Nonprofit Capacity

Rethinking Capacity Building: How Do Organizations Best Learn How to Use Data?

For nonprofits and mission-driven organizations, data is a tool for learning, improving programs, and making the best strategic decisions. Strong data practices can help organizations understand what’s working, adapt in real time, and demonstrate impact. Professional data use goes beyond basic reporting or compliance. It refers to how organizations actively embed data into the day-to-day decision-making process to enhance programs, allocate resources, guide strategy, assess outcomes, evaluate impact, and predict

Introducing The Health and Human Services Referral Systems’ Measurement and Evaluation Playbook

Data is everywhere. The volume of data created by our interactions with technology is growing exponentially. In fact, it’s estimated that in 2026, 658,000,000 TB of data will be generated every single day. Health and human service networks are no different. From case creation to referral acceptance, each step in the process generates a data point that can be captured, analyzed, and evaluated. This creates a problem. Often, referral networks

How Do Boards of Directors Influence Nonprofit Capacity?

By Brett Mayfield Nonprofit boards are a governing body of individuals responsible for the organizations’ affairs and conduct (Herman & Renz, 2000). While board members play a vital role in nonprofit management, little research exists about these individuals’ active roles in collaboration with other organizations. With little discussion about what board members bring to the table, leaders may not know what is valuable to look for in new members

NVSQ China Capacity

By Brett Mayfield When non-governmental organizations (NGOs) such as nonprofits seek to make an impact and achieve goals, they need the organizational capacity to do so. In recent decades, capacity-building has become more and more popular among NGOs worldwide. With such a wide variety of social issues to be tackled and few reliable capacity measures available to NGOs, Shumate et al. developed the Nonprofit Capacity Instrument in 2017. They

Do U.S. Faith-Based Social Service Organizations Resist Collaboration? Examining the Role of Religiosity and Operational Capacity in Interorganizational Partnerships

View the Resource By Sophia Fu, Katherine R. Cooper, Michelle Shumate Although nonprofit collaboration is commonplace, recent research suggests that faith-based organizations (FBOs) are less likely to collaborate than other nonprofits. This study builds on prior FBO, collaboration, and nonprofit capacity research to examine the influence of religiosity and operational capacity on FBOs’ within- and cross-sector partnerships. Findings from a survey with 197 FBOs across the United States reveal a

Nonprofit Capacity: A Guide for Foundations

Foundations, technical assistance organizations, and government programs often claim to promote nonprofit capacity. But, many times, it’s not clear what they mean. Merriam Webster defines capacity as “the facility or power to produce, perform, or deploy.” Nonprofit capacity is the facility of nonprofits to produce, perform, or deploy their resources. It’s not the same as effectiveness. Instead, it describes the ability of a nonprofit to accomplish its organizational goals and