The Importance of Capacity Building and Planning for Nonprofits
Nonprofits are often juggling many tasks at once: advancing their missions, helping their communities, recruiting volunteers, and many other needs. Nonprofits are essential pillars and dedicate much of their time and resources to helping others. In order to continue doing the work they set out to do, nonprofits must also spend time on capacity building.
The goal of capacity building is to make your organization function well not just for today, but for years to come. Many nonprofits set goals farther down the road capacity building and planning can help ensure your organization sees those goals achieved in effective ways. It can be difficult to find the time to invest in positioning the organization for success, but in order to achieve the mission, it's necessary. Updating technology, ensuring smooth leadership transition protocols, strategic planning, and creating better communication strategies are just some of the ways nonprofits can build their capacity.
Making space for capacity building can help your organization reach its full potential. Without taking time to pause and take stock of what’s working and what’s not working, organizations risk limping into their future. These things take time and resources. You may need to create additional time and space for this work. Here are some ways that nonprofits can adjust their work to create that space:
Reconsider regular tasks and work load in order to free particular staff members time to commit to other work
Call on your board members for their time and expertise
Maintain the same grantees from one year to the next to free up grant review and approval time for other projects
Plan well in advance for large projects like strategic planning or community listening engagements
Nonprofit organizations are made up of capable and dedicated teams. Sometimes those teams need some additional external support, particularly when it comes to capacity building. Hiring an outside consultant, like Quire Consulting, can help you go that extra step. Quire works with teams to identify barriers, establish what’s working, and plan for the goals they want to achieve. Contact Quire today to help you grow your capacity as a nonprofit!
