National Council of Nonprofit Associations

The National Council of Nonprofits is moving the number one priority of the nonprofit sector into action. That priority of "organizational effectiveness" is at the heart of the National Council's Nonprofit Capacity Building Initiative (NCBI). NCBI is designed to fund capacity building for small and midsize nonprofits by securing federal grants and matching funds for organizations that have a proven ability to deliver high-quality training and technical assistance to nonprofits. Building on expressed congressional interest and supported by the July 2007 GAO report, it would authorize $25 million in grant funding each year for 3 years to serve 501(c)(3) nonprofits with annual operating budgets of less than $5 million. Organizational effectiveness topics of leadership development, organizational development, legal compliance, reporting, and technology would be covered.

On June 4, 2008, approximately 105 Nonprofit Congress attendees, most with state association delegations, visited the offices of approximately 110 Members of Congress, representing 28 states, to spread the word on the work of the nonprofit sector and build support for NCBI. The momentum is building and connecting with similar efforts and thinking by many in the nonprofit sector. See the article in the Washington Post.

UPDATE: On March 17, the National Council's efforts to strengthen small and midsize nonprofits broke new ground when Senate Finance Committee Chair Max Baucus (MT-D) introduced the Nonprofit Capacity Building Act of 2009 (NCBA) (S 609). The bill would create an innovative $25 million fund in the budget of the Corporation for National and Community Service to make matching grants to intermediary nonprofit training and technical assistance entities. Those intermediaries will then provide organizational development assistance (training and technical assistance for capacity building) to small and midsize nonprofits, especially those in areas where nonprofits face "significant resource hardship challenges." Passing NCBA would be a major step forward together. Look for our Action Alert shortly! Read more about NCBA in our March 2009 Policy News.

For more information and to get involved, contact Ann Beltran, Public Policy Analyst.