Nonprofit Capacity-Building Resources

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How does capacity building relate to evaluation?

Resources:
    General capacity building
    **NEW!** Evaluation capacity building
    Board recruitment, development, and management
    Financial management
    Fundraising
    Legal issues, lobbying, and advocacy
    Marketing and communications
    Strategic planning
    Technology
    Volunteerism and volunteer management
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How does capacity building relate to evaluation?
These resources for capacity building and organizational development can help nonprofits stabilize and strengthen their infrastructures.  To be effective, evaluation needs to happen within the context of an organization's everyday activities.  If an organization is experiencing challenges with its everyday activities or infrastructure, evaluation may not be feasible. 

General Capacity Building

•    Capaciteria: Capaciteria offers a wealth of A-list capacity building resources, along with community rating and review features.

•    Catalog of Nonprofit Literature: A searchable annotated bibliography of the Foundation Center libraries' combined collections—over 25,000 publications on topics of interest to the nonprofit and philanthropic sector. Also gives tips on locating specific publications.

•    Free Management Library: Carter McNamara of Authenticity Consulting has developed the Free Management Library, which offers valuable information in 675 different topic areas.

•    Nonprofit Genie: a website operated by CompassPoint Nonprofit Services that combines information and resources. Of particular note, the Board Café is a great online newsletter, and the FAQ page is extensive.

•    The Nonprofit Good Practice Guide: This free online guide captures and organizes good practices for nonprofits and foundations.  You'll find literally thousands of  effectiveness-building tips and resources on topics including Accountability and Evaluation, Advocacy, Communications and Marketing, Foundations and Grantmaking, Fundraising and Financial Sustainability, Governance, Management and Leadership, Staff Development and Organizational Capacity, Technology, and Volunteer Management. “Training Essentials” within each topic area offers a framework for capacity building and staff training.

•    Organizational Resource List: The Eugene and Agnes E. Meyer Foundation has assembled a diverse list of organizations that work to help nonprofits succeed.

**NEW!**  Evaluation Capacity Building

•   Building Evaluative Capacity of Nonprofits:  Grantmakers for Effective Organizations (GEO) provides an extensive list of resources related to nonprofit capacity.

•   Capacity Building and Organizational Effectiveness:  The Alliance for Nonprofit Management defines what capacity building is and provides an excerpt from Deborah Lindell's book, Evaluation of Capacity Building:  Lessons from the Field.

•   The Evaluation Capacity Development Group (ECDG) was formed to develop the capacity of small to medium nonprofit organizations to conduct evaluation by themselves.

•   The World Bank's Independent Evaluation Group offers an exhasutive resource of publications and information focused on monitoring and evaluation.

Board  Recruitment, Development, and Management

•    BoardSource: an organization devoted to increasing the effectiveness of nonprofit boards, BoardSource offers a comprehensive list of answers to frequently asked questions. Topic areas include: board composition and structure; board development; and board member responsibilities.

•    Board Café: an online newsletter published monthly by CompassPoint, written for nonprofit board members.

•    Free Complete Toolkit for Boards: Carter McNamara's information for nonprofit Boards, taken from his Free Management Library.

Financial Management

•    Basic Guide to Non-Profit Financial Management: Carter McNamara's information about nonprofit financial management, taken from his Free Management Library.

•    The Clearinghouse for Volunteer Accounting Services (CVAS): an organization that matches volunteer accountants with nonprofit organizations.

•    Nonprofit Genie: an FAQ section from Nonprofit Genie about Financial Management.


Fundraising

•   Grantstation.com: Check out Grantstation to find out the latest news, resources, and information about grant opportunities.

•    The Foundation Center: a "one-stop shop" for a variety of fundraising issues. The Center's resources include a foundation database including over 70,000 grantmakers and 202,000 grants, downloadable grant applications, and a calendar of training and educational opportunities.

•    GrassrootsFundraising.org: a site that helps nonprofits diversify their fundraising strategies. The site offers articles and other publications on fundraising, an e-newsletter, and an advice column facilitated by the site's publisher, Kim Klein.

•    Nonprofit Genie: an FAQ section from Nonprofit Genie about Fundraising.

•    Non-Profit Guides: a collection of grant-writing tools to help guide nonprofit organizations through the private and public grantwriting process. The tools include basic strategies for dealing with each step of the process as well as a sample cover letter, sample inquiry letter, and sample budget.

Legal Issues/Lobbying and Advocacy

•    Center for Lobbying in the Public Interest: an organization that's working to dispel the myths that lobbying by charities is unimportant, inappropriate, or illegal. CLPI provides information on the important role of lobbying in achieving an organization's mission.

•    Nonprofit-Specific Legal Information: Carter McNamara's information about nonprofit-specific legal issues, taken from his Free Management Library.

Marketing and Communications

•    All about Marketing: Carter McNamara's information about marketing, taken from his Free Management Library.

•    The Benton Foundation: This site walks users through planning and implementing a strategic communications plan. This step-by-step process includes tools and resources as well as profiles of success.


Strategic Planning

•    Guide to Strategic Planning: Carter McNamara's Guide to Strategic Planning, taken from his Free Management Library.

•    Nonprofit Genie: an FAQ section from Nonprofit Genie about Strategic Planning.


Technology

•    ONE/Northwest: a technology assistance site for the Northwest environment movement, with lots of helpful resources, including a technology assessment tool.

•    Nonprofit Genie: an FAQ section from Nonprofit Genie about nonprofit Technology.

•   NPower: a site full of resources on many different aspects of technology planning.

•    Summit Collaborative: dedicated to "helping nonprofits use advanced technology to build power."

•    TechAtlas: a great site to help with technology assessment and planning.

•   TechFinder: produced by Nonprofit Technology Enterprise Network (N-TEN) and TechSoup, TechFinder is a searchable database of technology services and providers tailored for nonprofits.

•    TechSoup: a comprehensive source of technology information for nonprofits. Via their website you can read articles on a variety of technology issues including technology planning, using the internet, and databases. You can also browse and purchase discounted software products through their Tech Soup Stock program.

Volunteerism

•    Nonprofit Genie: an FAQ section from Nonprofit Genie about volunteerism.

•    SERVEnet: Through SERVEnet, users can enter their zip code, city, state, skills, interests, and availability and be matched with organizations needing help.

•    VolunteerMatch:  Volunteer recruitment, information, and resources.

•    Volunteer Today: an e-newsletter on volunteerism, published monthly by MBA Publishing. Each issue contains tips and strategies for management, training, recruitment and retention.

Suggest a Resource:  These pages aren't carved in stone.  If you can't find something, or would like to suggest a resource, please let us know.