What is Capacity Building?

Capacity building strengthens a nonprofit’s ability to operate more effectively at an organizational level. To understand capacity building, a nonprofit must think about how it operates, not about a program or initiative. Capacity building is strategic and requires reflection on organizational strengths and weaknesses. Nonprofits often focus on creating new programs and keeping administrative costs low rather than building the organizational capacity necessary to achieve their goals. This isn’t surprising, given that donors and funders have traditionally been more interested in supporting an exciting new idea than in building an organization that can effectively carry out that idea. At Flashpoint Fund, we believe supporting capacity building is just as important as program development in order for nonprofits organizations to achieve long term sustainability and results. Our primary purpose is to award grants for the cost of trainers, consultants, coaches, and other capacity building providers.