Commitment to Capacity Building
Sunlight Giving believes that investments in capacity building are among the best ways to strengthen organizations and their ability to serve their communities. Capacity building grants are responsive and grantee driven - grantees identify the needs and projects for which they seek support. Grant funds are only available for current grantees.
Funding Requests
Capacity building is defined as any effort that enhances an organization’s ability to carry out its mission. The following areas may be eligible for capacity building support:
Sunlight Giving will consider supporting a variety of capital needs that may not be covered by an organization’s financial reserves, including capital campaigns. Often these requests come in the form of deferred maintenance or new needs that improve or increase services. Funding decisions in this category are based on the type of project, total funds needed to complete the project, and other funds raised, among other factors.
Investing in a nonprofit’s staffing, governance, staff, operations, or thoughtful planning process can ensure that an organization is best positioned to serve its community. Sunlight Giving’s support for these projects mainly comes in the form of one-time grants to cover consultant fees and modest overhead costs.
Sunlight Giving will consider support for situations where there is a finite need for increased staffing, such as project implementation or an anticipated change in work load requiring additional staffing during a strategic process. This request can be to cover existing staff that may be taking on new or additional responsibilities or short-term staff brought on to complete a project.
Exclusions
The following types of requests will not be considered: rent or other occupancy expenses, website design or updates, computers or hardware, ongoing licensing fees, financial audits, endowments, tuition for degree programs, conference costs, recurring staff training expenses, printing of strategic plans or other reports, or legal fees.
Process & Timeline
To apply, organizations are encouraged to contact their program officer to discuss whether a project qualifies for capacity building funds. Depending on the type of request, organizations may be asked to provide a write-up of the project, invoices/cost estimates, consultant workplans, timeline, budgets, or other items.
If the project is deemed a good fit, your request will go through the same review process as all other requests to the foundation.
Decisions for most requests are typically made within two months. For capital campaigns, decisions are typically made once a year in November.
Questions? Please contact your program officer.
