Capacity Building
Nonprofits are funded from a variety of sources -- foundations, government, businesses, and most of all, individual donors. Often, those supporters are only interested in funding the direct expenses associated with delivering programs and services in the community.
It is challenging for many nonprofits, especially smaller and medium-size organizations, to raise the dollars needed for financial management (to ensure fiscal accountability to donors); marketing (to expand the reach of services); resource development (to ensure the organization is not dependent on just a few funders); professional development (to ensure that nonprofits have the best talent available to service their communities); and technology (to make the most efficient use of donor's resources).
In addition to these capacity-building resources, nonprofits also need the skills, know-how and tools to install best practices and ensure that they are good stewards of the community's investments in their mission.
To address this need, the Alliance and others are engaged in initiatives to expand resources for capacity building and streamline nonprofit access to quality knowledge of best management practices.
National Capacity Building Initiative
In April 2009, Congress passed the Edward M. Kennedy Serve America Act, which included creation of the National Capacity Building Initiative (NCBI). This program, developed by a network of state associations under the leadership of the National Council of Nonprofits, appropriates federal money to create state-level capacity building programs, modeled on Small Business Development Centers administered by the Small Business Administration for small for-profit businesses. While the law was passed, the appropriation has not been approved, as of the spring of 2010. The Alliance and the National Council of Nonprofits are still trying to secure funding for this new initiative.
Read the original background paper about NCBI: 
NCBI Background.pdf [445.00 Kb 4/20/2007]