Capacity building is not just about the capacity of a nonprofit today -- it's about the nonprofit’s ability to deliver its mission effectively now, and in the future. Capacity building is an investment in the effectiveness and future sustainability of a nonprofit. (National Council of Nonprofits)
What is Capacity Building?
Worker's compensation in mandated by each state and covers expenses an employer is required to pay for injuries or illness an employee suffers at work. Under requirements by the North Carolina Workers’ Compensation Act, any incorporated nonprofit with three or more employees and/or corporate officers (includes officers on nonprofit boards, even though they are unpaid, and subcontractors without their own coverage) is required to provide workers' compensation coverage.
Whether it’s a consultant to facilitate organizational planning, develop a capital fundraising campaign, or help the board and staff navigate an organizational merger, professionals can often provide the expertise we all need from time to time to better manage our nonprofits. There are many considerations when hiring and engaging consultants. This guide is meant to provide you with some basic tips for hiring, interviewing, and working with consultants to ensure that your experience is productive and worthwhile.
Crisis prevention is doubly important for small public entities, companies and nonprofit organizations. Small organizations often have fewer resources to draw on when a crisis erupts, and insurance and other risk financing tools may not be an available due to the organization’s meager financial resources. But every organization, from the smallest to the largest can and should take steps to prevent the preventable and prepare for the unavoidable. The key is to select the strategies that appeal to your organization and best suit your situation.
When well-crafted, Request for Proposals (RFP) can introduce an organization to high-quality vendor-partners and consultants from outside their established networks and ensure that a project is completed as planned. In An Overview of the RFP Process for Nonprofits, Charities, and Libraries, TechSoup offers basic considerations for each phase of the RFP process.
The M Word: A Board Member's Guide to Mergers from CompassPoint is a practical guide to help nonprofit board members, executives, and funders think through a merger. Offering a rough guide to expectations, processes, and obstacles often encountered in a merger experience, it can help an organization determine if a merger is the right choice for its own situation.
The Small Business Center Network (SBCN) offers programs, services, and resources to start and grow a business or nonprofit organization - including guiding you through the steps of considering, planning, developing, opening, and operating the organization. Small Business Centers are located at each of NC's 58 community colleges.
An organizational climate survey measures an organization's strengths and areas for improvement on several levels: pertaining to the organization, each work department, and specific jobs/roles. Adapt this sample to conduct a survey of your organization.
The article, Rediagnosing “Founder’s Syndrome”: Moving Beyond Stereotypes to Improve Nonprofit Performance, from Nonprofit Quarterly diagnoses founder's syndrome and its four "symptoms", and explores how boards of directors can address and remedy symptoms for a mission-driven focus and approach.
An outline to devise an emergency preparedness plan for your organization's personnel and facility in case of natural or other disaster. (Centers for Disease Control)
Emergency Action Plan Template