Building Capacity

How can you help enlist a capable director?

• Urge patience and thoroughness in the search. Many of our contributors stressed the importance of urging care in identifying and selecting a strong executive director, whatever your role may be in the actual hiring process.
• Fund a professional search. Some contributors said they had worked informally with board members to recruit an executive director, yet most endorsed a more formal search using a professional firm

How can you help build leadership capacity?

• Offer management training and coaching. Training or consultation from a management specialist can sometimes work well, especially for building the capacity of an entire leadership team. As a grantmaker supporting several new organizations in a region explained: “We funded a capacity-building training program for start-up groups plus a number of other grantees. This involved organizational development, management, strategic planning, fundraising, and board training. They created a tailored training plan for each organization. They did an assessment, worked with the boards, did some survey work, and created a work plan for each organization.”