FALL 2018
So one may question why, given all of the pressing health issues and disparities in Georgia, does the
Foundation have the audacity to support capacity building? Unlike our other grantmaking programs,
our capacity building program does not provide support for organizations to implement programs or
to provide direct services. The reason is simple – we believe that strengthening nonprofits not only
helps us to achieve our mission, but that providing organizations with the tools and resources
necessary to build their capacity to better fulfill their missions’ leads to stronger organizations,
programs, and ultimately, better health outcomes for Georgians.
Capacity building is defined as the funding and technical assistance necessary to help nonprofits
increase specific capabilities to deliver stronger programs, take risks, build connections, innovate
and iterate. We also know that in striving to achieve health equity, we need to support nonprofit
organizations by making sure they have the resources and skills to be able to deliver programs and
services that are “grounded in science, built on partnerships and focused on results.” Our capacity
building work helps us to accomplish this.
Since inception, the Foundation has been committed to strengthening nonprofit organizations. This
is one of the Foundation’s four priority areas and we have implemented different strategies to
building capacity among nonprofit organizations. As a learning organization, the Foundation
conducted evaluations of our previous capacity building efforts and used the results to develop a
program that is better suited to our grantees’ needs, provides a baseline capacity building
assessment tool, and utilizes best practices to develop a learning community among our grantees.
The Foundation’s EmpowerHealth capacity building grant program was launched in 2016 and is
currently a two-year pilot program to empower nonprofit health organizations to strengthen
capacity among four core areas (adaptive, leadership, management and technical) and to improve
the ability for both staff and board members to operate at an optimal level to provide better results
to communities. The Foundation is partnering with TCC Group, a national social impact firm, to
implement EmpowerHealth, and is using TCC Group’s Core Capacity Assessment Tool (CCAT)
throughout the application process. The CCAT serves as a baseline capacity assessment tool and
helps organizations to identify capacity areas that most need strengthening.
( Continued on page 12)
ADVANCING THE HEALTH OF ALL GEORGIANS
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