Center for Civic Partnerships

Organizational Development Services

The Center for Civic Partnerships has a proven track record of providing intensive technical support, training and consultation services (including one-on-one consultation, site visits and group facilitation) to over 150 organizations, collaborative, cities and communities throughout the country. The Center provides a variety of services to help groups plan, implement, evaluate and sustain improvements.

Nonprofit organizations are challenged to meet the increasing service and advocacy demands of their communities with diminishing resources. Given the current economic and political environments, it is difficult for many organizations to break through the “crisis of now.” During these uncertain times, additional support from outside the organization can help executive directors focus strategically on their organizations’ mission, including sustainability, to ensure that many of the recent gains made in their communities are not lost entirely. Through technical assistance and sustainability training, the Organizational Development Services program helps nonprofit organizations build the necessary capacity to cope with the changing fiscal and political climate.

History

The Center for Civic Partnerships’ Organizational Development Services program began in 2002 as a pilot project. Through a grant from The California Wellness Foundation (TCWF), the Center developed a “wraparound” program designed to help TCWF grantees strengthen their organizations.

The Organizational Development Pilot Project established a model for providing technical assistance to a group of TCWF grantees for a one-year period. Over the course of 14 months, Center staff collaborated with the executive directors from nine nonprofit organizations, providing individualized assistance in the following areas:

board and staff development
fund development
marketing and public relations
human resources
strategic planning
evaluation
fiscal management
sustainability
succession planning

The Center used this pilot project to refine organizational development strategies and deliver timely technical assistance to the participating organizations. After a favorable evaluation, TCWF renewed the ODS project for another two years beginning in April 2004, and then again for another three years beginning in July 2006.

Organizational Development Services Program

Program Overview
The goal of the Organizational Development Services program is to provide individual, customized support based upon the needs and interests identified by each participating organization. The California Wellness Foundation (TCWF) funds participating organizations under their various grantmaking programs. While providing core funding support to organizations is essential, many times organizations can benefit from technical support. Organizational development support is designed to increase capacity within these organizations by working directly with their leadership to identify and implement improvement strategies.

Center staff guided us through a process to increase our capacity and move our agency to the next level of development. Building an effective strategic plan is now possible because of the many levels of support offered by the Center, from the peer exchange and training offered at the Executive Directors’ retreat to the Sustainability Workshop which resulted in a better understanding of the key issues related to sustainability.” -- Melanie Kauffman, Executive Director, Sierra Senior Services

Technical Support Methods

Assessment
Each organization participates in an assessment phase, which includes surveys, review of organizational materials and face-to-face interviews. This assessment focuses on identifying the organization’s priority areas to be addressed throughout the duration of the program.

Individualized Support
The Center provides direct, customized support to organizations through ongoing, confidential site visits, telephone support, e-mail support and resource brokering.The Center acts as a broker to assist organizations to identify technical assistance resources such as consultants, tools and peer assistance as necessary. Mini-grants are available to participants to secure resources when needed.

Peer Support
The Center facilitates peer exchange and support among the participating grantees through:

An Executive Director retreat
Other peer-focused meetings
Listserv hosted by the Center

“As a new nonprofit Executive Director, this program has been immensely helpful. I've been able to network with other EDs and gain vital feedback based on their experience.” -- Linda Beal, Former Executive Director, Association of Black Women Physicians

Sustainability Toolkit and Facilitation
Each participating organization receives a complimentary copy of the Sustainability Toolkit: 10 Steps to Maintaining Your Community Improvements. This user-friendly publication, developed by the Center, is designed to help organizations decide which of their current efforts they should maintain and determine how to continue them. Center staff work with each executive director to help identify how s/he can use the tools within his/her organization and to facilitate one on-site sustainability session.

Participant Selection

Participation in the Organizational Development Services program is by invitation only. Invitations to apply are extended to all organizations funded by The California Wellness Foundation that have at least one year left on a TCWF grant at the application deadline. Each year, twenty organizations are selected to participate. The program runs from August through the following July. A brief application and interview are used to select the participants.