Request for Proposals (RFP)
Applications are now closed. The next opportunity to apply for a capacity building grant will be in July 2024.
Capacity Building Program
Capacity Building grants offer up to $50,000 to support direct service organizations in the field of aging in their efforts to work more efficiently and effectively. These grants are intended to aid organizational development at a structural level.
Archstone Foundation offers two Capacity Building Request for Proposals (RFP) opportunities annually. One is for general Capacity Building, open to any nonprofit serving older adults (or their caregivers) in California. The second is specific to organizations focused on serving racially, ethnically, or otherwise diverse older people with histories of disadvantage, in order to reduce health disparities and advance racial equity.
Capacity Building Request Types:
1. Supporting Communities Serving Older Adults Through Capacity Building - This is a general capacity building opportunity for nonprofits serving older adults and their caregivers in California.
2. Supporting Diverse Communities and Advancing Racial and Health Equity for Older Adults Through Capacity Building - This capacity building RFP opportunity is intended for requests focused exclusively on organizations in the field of aging serving diverse communities and advancing racial equity in California.(To learn about future RFPs, please subscribe to our newsletter.)
Duration: Up to one year
Amount: Up to $50,000
Awards Expected: 4 - 6 total grants anticipated
RFP Offered: Annually in July
Geography: California
Target Organizations: Organizations in California whose work aligns with Archstone Foundation’s mission to improve the health and well-being of older Californians and their caregivers are eligible to apply for a Capacity Building grant.
Eligibility: One application may be submitted per year per organization. However, organizations previously awarded grants under the Capacity Building Program must wait two years from the end of their prior grant to re-apply to the Capacity Building Program.
Capacity Building Grants
Capacity Building grants seek to assist nonprofits in achieving new levels of organizational strength and effectiveness. Our purpose is to help nonprofit organizations directly serving older adults to strengthen internal systems; implement evidence-based programs; execute needed IT infrastructure updates; and find new resources to facilitate the organization's progress in achieving its goals. Capacity Building grants are not intended to pay for existing client-facing programs and services, nor are they intended to provide general operating (core) support to the organization. Financial and operational sustainability of the organization at its enhanced level of capacity is key to being considered.
At Archstone Foundation, we are pursuing our theory of change around integrating health and social services through coordinated investments in our core strategies of promoting teams, enhancing training, and improving technology (the Three Ts). In order to achieve our vision of coordinated care, we are asking capacity building applicants to tell us how their work overlaps with our strategic goals in teams, training, or technology.
Organizations are encouraged to complete an organizational self-assessment to determine the value of their capacity building effort. Click to access “A Guide to Using Organizational Capacity Building Assessment Tools” and the “Organizational Capacity Assessment Database” prepared for the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation by Informing Change.
Capacity building support offered through this RFP is limited to the following (one per application and one application per organization):
- Planning Activities: E.g., organizational assessments, strategic planning, fundraising assessment and development, communications/marketing, contingency/disaster planning, COVID response, or business planning.
- Board and Leadership Development: May include activities such as leadership training, defining the role of the board, strengthening governance, assistance with executive transition, succession, expanding the diversity of the board and leadership, and search process.
- Strategic Relationships: Technical assistance/consultant support to help two or more organizations work through collaboration and strategic restructuring; positioning for merger or affiliation; or business planning for social enterprise and earned income.
- Internal Operations: Improvements to financial management, internal controls and chart of accounts, human resources, or volunteer management; onboarding new staff, training and technical assistance on quality improvement, or facility planning.
- Technology Improvements: IT capacity through upgrades to hardware and software, cybersecurity, networking, websites, and staff training to optimize the use of technology.
- Developing New Sources for Earned Income: Business planning, contracting, startup costs for a new program, legal services, accounting, or actuarial services.
- Building Evaluation Capacity: Consultants may be utilized to develop evaluation plans and train staff and board on outcome evaluation methods and metrics.
- Evidence-Based Program Adaptation or Implementation: Explore, modify, or adapt an existing evidence-based program or service not currently or previously offered. NOTE: Because of the small dollar amount and short duration of this grant opportunity, it is not intended for the development from scratch, or validation, of a new program or service. This opportunity is intended only for organizations to implement or adapt an existing evidence-based model that is new to the organization.
Timeline
The following is the timeline for this funding opportunity:
July 10, 2024
RFP Released – Letter of Inquiry (LOI) Applications Open
August 14, 2024 at noon Pacific
Letters of Inquiry Due
August 30, 2024
Selected Applicants Invited to Submit Full Proposal
September 26, 2024
Full Proposal Due
December 2, 2024
Funding Decisions Announced
January 1, 2025
Grant Period Begins
December 31, 2025
Grant Period Ends
Application Process
To begin the application process, you will need to submit a short Letter of Inquiry (LOI) through our online grant portal. (Please note that new users must establish a username and password.)
The Letter of Inquiry is intended to be a 2-to-3-page overview of the organization and the proposed capacity building project.
Please be prepared to provide the following information on the Foundation’s online grant portal. You will answer each section in separate fields:
- Project Title
- Total Amount Requested (up to $50,000)
- Total Project Budget
- Duration of the Project (up to one year)
- Request Type: General or DEI-Focused Capacity Building Request
- Project Type (select one from the drop-down menu)
- Three T Strategy (select one: Teams, Training, Technology)
- Organization Description – A brief description (2 paragraphs) of the organization’s mission, vision, and need for a capacity building grant.
- Program Description – Include a brief description (no more than 1 page) of the specific capacity building activity and its rationale, including how the activity will strengthen your organization. If awarded the grant, how will services change as a result of the capacity building improvements you are proposing? How does the activity advance work in the Foundation's focus areas of Teams, Training or Technology? If you completed an organizational self-assessment, briefly describe the findings. If exploring or implementing an existing evidence-based program, identify the program model by name and describe the rationale for adaptation/implementation within your organization.
- Goals and Objectives – Provide a brief bulleted or numbered list (no more than half a page) of specific, measurable goals and their corresponding objectives. Goals should describe the desired program outcome(s) and should tie back to your need statement. Objectives should describe specific actions that will be taken to achieve the stated goals. Objectives should be: Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic, and Time-bound (SMART). Suggested resource: How to write goals and objectives for grant proposals.
- Population Description – A brief description (one paragraph) of the population served by your agency in terms of age, racial/ethnic diversity, geographic location, and need.
- Number of older adults currently served by the organization/program and any increase planned for the future.
- Three T Strategy – A brief description (one paragraph) of how the work is promoting teams, enhancing training, or improving technology.
- A preliminary line-item budget (you will be asked to use the Foundation's budget template).
- A budget narrative.
Contact Information
Office hours to discuss proposal ideas with program officers will be available Thursday afternoons and via appointment.
Other inquiries and scheduling requests should be directed to:
Kimberly D. Williams
Administrative Assistant
(562) 590-8655
kwilliams@archstone.org
