Problem Statement: Through continuing conversations at the Southwestern Pennsylvania After School Resource Collaboration (SPARC), leaders of SPARC realized that afterschool programs lack the basic hardware and training necessary to collect data regarding attendance, demographics, and outcomes of the children and youth they serve.

Solution: Mini-grants were offered to local after school programs in increments of $1,000 to $2,500 dedicated to the purchasing of computers, training and web-based software.

Results:More than 20 after school programs received funding to purchase computers, training and web-based software to enhance their data collection system. Data collected is utilized to improve programming.

Problem Statement: To provide a cohort of progressive organizations that demonstrate great potential within the afterschool system, the tools, resources and peer learning required in becoming high-performing nonprofits.

Solution: This capacity building cohort took on a two-pronged approach. First, the cohort of organizations worked through the Nonprofit Finance Fund’s Program Profitability Model (PPM). PPM is a diagnostic tool that helps organizations and their funders gain a clearer understanding of nonprofits’ enterprise-level capacity and capital needs. The final deliverable was a simple, standardized way to look at the bottom-line impact of all of their programs, as well as the overall capital structure they employ to support those programs over time.  The next piece focuses on each organization's data collection system - what is currently being collected and how and what should be collected and how.  Drawing from the work of these organizations, a core data set that every after school program should collect and a data collection tool kit will be developed and shared with the after school network.

Results: A comprehensive look at the results of both projects will be published.

Problem Statement: A number of United Way-funded organizations experienced decreased funding due to the United Way’s new grantmaking process. The need for their services is great as they are critical organizations in their respective communities.

Solution: The United Way partnered with The Forbes Funds to build the capacity of these organizations. Specifically, three core areas of capacity building support have been identified:

• Strategies for Sustainability grants targeting organizations with higher levels of United Way funding that are going to experience large allocation reductions.
• Positioned to Compete grants dedicated to organizations that are considered critical organizations to the community due to the high need populations and distressed areas where they serve.
• Building Organizational Capacity grants that examine the underlying infrastructure challenges.

Results: The Forbes Funds is helping ten organizations build their capacity in various ways, including developing an outcome measurement framework, developing program sustainability models, conducting detailed financial analysis, and more. As a result, organizations have either succeeded in receiving United Way funding or have demonstrated promising progress towards sustainability.

Problem Statement: A good assessment is critical to The Forbes Funds’ grantmaking process. Therefore, The Forbes Funds recently developed an assessment tool called the Criteria for Management Excellence.

Solution: Five organizations were selected to utilize the pilot Criteria for Management Excellence (CME) assessment tool, identify their capacity-building needs and provide the appropriate technical assistance resources to address the specific capacity issue identified.

Results: Through feedback and observation, The Forbes Funds was able to utilize lessons learned through this pilot phase to enhance the CME. The CME tool is now employed as a part of The Forbes Funds’ grantmaking process. Click here to access the CME.

Problem Statement: Three underserved communities were targeted that have been unable to compete for Pittsburgh Partnership for Neighborhood Development (PPND) funds. The grants were designed to build the internal capacity of a lead community organization that will be positioned to secure community development funding for their neighborhoods. It is important to note that in this model the community development focus is not on real estate but on other healthy community indicators, such as public safety, neighborhood plan or workforce development.

Proposed Solution: A project manager was commissioned to provide training for each community and guide them through the PPND application process.

Results: Two of the three communities built successful proposals and received PPND funding. The remaining community organization experienced a transformation and restructured its leadership, leading to stronger support for the community.