Capacity Building Fund Grant

_NOTE: We consider requests for Capacity Building at The Denver Foundation on an ongoing basis, with decisions made monthly. The Capacity Building Fund at The Denver Foundation is closed in December each year. Please be sure to allow for up to six weeks for review when planning and scheduling your learning project._

Capacity Building Fund

he Denver Foundation is pleased to invite qualified nonprofits to apply for funding from the Capacity Building Fund at The Denver Foundation, a developmental support that enables you to do your work more effectively. The Denver Foundation recognizes the need for continued support for learning after receiving an initial grant.

Capacity building activities build new skills and provide learning opportunities that will help your organization change and grow. They should include the active involvement of staff, constituents, and/or board members.

Not all forms of capacity building are eligible for funding from The Denver Foundation. For example, we would not provide a grant for printing a new brochure designed to increase awareness of an organization, but we would consider a grant for staff, constituents, and board members to work with a consultant to develop an organizational marketing plan. The first is passive: You pay someone to do something for you. The second is active: You pay someone to do something with you and, in the process, acquire new knowledge and skills.

Funding

• Grant Range: $500 – $6,000.
• Though the average grant is $2,500 – $3,000.

Please consider applying early in the year. Grant awards given in previous years are no guarantee of future grant awards.

Eligibility

_You can learn more about this opportunity by visiting the funder's website._

• Your organization must be a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization or have a 501(c)(3) fiscal sponsor.
• Your organization must have received a grant from The Denver Foundation within the last three years.
• Your work must serve people who live in the seven-county Metro Denver region.
  • Please see an overview of our core values in the Community Grants Program Guidelines.
• Organizations may receive up to two Capacity Building grants each calendar year.
  • The organization must complete the learning project funded by the first grant and submit a satisfactory final report before applying for a second grant.
• For organizations with operating revenues of more than $500,000, 20% of the proposed project budget must be contributed by the organization.
  • For example, if a learning project has a budget of $3,000, the organization must contribute $600 toward expenses.
• Please only request true cost of the project.
  • Grant requests that clearly align with a detailed learning project budget are more likely to be fully funded.
• This fund supports opportunities to learn; it does not support services (e.g., audit, web-page redesign, etc.), or hardware or software purchases.
• You may use an individual consultant, nonprofit organization, or for-profit firm of your choice as your technical assistance provider.
  • Please do not include your staff’s time in your budget request.

Ineligibility

• Not eligible for funding:
  • Organizations with fund balance deficits as indicated on the balance sheet for their most recently completed fiscal year.
  • Organizations and/ or programs that discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion (creed), gender, gender expression, age, national origin (ancestry), disability, marital status, sexual orientation, or military status, except to serve historically disadvantaged groups
  • Activities, projects, or programs before the grant is awarded
  • Capital campaigns, including their planning or development
  • Endowments or other reserve funds
  • Membership or affiliation campaigns, dinners, or special events
  • Food or travel costs
  • Grants that further political doctrine or religious activities
  • Grants to individuals
  • Scholarships or sponsorships, including special events or fundraisers
  • Grants to parochial or religious schools
• A CP at The Denver Foundation grant may not be used to pay a board member or any party whose direct affiliation with your organization could be construed as a conflict of interest.
  • While you may have highly competent professional resources on your board of directors, The Denver Foundation would expect these resources to be provided as in-kind donations.