Coordinated Capacity Strengthening Initiative Seeking Coordinating Organization
In 2024, a group of regional funders launched the Coordinated Capacity Strengthening Initiative (CCSI) to better understand how to collectively support nonprofits in the Greater Philadelphia region. The goal: to invest in the collective impact of nonprofits through a more accessible, cohesive, and responsive capacity strengthening ecosystem.
Following an in-depth research and engagement process, the CCSI developed a set of three core goals:
Expand Access – especially for historically marginalized and under-resourced organizations
Improve Efficiency – reducing confusion and duplication in available supports
Increase Quality – ensuring supports are aligned to nonprofit leaders’ most pressing needs
This fall, the Coordinated Capacity Strengthening Initiative (CCSI) is launching a process to select a Coordinating Organization for this long-term, collaborative effort to strengthen the nonprofit ecosystem across Greater Philadelphia.
The Coordinating Organization(s) will serve as the backbone of CCSI—curating and navigating capacity-building opportunities, convening partners, fostering collaboration, and advancing equity in the sector. We will be seeking an organization or set of organizations that is deeply connected to the region, values cross-sector collaboration, and is committed to inclusive, equitable engagement.
Eligible organizations include nonprofit organizations, fiscal sponsors, nonprofit capacity strengthening providers, and coalitions (including newly formed partnerships aligned for this work) with demonstrated experience in collective impact, systems change, or capacity strengthening. Capacity strengthening programs housed within grantmaking institutions are eligible if they demonstrate programmatic separation from grantmaking functions and broad access to services.
Interested organizations are encouraged to join one of the following information sessions in mid-September to learn more about the process. These sessions will provide an opportunity to learn more about the Coordinating Organization role, and the selection process.
Tuesday, September 16 from 11:00 am – Noon
Thursday, September 18 from 3:00 – 4:00 pm
To register for one of the information sessions, click the following link: https://bit.ly/41CxLNH. A recording will be made available for those unable to attend either of the sessions.
For more information about the CCSI’s background, guiding principles, approaches and roles of the coordinating organization, and selection process, click the following link: https://bit.ly/4nde72V
We invite you to join us in shaping a stronger, more connected, and more equitable nonprofit sector.
