Capacity-Building & Leadership Investment

SVCF’s capacity-building grants enable leaders who are from communities of color and the nonprofit organizations they lead to grow competencies and invest in business processes that can increase their organizations’ effectiveness and sustainability.

Investing in talent and leadership capacity is necessary for nonprofits to advance racial equity and achieve better outcomes for the communities they serve. Capacity-building is an investment in the effectiveness and future sustainability of a nonprofit and ensures that an organization can deliver its mission both now and in the future.

Capacity-building support and grants are provided year-round. From this fund, SVCF awards flexible, general operating support grants to organizations led by people of color. In the future, we plan to offer a set of customized trainings and workshops to the organizations in the program, either as a group or individualized, to expand knowledge and connection and, therefore, their impact in the community.

Additionally, SVCF will focus support on a set of organizations and their executive directors. These organizations will receive grants and join a cohort for intensive learning and leadership investment to sharpen their nonprofits’ visions and strategies.

The program will fund four types of activities:

• Organizations that have capacity and leadership needs
• Organizations that support capacity and leadership of nonprofits or nonprofit coalitions
• Capacity and leadership priorities of Community Catalyst Cohorts, which are groups of grantees from the SVCF Community Catalyst Fund
• General education experiences that focus on racial equity, social justice, community-building and power-building (e.g., workshops that help raise awareness of implicit bias within organizations, or workshops that assist organizations in developing their advocacy work)

Funding will not be provided for:

• Capital improvements
• Budget shortfalls or fundraising events
• Previously planned or long-term campaigns
• Funding gaps due to organizational emergencies, such as office vandalism, resignation of an executive director or sudden loss of funding

The application is streamlined to reduce time spent on applying and processing. The grant review process will be expedited and only one application may be submitted per organization.

• Organizations must serve San Mateo and/or Santa Clara counties. Organizations headquartered outside the two-county region may apply but should demonstrate significant service to these areas or partner with a local organization that does.
• Organizations must have a 501(c)(3) designation or have a fiscal sponsor with a 501(c)(3) designation.
• Organizations must not discriminate based on race, color, national origin, citizenship status, creed, religion, religious affiliation, age, gender, marital status, sexual orientation, gender identity, disability, veteran status or any other protected status.
• Organizations with religious affiliations will be considered for funding only if the project for which they seek support addresses the needs of the wider community without regard to religious beliefs.