Capacity building involves working toward improving a volunteer organization’s effectiveness. It often focuses on building necessary skills for future sustainability. Capacity building in volunteer organizations can refer to various activities, all designed to strengthen the program’s ability to fulfill its mission now and in the future.
Establishing capacity building is essential to the success of volunteer organizations and programs. An organization that doesn’t continuously build the capabilities, knowledge, and resources available will fail to fulfill its mission or meet community needs. Essentially, volunteer organizations must effectively build capacity if they want to remain functional and sustainable over time.
What Is Effective Capacity Building?
A volunteer organization must know how effective capacity building works to continue delivering on its missions. This process is an investment in a program’s effectiveness and long-term sustainability. To achieve and work through your organization’s mission and goals, you must work toward better management, training, and more.
Capacity building is a continuous improvement strategy, not just a one-time venture. Every funding and skill-building step you take to advance an organization’s mission is a vital part of effective capacity building.
Before considering a capacity-building initiative, volunteer organizations must have sufficient:
- Numbers of trained staff
- Technical systems
- Management systems
- Physical infrastructure
- Financial management and support
- Access to essential resources and tools
Without persistent rededication to capacity building, it can become challenging to meet community needs.
The Importance of Capacity Building
Pursuing capacity building can strengthen the volunteer organization’s foundation by allowing its leaders to develop necessary skills and knowledge. Rather than relying on outside solutions, volunteering can help the community feel empowered to tackle local issues themselves. While community partners gain greater control over their development, volunteers witness the positive impacts their involvement has on community building.
One successful capacity-building initiative can strengthen confidence in your organization, enabling you and your volunteers to envision more remarkable changes. As an organization builds capacity, it develops new techniques and resources to use on other projects.
Capacity Building as a Process
Effective capacity building requires long-term planning, multi-level approaches, and timely response to feedback. If you only focus on one capacity-building approach, like training staff, without addressing other issues the capacity-building process will be ineffective. Recently trained staff must have the ability to implement innovative practices — an outdated management system or inadequate physical infrastructure will impede that progress.
To meet your organization’s full potential, deliberate and planned change is necessary. Use the stages of capacity building and other critical considerations to develop a successful strategy.
The Stages of Capacity Building
The purpose of capacity-building stages is to help volunteer organizations develop an effective, long-term capacity-building strategy. Your strategy will include various capacity-building activities or changes that improve performance.
Organizations must analyze all capacity types to identify areas that require more attention. Some areas may already be high-functioning and require minimal change. Others will grow interdependently. Your organization’s strategy should encompass all necessary changes to enhance operations.
There are generally four stages of effective capacity building:
- Exploration: Once the need for change is identified, an organization must specify the desired capacity and determine any information, skills, processes, or structures required to achieve these goals for change. Perform a self-assessment of your organization’s current capacity and compare it to the desired capacity. Evaluate any changes that could help bridge this gap, including staff skills, computer systems, and other resources. This stage helps direct available resources and inform decisions about future initiatives.
- Emerging implementation: The organization’s employees will begin participating in targeted capacity-building activities. This stage may involve acquiring new knowledge, increasing resources, and updating technological or physical infrastructures. Employees should learn to utilize new systems while also finding more effective ways to use existing resources.
- Full implementation: All new information, skills, processes, or structures should fully integrate with capacity-building activities. Evaluate the changes and refine practices based on their impacts or consequences to the capacity. At this stage, the organization may modify its approach to capacity building or refocus efforts to ensure full implementation of desired changes.
- Sustainability: To maintain desired capacity, the organization must consistently refine skills and practices. Demonstrate the ability to analyze and modify capacity-building activities for continuous improvement.
When you identify a need for change, these stages will help establish one or more capacity-building initiatives. Consider various factors to plan an achievable strategy for change.
3 Critical Considerations of Capacity Building
When devising long-term strategies aimed at capacity building, consider the following aspects:
- Types of capacity: An organization’s goals for change will usually involve building all four interdependent types of capacity — human, organizational, material, and structural. A particular initiative might focus on one type, though its growth may depend on that of another. Address all types of capacity to ensure their development goals are aligned.
