Management Assistance Grants

Through MAGs, The Forbes Funds supports nonprofits as they work to build the management capacity of their leadership and the operational processes that increase the organization's ability to deliver on its mission.

What Applicants Should Demonstrate

  • the organization has considered its capacity and management challenges and has outlined the most critical one (i.e., please do not submit a "menu" of requests from which we should choose).
  • the organization has the capability and commitment to vigorously pursue recommendations that emerge from the project.
  • the proposed project has specific observable outcomes as well as a plan to assess the impact of the project on the organization’s management and operational capacity.

What We Fund

  • Projects designed to improve the organization’s ability to monitor and respond to the needs of its clients, consumers, supporters and donors and to distinguish between community need and consumer demand
  • Projects designed to improve the organization’s ability to recruit, retain and effectively utilize high quality talent, whether professional or volunteer
  • Projects involving adoption of management innovations, process improvement and accountability
  • Efforts to diversify the organization’s revenue streams
  • Strategies to form collaborative ventures with public, private or other nonprofit institutions
  • Requests to support technology audits and analyses of information management systems

What We Won’t Fund

  • Staff salaries
  • Administrative overhead
  • Computers (hardware or software) or other equipment or furnishings
  • Rent or other occupancy or facilities expenses
  • Financial audits
  • Tuition for degree programs
  • Fees and other costs of attending conferences
  • Accreditation processes
  • Capital campaigns or campaign consultants
  • Recurring staff or board training expenses
  • Capital campaigns and endowments

Note: MAGs are not made to cover fees and/or costs already incurred, or projects already under way, including capacity-building projects for which the organization has already signed contracts with its preferred provider.

Learn more about the Five Steps to apply.