Capacity Building Matters

When key stakeholders of nonprofit organizations are presented with challenges and opportunities they are oftentimes prompted to engage in capacity building. This fundamental concept is a common practice for enhancing the day-to-day operations of a nonprofit.  The process for building capacity of a nonprofit organization employs a three-step process, for building capacity and advances a course of action to capacity build, for community engagement. The steps involve: 1) Defining or refining a collective mission and vision, indicative of the purpose of the nonprofit to meet their communities’ needs through community engagement; 2) identifying strengths and weaknesses relative to organization capacity; and 3) crafting and implementing a plan of action for capacity building. In addition, the strategies for capacity building are coordinated in a customized fashion—based on the organization’s capacity-building needs. This procedure generates a plan for capacity enhancement and the foundation for meeting the challenges and opportunities that emerge within the day-to-day operations of a nonprofit.   

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