Nonprofit Excellence Program

Capacity Building Grants

The NEP makes grants to support organizations' work to assess and improve their strategies, structure, systems and staff capacity. Grants range between $5,000 to $15,000. Capacity building grants fund focused interventions that produce measurable results and increase the effectiveness of a nonprofit so that it can achieve its mission and sustain itself over time. These grants support consulting and training fees and hardware and software related to information management. These grants do not generally support staff salaries or the purchase of donor management software. Only organizations in Central Illinois are eligible to apply for Capacity Building Grants.

The following are examples of activities that could be supported, but we are open to other ideas too:

• Planning for change, including developing long-term goals, business and financial plans;
• Measuring your progress, including developing outcome measures to create accountability to constituents and funding sources;
• Marketing, including public relations, communications and marketing campaigns to increase awareness and utilization of services;
• Human resources management, including both staff and volunteers;
• Collaboration, including building relationships among organizations to reduce costs, share resources, develop joint evaluations or achieve other benefits;
• Financial management to improve financial systems;
• Fund development to explore new revenue sources and develop a stronger and more diverse funding base;
• Hardware and software to improve efficiency; and
• Board assessment, recruitment, training and restructuring to strengthen the governance of the organization.

We encourage a team approach to capacity building. A team can be helpful in planning and implementing the project, providing continuity and ensuring that the capacity building effort becomes an integral part of the organization. A team usually consists of a small working group within the organization with representation from staff, board and consultants.

How to apply for a capacity building grant

• Identify a specific aspect of your organziation that needs to be assessed and improved.
• Submit a letter of inquiry by August 31. Applications are accepted on an annual basis.
• Letters of inquiry are reviewed in September and a limited number of organizations are invited to submit full proposals. Click here to see the application timetable.
• Be clear in the letter of inquiry about the specific organizational development need you seek to address and discuss the involvement of specific members of staff and the board of directors in this capacity building project.

If an applicant organization needs help identifying a consultant to assist them with a specific project, we may be able to help you locate someone.

Potential applicants are strongly encouraged to contact Annie Hernandez at annie.hernandez@consolidated.com or 217-234-5702, to discuss their ideas for capacity building projects in advance of submitting a letter of inquiry.

2007 Capacity Building Grants

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