New Grant Program to Bolster Capacity of Local Organizations

When preparing for the initial release of CFSI’s Community Needs Assessment in 2015, local nonprofit leaders were surveyed with a variety of questions, including the biggest challenges or obstacles they face as an organization.

The answers were loud and clear: they struggled to find funding to support their organization’s internal capacity building. Without support, they said, the outward-facing programs and services they provide to our community may not be able to continue, or expand, to fulfill their mission.

In response to the feedback, the Community Foundation of Southern Indiana Board of Directors voted to designate a portion of the Community Impact Fund budget in 2022 for grants to support organizational growth. The Capacity Building Grants Program is dedicated to improving nonprofit organizations’ capacity so that they may continue to provide the essential services that they are uniquely positioned to offer in our community.

“The goal of the Capacity Building Grant program is to allow an organization to really highlight the vision and strategic planning efforts that are in place to grow and sustain operations,” says CFSI President & CEO Linda Speed. “We’re not looking at this being a one-time effort to improve short-term effectiveness. Instead, we envision these grants to provide a continuous improvement strategy toward the creation of sustainable and effective organizations that will remain part of our communities.”

As for the future of the year-round program – which opened in July 2022 and awarded its first round of funding in fall 2022 (Fiscal Year ’23) – grants will be available quarterly and are intended to serve organizations in both Clark and Floyd counties in Indiana.

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Speed says, “After learning about the challenge to obtain funding for these types of efforts, we’re grateful that our Board of Directors took it upon themselves to support our area’s nonprofit leaders with this grant program. The goal is for these awards to strengthen the efficiency and sustainability of these organizations in Clark and Floyd Counties for future generations.”