In the late 90s, funders began to recognize that grants made to nonprofits with a narrow project focus did not always achieve the anticipated results and that neglect of infrastructure often meant organizations could not sustain their best ideas. This led these funders to re-focus on what became known as “organizational capacity building." 

Joanne Kidd saw that much of the work of Executive Directors was about building organizational sustainability and the capacity required to achieve it. At the same time, she saw the terminology being used in different ways and believed the various players could be working at crossed purposes. She talked with both Executive Directors and funders to find out what each believed “capacity building” to mean, what each would see as the characteristics of full “capacity," and what it would take to reach that place. 

Conversations about Capacity Building reports on those discussions, and compares the various viewpoints with current literature on ways to achieve organizational effectiveness and high performance. It includes a list of resources for those who wish to analyze their own organizational strengths and weaknesses in order to find ways to increase organizational sustainability and the effective achievement of organizational mission. The work will be of greatest interest to those in a governance or management role in a nonprofit, or to the funders who help to sustain the work of these organizations.

©2005; 92 pp, softcover