Known in some circles as organizational effectiveness, capacity building encompasses all aspects of mission fulfillment – good governance, strong financial and administrative management, solid program development and implementation, impactful service delivery and of course, evaluation and redesign.

Nonprofit effectiveness, it is a goal we all strive for, but what exactly does it look like? At the end of the day, an effective nonprofit is one that:

• Has a clear sense of its identity and  a compelling mission that is guided by organization values and planning efforts that are rooted in community needs that are clearly communicated to stakeholders.
• Is stewarded by an engaged, thoughtful, ethical and competent board with best practice governance policies guiding their efforts.
• Delivers programs and services of the highest quality which can demonstrate progress towards reducing the needs in the community served as evidenced through data and evaluation.
• Is sound financially, with a diversified, stable funding base that is able to weather the ever changing economic and funding landscape.
• Is respected by key stakeholders – clients, funders, donors, members and the field – and influences the sector and community of which it is a part.
• Is managed and operated with operational and organizational best practices, knowledgeable and skilled staff and strives to be an organization of excellence.
• Can respond effectively to the changing landscape of community needs, economic ups and downs and other unforeseen circumstances.