In the last 18 months, Philanthropy Ohio has been involved in countless conversations with members as they’ve grappled with what it means to provide capacity–building support in their respective ecosystems. The impacts of federal funding cuts and stressors on an already strained nonprofit landscape have been devastating and uneven.
In Ohio and beyond, many partners are operating in crisis mode – facing immediate needs to finance gaps, pay their staff and provide essential services to community members in need. Budget plans are being reworked by the moment as new challenges arise, forcing unplanned legal, strategy or staffing expenses. Our nonprofit leaders are feeling the bracing overwhelm. This pressure-cooker environment is both showcasing how resourceful and talented our nonprofit leaders are while simultaneously destroying them. This lack of funding stability and an unrelenting stream of cortisol are forcing the exit of so many from our sector. There is no replacement for the loss of trust and the institutional and community knowledge held by nonprofits in the community.
Funders have the privilege of taking the long view – crafting strategies to address generational problems with long-term solutions. In this moment, funders are being asked to step forward and demonstrate the authenticity of their commitment to their partners and unlock funding streams and spending policies to meet the moment with the financial and relational resources they bring to bear. No matter how effective the strategy or strong the relationship is, we must be anchored in the reality that philanthropy cannot replace government funding deployed through just processes in a functioning representative democracy. But we still must try.
In Ohio, the nonprofit ecosystem employs over 10% of our workforce. It is a critical engine in communities in a state full of nuance and complexity, where answers must be tailored to the backdrop of the region. Supporting the capacity of this workforce is distilled down to investing in connection, people, policy and infrastructure support.
Investing in Nonprofits Through Connection
Investing in people takes many shapes and begins with processes that center those affected – both as grantee organizations and in community. In Appalachian Ohio and across our border in West Virginia, Sisters Health Foundation deeply invests in the trust-based philanthropy philosophy of support beyond the check and in the simple but powerful premise of building relationships across grantee cohorts through shared peer learning. Longtime partner and neighbor in this work, the Athens County Foundation has pioneered Project Co-Create, a participatory change-making model that brings the community together to address its regional housing crisis. Building trust and relationships through convening is one of philanthropy’s most enduring and effective roles in the sector.
Investing in Nonprofits Through People
Investing in people also means investing in everything from their wellness in this moment to their leadership potential and pipeline. In Dayton, The Mathile Family Foundation has carved out dedicated resources to capacity building, including developing a two-day Course for Nonprofit Leaders adapted from Aileron’s DOC System of Professional Management and partnering with The Dayton Foundation to launch the Nonprofit Capacity-Building Partnership, a cohort leadership development program aimed at strengthening local nonprofit organizations through training and other professional development opportunities. Corporate leaders across our state deploy the wisdom and expertise of their leaders to provide advanced volunteer support. And along our north shore, Erie County Community Foundation hosts a two-day retreat for nonprofit leaders to have a moment to breathe and simply be in community together. Philanthropy can and should provide no- and low-cost leadership support in many forms, from skill-building to simply providing space – physically and mentally – for respite. Rest is not a privilege; it is an essential component of resilience.
Investing in Nonprofits Through Infrastructure Support
And of course, we cannot discount the critical importance of investing in nonprofit infrastructure organizations that blend and augment the investments in people and policy by creating consistency and momentum. We see this across the state – through strong urban Human Service chambers serving as important engines of connection for health & human service agencies to the recently launched Ohio Humanities Alliance, created to add statewide capacity to arts & culture organizations. Across the state, infrastructure organizations provide capacity to their region’s nonprofits. From along the Ohio river in Marietta, where Nonprofits LEAD provides education, resource sharing and advocacy support to the Miami Valley Nonprofit Collaborative providing similar supports in the southwest corner. At times the foundation can offer this support directly – from The Greater Toledo Community Foundation’s in-house Center for Nonprofit Excellence to covid-inspired funder collaboratives in Cincinnati and Northeast Ohio that serve as enduring examples of how aligned philanthropy can exponentially increase community impact.
Assuming the Risks on Behalf of Nonprofits
Philanthropy has the benefit of perpetuity. Most of our foundations are not at risk of closing their doors; they are built on a legacy intended to outlive every current steward of resources. And with that privilege comes the immense opportunity to continue to pursue long-term needs while supporting short-term crises. That means continuing to invest in diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging and keeping critical conversations lifted in the midst of a chaotic news cycle and very real and tangible legal and administrative threats to their successes. To that end, the Raymond John Wean Foundation has established itself as a critical capacity–building resource for the Mahoning Valley region and beyond, providing nonprofit incubation and resources, as well as deeply investing in shared learning and growth on institutional and structural racism. The success of this regional model has inspired communities across the state – many with the help of Philanthropy Ohio – to hold similar learning cohorts. Philanthropy must continue to elevate and center shared values when our nonprofits cannot.
Investing in Nonprofit Public Policy and Advocacy Efforts
Echoing Philanthropy Ohio President & CEO Meghan Cummings, investment in advocacy is a force multiplier, ensuring that every dollar we invest is operating in a more favorable environment. As such, effective capacity–building investment must necessarily include support for nonprofit organizations who provide advocacy education and learning. We are fortunate to have standpoint examples in Ohio of foundations providing thoughtful grant support toward meaningful civic goals, including:
- The George Gund Foundation’s longstanding commitment to promoting fair and adequate public sector tax and fiscal policy
- Peg’s Foundation’s investment in systems change and mental health advocacy
- Murray and Agnes Seasongood Good Government Foundation’s support of initiatives that strengthen governmental structures and combat political polarization
- Charles F. Kettering Foundation’s support of unbiased research to inform an inclusive democracy
Join Us: Upcoming Workshop That Centers Capacity Building
Philanthropy Ohio and GEO are a part of this critical infrastructure, being both within and supportive of the nonprofit sector. Together, we connect the divergent interests of philanthropies across our state and nation toward shared goals of advancing philanthropy and in turn, playing a small part in the grand goals of thriving, equitable and inclusive communities. Our partnership on a two-part workshop later this month to explore equity-embedded capacity building strategies is one part of our shared commitment to leverage our mutual goals and networks to craft the future of our sector.
➡️ We invite you to join us on July 29-30 for Equity-Embedded Capacity Building Workshop. Register by July 22. We hope to see you there!
Laura Smith is the Vice President of Programs & Learning at Philanthropy Ohio, where she provides strategy and oversight for the organization’s suite of professional development programming.