Guides and Articles
Nonprofit Support Organizations: Governance, Funding and Organizational Capacity
Explore support for nonprofit organizations, including governance, administration, funding development, training and resource connections.
Nonprofit support organizations help nonprofit teams strengthen how their organizations work. The client is the organization: its board, staff or volunteers. This differs from a nonprofit directly delivering housing, food or personal support to community members.
Governance and Everyday Administration
Governance concerns how an organization sets direction and makes decisions. Administration concerns the work that keeps its activities organized. A board-development session and help organizing administrative processes therefore address different parts of the organization.
For example, a small group may want a clearer division between board decisions and volunteer tasks. Another organization may have established roles but want training for a new team. Their support needs should not be treated as the same generic management problem.
Funding and Program Development
Funding development connects an organization's activities with its support and resource needs. A project description, a funding enquiry and an organizational-development plan have different purposes. Support can help a team explain its work without implying that funding will follow.
A community event and an ongoing service also create different planning questions. The organization needs to distinguish its program goals from the internal work required to deliver them.
Training and Resource Connections
Training introduces knowledge or practices to the team. An individual organizational consultation concerns that nonprofit's questions. A shared learning program can connect several organizations while leaving their own missions and decisions distinct.
Resource referrals can point toward organizational tools or specialist providers. Where offered in an organizational context, intake conversations, support planning and shared support programs should identify the nonprofit team and work they serve.
Supporting Organizations and Serving Individuals
Social-service organizations deliver programs addressing people's practical needs. A nonprofit-support provider may help such an organization with governance or training without taking over its individual service relationships.
A useful enquiry describes the organizational question: board roles, administration, funding development or staff and volunteer learning. That gives the provider a clearer starting point than naming the nonprofit's broad cause alone.
Common Questions
Is this the nonprofit’s own community service?
No. This category concerns support for the organization delivering its work.
Are governance and administration identical?
No. Direction and decision-making differ from everyday operational tasks.
What should the enquiry identify?
The team involved and the particular organizational function it wants to develop.