This following is a comprehensive roadmap for grantmakers looking to shift from traditional funding to more impactful, trust-based capacity building. It blends high-level philosophy with “in-the-trenches” tools, focusing heavily on equity and the strengthening of nonprofit “internal muscles” like leadership, technology, and adaptive capacity.
Core Elements of Capacity-Building: Definition, Principles and Practices
Individual Donors: Getting Started
Learn what to expect from an individual donor program and how to get started.
Implementing Capacity-Building: Examples of Other Foundations
Introduction to Special Event Fundraising
Explore the purpose of special events and how to decide which type of event is right for you.
Streamlining Tips for Grantmakers
Planning Your Grant Budget
Walk through a budget example and get some answers to common grant budget questions.
National Research & Reports
Special Campaigns: Planned Giving & Capital Campaigns
Learn if your organization is ready for a Planned Giving or Capital Campaign and how to get started.
Assessing Capacity Impact
Special Campaigns: Planned Giving & Capital Campaigns
Learn if your organization is ready for a Planned Giving or Capital Campaign and how to get started.
Other Funder Networks for Capacity-Building
TCBN Flyer Triangle Capacity Building Network
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- Source: Triangle Capacity Building Network, Durham North Carolina
- Date: November 2025
- Summary: A growing collection of local funders in North Carolina focused on disrupting the status quo, changing the narrative, and doing things differently in the nonprofit sector and the community it serves, led by the Triangle Community Foundation.As a funder collaborative, we are committed to:
- Changing our philanthropic behavior by prioritizing funding to nonprofits for capacity building and organizational strengthening, and embracing participatory grantmaking, trust-based philanthropy, and full cost funding;
- Reducing the power imbalance between funders and nonprofits through greater transparency and honesty
- Focusing on organizations led by and serving people of color that have traditionally been excluded or overlooked by power structures and funding cycles.
Link: https://trianglecf.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/TCBN-Flyer-Feb2025.pdf
Philanthropy Network of Greater Philadelphia (CCSI)
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- Source: The Coordinated Capacity Strengthening Initiative (CCSI) ) (formerly known as the Coordinated Capacity Building Initiative)
- Date: November 2025 update
Summary: a collaborative effort by a group of Greater Philadelphia regional funders, supported and amplified by the Philanthropy Network of Greater Philadelphia, to enhance the impact of nonprofits in the region.
Purpose and Goals: The primary goal of the CCSI is to invest in the collective impact of nonprofits by creating a more accessible, cohesive, and responsive capacity strengthening ecosystem. The initiative was launched in 2024 with a year-long, three-phase effort: research, strategy creation, and action planning. As of late 2025, the initiative is in its implementation phase.
Action Phase: Following the research, a vision for a coordinated system was developed, focusing on building existing efforts rather than creating new ones. In September 2025, the initiative began seeking an organization or set of organizations to serve as the Coordinating Organization to act as the “backbone” of the CCSI. This entity will be responsible for curating and navigating opportunities, fostering collaboration, and advancing equity within the sector.
For the latest updates and opportunities related to this initiative, visit the Philanthropy Network Greater Philadelphia website or its dedicated section on Collective Action.
Link:https://sites.google.com/sas.upenn.edu/ccsi2?usp=sharing