Organizations" (G3X) in our community.
Gianneschi Social Impact Leadership Fellows Program
This program is concentrated on topics and tasks needed to lead an organization such as leadership, management, supervision, innovation, vision planning, fund development, strategic partnership, board development, staff development, program development, grantsmanship, marketing, and succession planning.
G3X Lecture series
The weekly lecture series features guests, with archived podcast versions of the lectures available at http://zoot.podbean.com/. The podcast versions of these lectures are presented by Zoot Velasco, Director of Gianneschi Center for Nonprofit Research. The views expressed on this podcast are his alone and do not represent the views of OCEAA or California State University Fullerton.
The Nonprofit Partnership
The Nonprofit Partnership’s mission is “to build the capacity of nonprofits so they can make positive change in their communities.” They offer Certificate Programs in Grant Writing, Essentials of Human Resources, Marketing, and Volunteer Management. The Certificate Programs provide 18-hours of training for those looking for a deeper understanding of the selected topics in nonprofit management. All sessions must be completed in order to receive a certificate.
TCC Group
TCC Group collaborates with foundations, nonprofits & companies to solve complex social problems. They partner with nonprofits to identify and prioritize areas necessary to contribute to accomplishing a collective vision, and work in relationship with social sector actors to achieve lasting impact. They provide capacity building services and assessment tools.
Annenberg Alchemy
The Annenberg Foundation’s free capacity building and leadership development program is designed to assist small and midsized Los Angeles-based nonprofit organizations and their leaders. The goal of Alchemy is to reach aspiring nonprofit leaders, align Executive Directors and Board Chairs, and connect them to resources that will support their readiness to lead organizations and produce results, which in turn will help them build healthy, resilient and extraordinary communities. Among the central issues addressed are effective fundraising, Board effectiveness, public involvement and accountability. In addition, participants are connected to a network of peers through learning communities and roundtable discussions where they can share best practices and innovative strategies. Alchemy’s capacity building and leadership development program is focused on serving nonprofit organizations and their leaders located in the five-county region of Greater Los Angeles, with budgets up to $5 million.
Compass Power
Compass Power is a 43-year-old national nonprofit leadership practice based in Oakland, California that connects leaders with essential skills and knowledge, cultivate powerful learning communities, and create time and space for people to explore the emotional dimensions of leadership so they can shift themselves, their organizations, and their world toward greater justice and equity. Their team and key partners draw from a toolbox that includes facilitation, teaching, coaching, and peer learning. Their intensive cohort leadership development are homes and incubators for movement leaders, bringing many modes of learning together, and centering deep relationship building over multiple months or years. Through their publishing and communications, Compass Power curates useful resources, shares what they’re learning in their own leadership practice, and reports on important trends in the nonprofit sector.
Blue Avocado
Blue Avocado provides practical information and insights that are easy to understand, easy to implement, and that improve the effectiveness and impact of nonprofits. They believe that nonprofits can only be vibrant, healthy, and effective when they have access to financial resources and practical know-how shared by experts and peers. It is an online magazine fueled by a monthly newsletter designed to provide practical, tactical tips and tools to nonprofit leaders. Its publications enlist content from a wide range of practitioners, funders, and experts. Subscriptions are free and are twelve times per year to 50,000+ subscribers.
William and Flora Hewlett Foundation
Prepared by Informing Change, the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation provides resources that assist nonprofits in achieving new levels of effectiveness. Organizations may find it helpful to complete an organizational assessment to determine the value of a capacity building effort. Two of their resources – “A Guide to Using Organizational Capacity Building Assessment Tools” and the “Organizational Capacity Assessment Data Base” – are available on Archstone Foundation’s website.
