Building Capacity so your Social Impact Organization can Thrive
As the leader of a nonprofit or social enterprise, there are two primary ways you can spend your time: working in your business or working on your business.
For many small organizations (less than $500k annual revenue) with limited staff that decision may feel like an impossible one to manage. The sustainability of grassroots nonprofits and social impact businesses is most often limited by a lack of capacity. Leaders who strike a balance between implementing their product or service (working in your business) and strengthening their operational effectiveness (working on your business) have the best chance to reach their goals.
What’s in a name?
The term capacity is broadly used to describe “the maximum amount that something can hold”. As you can imagine, approaches to capacity building (or organizational development) vary widely depending upon factors such as legal structure, business model, culture, and stage of growth. One of the greatest challenges faced by leaders in any given day is deciding which of the hundreds of potential decisions they should focus on. Impact driven leaders, not surprisingly, are motivated to prioritize the needs of their communities. Far too often that leaves the needs of their organization (and the leader themselves) to go unsupported.
Domains of Capacity Building
Taking the time to work on your business involves taking a wholistic, 360 degree view of threats and opportunities. In order to perform this task, we found that most capacity building tools and frameworks require an extensive amount of effort to complete and interpret the results. And, when New Sun Rising started researching available capacity building tool to adopt, we noted that equity and inclusion were largely omitted from the most frequently used processes.
Informed by the needs of small social impact organizations, the Organizational Assessment Tool (OAT) was created to help leaders efficiently prioritize action across four capacity building domains: Planning, Resources, Connectivity, and Identity.
Planning is developing a shared commitment to goals and strategies, is co-developed with local stakeholders, and based upon community and client engagement. This domain prompts leaders to ask themselves questions such as:
- How well defined are our strategies, goals, and activities?
- Are plans aligned with the needs and goals of our community?
- How effective are our operational processes?
- Do we appropriately manage financial activity?
- Are we legally established and advised?
Resources are accessible people, networks, knowledge, and capital appropriate for your stage of development.
- Does our leadership have the skills and experience to succeed?
- Are staff supported to grow and develop?
- Are partnerships strategic, active, and mutually beneficial?
- Do we have a sustainable funding model and development plan?
- Do we recruit adequate volunteers and offer a positive experience?
Connectivity is any activity which engages, strengthens, and co-powers networks to break down barriers, increase equity, and leverage the commitment of internal and external stakeholders.
- Do our activities increase access for those with barriers?
- Do the people in our organization reflect the identities and experiences of those we serve?
- Do we regularly collect and incorporate feedback from our team and community?
Identity is the expression of authentic culture, values, and impact, used to inspire hope, trust, and action.
- Do we have clearly understood mission, vision, and values?
- Do we design, collect, and utilize appropriate performance metrics?
- How effective is our marketing strategy and branding?
From Surviving to Thriving
Social impact leaders, boards, advisors and consultants who make time to assess their capacity find it much easier to prioritize solutions. Surveys like New Sun Rising’s Organizational Assessment Tool (OAT) provide clarity on development needs and inspire the confidence to take action. Once completed, we offer deeper analysis of the results through the Vibrancy Portal data management platform. Here, leaders can benchmark their capacity against other organizations and filter results based on budget size or Sustainable Development Goal being addressed. Capacity building organizations and investors can also use the Vibrancy Portal to gain portfolio level insights into collective strength and weakness trends of those they support.
Social impact leaders are more likely to move beyond survival mode by finding time to work on their business using data-driven capacity building strategies, along with the high quality product or service implementation. A thriving organization is not only a healthier and happier place to work. It is more resilient to future shocks and stresses, ensuring that the important work of building vibrant, equitable communities will continue.
