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Nonprofit Capacity Landscape Analysis

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To address our strategic area of focus in Building Nonprofit Capacity, the Community Foundation has been engaged in a Nonprofit Capacity Landscape Analysis to enhance our understanding of the organizational capacities of nonprofits within Washoe County.

A collaborative effort between the Community Foundation of Northern Nevada, Washoe County, the Nell J. Redfield Foundation, and the University of Nevada, Reno, the goal of this research was to help unify and focus the capacity-building efforts across our community and begin the process of finding tangible outcome-based work to enhance nonprofit impact.

We are pleased to share the report is complete with identified themes and needs, as well as next steps to strengthen our nonprofit ecosystem.

Key Findings:

  • All stakeholders agree that nonprofit capacity building is crucial for our community, but there’s no common understanding of what it is or could be.
  • Resource limitations are a challenge for both funders and nonprofits.
  • There’s potential to boost nonprofit capacity through stronger collaboration between nonprofits and funders.
  • Power dynamics and lack of a common language are barriers to investing in capacity building.

Next Steps:

  • Expand the Steering Committee and create a 3-year Strategic Plan
  • Increase philanthropic funding for capacity building
  • Start improving capacity building opportunities
    • Align on capacity assessment tools for funders and nonprofits to assess readiness and needs
    • Foster a central resource hub to provide nonprofits with the tools they need for capacity building

View the Full Nonprofit Capacity Landscape Analysis Report