Prove Organizational Capacity

Prove the Capacity of Your Organization to Manage the Grant

As we shared in our Mission and History page, foundations are rather like banks in that they like to support a winner. The following quotes from foundation officers show what they are looking for:

“Organizations must be well-managed, fiscally-sound, have a developed history, and maintain a record of program integrity. Requests for capital support are considered most often after there is clear and assured evidence that the goal of the campaign is going to be achieved and that such will be accomplished within a reasonable time period.”

Ahmanson Foundation

“We look very carefully at the programs to be housed in the buildings, at the organizations that propose them, at their financial audits, accreditation reports, and projections of the cost to operate new or expanded facilities. Questions about long-range, strategic plans, staff and program development, and governance are unavoidable. It is an opportunity to look into an organization’s soul and to ask, ‘Who needs it? Who supports it? Who will work and give to advance it?’ It has been said that a capital campaign will reveal whether an organization’s board of trustees is composed of movers and shakers or of the moved and the shaken.”

– John E. Marshall III, President, The Kresge Foundation

Advice from Funders