- Levels of capacity: Effective capacity building involves various stages. As an organization progresses through its goals, it’ll need increasingly refined skills, processes, and structures. Any new information you require during the capacity building process is generally known as a level of capacity. Changes for each stage should develop distinct capacity levels.
- Potential outcomes: Developmental, transitional, and transformational outcomes may occur as an organization builds capacity. Consider the type of change the organization wants to achieve — developing a skill or process, transitioning to a new state of affairs, or transforming culture and member beliefs. Design a change strategy based on the desired outcome.
Develop a corresponding management plan and logic model for every capacity-building initiative. A management plan should specify the initiative’s goals, capacity-building activities, and expected outcomes. Depending on the organization’s needs, a logic model can help to address different variables for the expected results.
How Volunteer Programs Build Capacity
A volunteer organization can build capacity with specific activities and projects designed to fulfill its mission. Implement a continuous improvement strategy to help maintain effectiveness and sustainability over time.
Improve your organization’s ability to sustain itself long-term with capacity-building activities like:
- Updating technical and management systems
- Remodeling physical infrastructure
- Identifying a communications strategy
- Improving volunteer recruitment and retention
- Training volunteers to use new skills and resources
- Diversifying the resources, tools, and partnerships available
- Using existing resources more efficiently
- Acquiring financial management and support
An organization will discover several goals for change while developing a capacity-building strategy. It’s vital to determine where best to focus efforts so you can transition through the desired changes quickly and efficiently.
Where to Focus Efforts
Volunteer programs should target capacity-building activities that work towards their mission, vision, and strategy. You can direct attention to critical objectives, including enhancing communications methods, improving human resources, and boosting reach with new technology.
Generally, a volunteer organization will focus efforts on building capacity in five key areas:
- Internal operations, recruitment, and management
- Community partnerships and strategic relationships
- Volunteer engagement and retention
- Service delivery and impact
- Resource growth and diversification
Who to Contact
Any program aiming to build capacity must focus efforts on developing a communications strategy involving volunteers, partners, community leaders, and nonprofits:
- Volunteers: Start with your board members — many innovative ideas for expansion begin with those closest to the organization. Volunteer feedback can lead to crucial capacity-building opportunities. Consider adopting a volunteer management system to keep internal communications organized and documented for future planning. Investments in volunteer management may include more precisely targeted services and more knowledgeable staff.
- Partners: Your organization can develop effective outreach strategies to reach new partners regularly. Build strategic relationships with a diverse group of stakeholders to maximize resources and explore new ideas. The most successful partnerships are mutually beneficial. Find local businesses, campuses, and other affinity groups that can respect your organization’s values. Leverage partners with common goals and accomplish more than either could alone.
- Community leaders: Community engagement can help organizations reach new volunteers, donors, and resources. Sustainable volunteer programs typically represent diverse voices from the community to increase visibility. Consider contacting community leaders and institutions with similar values. You may engage with elected offices, neighborhood associations, civic and cultural organizations, university clubs, houses of worship, or small business owners.
- Nonprofits: Develop a network with other nonprofit or volunteer organizations that share common goals and interests. A network approach to capacity building can bring “better, faster, smarter” solutions than individual organizations that operate alone. Engage in collaborative activities and information exchange. Your network’s resources, expertise, and support will encourage innovation and improve communications with other contacts.
How to Retain Volunteers
Researching the relationship between volunteer management and organizational capacity can significantly improve volunteer retention. Well-managed volunteers feel more satisfied with their role in the organization, leading to more commitment renewals and recruitments.
Demonstrate how volunteer efforts are making a real difference in the community. Track volunteer impact and develop a clear system for thanking your participants. Volunteers will see their participation is appreciated and gain more confidence in the program overall. Recognize volunteer engagement regularly by sharing both individual and organization-wide accomplishments.
Another way to ensure volunteers remain satisfied is to pair them with more precisely targeted services. When volunteers are passionate and knowledgeable about an opportunity, they perform better and gain more satisfaction from your cause. Offer various services and flexible shifts so volunteers can create manageable personalized schedules.
