"In response to our community-based partners who identified organizational capacity building as an urgent, underfunded, and often overlooked need, RCF's best effort is to help build the capacity of Richmond by providing funding to those organizations working on the ground with families in our community," stated Joan Davis, President and CEO of the Richmond Community Foundation. "The RCF Board and staff have been extremely pleased by the implementation and demonstrated community impact of the prior grants, and are excited to see these current Capacity Building grants in action."
The need for capacity building grants was high with nearly 50 applications reviewed by the RCF Community Investments Committee through a rigorous and transparent process. In response to feedback received through its annual Community Engagement Survey, RCF offered a Pre-application Workshop and consultation for this round to help inform the preparation of the applications by the nonprofits.
Grants of up to $5,000 per organization were awarded in four capacity-building categories: Mission, Vision and Strategy; Governance and Leadership; Strategic Relationships; and Internal Operations. Funded projects include strategic planning, executive transition, volunteer management, and computers and data security, among others.
The grants will transform and enhance each organization's capacity to serve Richmond. The following examples attest to the diversity of the awardees:
Community Alliance for Learning (CAFL) was awarded a capacity building grant to continue and expand Writer Coach Connection in West County classrooms that serve Richmond students through outreach and volunteer management/coordination. WCC recruits, trains, and organizes community volunteers as writer coaches to work with students one on one, in class, on the students' writing assignments.
Richmond Youth Media Productions, Inc. (RYMP) will implement a strategic planning process to facilitate executive succession/transition, as well as accounting management software and training for new leadership. RYMP, under mentorship of experienced media professionals, provides a place where young Richmond people learn video production skills while producing programs that improve the quality of their lives and the lives of others in their community.
Youth Enrichment Strategies (YES) was awarded a 2012 Capacity Building Grant to consolidate existing databases and data management functions--used to track diverse groups of constituents and applications--into one, multi-user, cloud-based platform. YES enriches the lives of underserved youth, their caregivers and families in Richmond by deepening relationships through experiences in nature.
Click here to view all 2011 Capacity Building Grantees and projects.
The Fall 2011 Capacity Building Grant Recipients are:
• Community Alliance for Learning
• Girls Inc.
• La Cheim School
• Pacific News Service/New America Media
• Read-Aloud Volunteer Program
• Richmond PAL
• Richmond Youth Media
• STAND! For Families Free of Violence
• The Ed. Fund
• West County College Access Network
• Youth Enrichment Strategies
More information about each organization and its capacity building project can be found here: http://www.richmondcf.org/impact/impact-overview/2011-capacity-building-grantees
