Capacity Building

Regardless of where nonprofits are in their lifecycle, most are usually working towards the development of one aspect or another of their leadership, strategy, or infrastructure. Unfortunately, time and resources to support this kind of work can be scarce.

The Dodge Foundation has had a long history of providing capacity building support and programming to our grantee partners. Over the years, we have collaborated to offer a number of programs, such as the Board Leadership Series and the Anti-Racism/Anti-Oppression Learning to Applied Practice Series. We are proud of these programs and the value they have provided for so many organizations and leaders across the state. As we are aligning all of our work with our new strategic direction, centering on a more just and equitable New Jersey, we have begun to look at the roles that the Foundation plays with regards to grantee capacity building. Specifically, we are taking some time to better understand the needs of our grantee partners and to reconsider if and/or when it makes sense for the Foundation to play the role of direct technical assistance provider.

This year, while we will not be developing or delivering additional training offerings, we are prioritizing continued support for grantee and sector capacity building in a few ways:

• We will continue to provide general operating grant support to nonprofit leadership and organizational development organizations and programs that actively serve the New Jersey nonprofit sector and that do so with a strong equity lens.
• Since most of our grants are now general operating support, we encourage current grantee partners to include their capacity building support needs in their regular applications. We believe this will enable organizations to identify and prioritize their own development needs and self-determine how best to address them.
• We will continue to provide information and referrals for our grantees. Please see the link below to explore a listing of just a few recommended capacity building resources and providers. We are aiming to expand this list during the year.

If you have any questions, please reach out to questions@grdodge.org.