Volunteers who feel prepared for their work become more passionate and successful over time. Retain more volunteers with improved volunteer training methods:
- Establish volunteer objectives
- Outline role responsibilities and expectations
- Address any knowledge and skill gaps
- Familiarize volunteers with essential tools and procedures
- Develop a framework for evaluation and feedback
Long-term volunteers who remain engaged yield higher return on investment — build capacity with a practical, multifaceted retention strategy.
How to Diversify Resources
Volunteer programs can significantly improve sustainability by effectively building the capabilities and resources available. Leverage various resources, volunteer management tools, and partnerships to create different types of capacity and maintain organizational growth. Volunteer managers that diversify resources are better equipped to overcome challenges and stay focused on their initiatives.
Improving your volunteer training is one crucial strategy, but this change may be ineffective without the necessary technological updates or physical infrastructure. Acquaint your staff with various tools and resources so they can use their new skills and practices to the fullest potential.
Volgistics Volunteer Management System
Volunteer organizations that want to grow must adapt to meet potential recruits wherever they’re located. For many organizations, this process includes updating management systems and boosting their online presence. Volgistics products and services help volunteer managers keep all of their organization’s parts running smoothly. The Volgistics volunteer management system is an excellent addition to any organization’s toolkit, offering diverse volunteer capabilities like flexible scheduling, document storage, text reminders, and a sign-in kiosk.
Our expert services help diversify resources for managing and communicating with volunteers. The VicNet Volunteer Portal enables you to connect with volunteers so everyone can benefit from the system’s various functions. The optional VicNet module allows volunteers to check their schedules, sign-up for shift openings, and post their service. Volunteer managers can quickly update personal information and send messages to groups or individuals. Track a current volunteer’s hours on a specific project or advertise recruitment opportunities, all from one comprehensive volunteer management application.
Where to Find Funding
Some organizations can portion part of their operating budget toward a capacity-building initiative. Volunteer programs that can’t afford it can instead seek out dedicated support from grant-makers.
To successfully fund your capacity-building initiative, you must first gain trust. Grant funding is an investment in your organization’s success and sustainability. Without the confidence you’ll succeed, grant-makers are less likely to support the cause. A grant-maker will feel more confident in your volunteer organization if you:
- Establish credibility: Demonstrate your organization’s past accomplishments, including any performance data, benefits to the community, and other clear evidence of sound financial management.
- Form a detailed action plan: Provide precise changes you want to make. Show how these improvements will help you reach the desired capacity and adequately increase sustainability.
- Emphasize positive aspects: Highlight your current strengths and offer ways you will expand upon them. Present your financial needs as an opportunity to achieve more good.
- Include expected outcomes: State the direct results you expect from the grant funding. Examples include leadership development, improved staff training, and long-term planning.
Capacity-building grants can help your organization fulfill its mission and do more good in the community.
The Challenges of Effective Capacity Building
As an organization builds capacity, it’s not easy to evaluate the effectiveness of each capacity-building initiative. Volunteer managers may have difficulty discerning the impact of one initiative from the results of an entire project. The capacity-building process is multidimensional, with four interdependent types of capacity and various stages. Sometimes, you won’t establish a clear relationship between capacity-building activities and capacity increases.
Another challenge any volunteer organization can face is timeliness. Effective capacity building can require more time than is feasible. You may not see quantifiable results within the limited timeframe available. Organizations receiving grant funding for their capacity-building initiatives must also consider the challenges of funding cycles. Funds may only last for a limited time — without direct results of the initiative’s effectiveness, the grant-maker may lose confidence in your cause.
To reduce these risks, volunteer managers can prepare the organization for expected outcomes. Keep an ongoing management plan for every initiative to help stay organized. An updated management system can ensure your other capacity-building activities are progressing as intended. Some external factors are too unpredictable and won’t have a set prevention plan. Diversify resources to better address challenges when they arise and consider making any changes that will increase sustainability.
Build Capacity With Volgistics Volunteer Management Software
Whether you’re planning a new capacity-building strategy or diversifying resources for a current action plan, Volgistics volunteer management systems can help you connect with your volunteers and stay organized. Perform numerous capabilities, including volunteer tracking, text message reminders, document storage, sign-in kiosks, and more.
Support is unlimited and free, so get in contact with the Volgistics team today. Schedule a free demo to see the capabilities of our volunteer management software!