Resource library · free toolkits, templates and guides
The practical library for people who build nonprofits
227 really practical toolkits, templates and guides for nonprofit and NGO leaders, and the consultants and funders who support them. A mix of the classics and newer methods.
Suggestions are welcome227 resources · 15 topics · 145 publishers · 210 free to use
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14 resources found
- Search: funder support
- 6.2C077
Sabbatical Programs for Nonprofit Leaders
A how-to guide for foundations that want to fund sabbaticals for nonprofit leaders, written from the Durfee Foundation's own programme. It explains why funders should sponsor rest, then covers legal points, eligibility, applications, selection, cover for the leader's job, orientation, awards, reporting, evaluation, peer support, retreats and budget. It ends with a list of 9 other funder sabbatical programmes. Funders use it to design and run a programme.
ClassicKey manual or guideFree - 6.2C241
Creative Disruption
Deborah Linnell and Tim Wolfred's study of what happens when nonprofit leaders take a funded sabbatical. It draws on surveys of 61 sabbatical awardees and 30 interim leaders from programmes run by six funders, including the Durfee Foundation, the Barr Foundation and the Evelyn and Walter Haas, Jr. Fund. It found that sabbaticals rejuvenate leaders, build second-tier leadership, strengthen boards, work as a dry run for succession and help leaders stay in their jobs longer. It ends with advice for funders on grants, selection, and support before and after the leave.
ClassicResearch and evidenceFree - 13.1C243
Funding Organisational Development: From Insight to Action
Funding Organisational Development: From Insight to Action is a practical guide for funders seeking to strengthen the resilience, effectiveness and long-term sustainability of the organisations they support. Developed by Philea's Organisational Development Community of Practice and informed by experienced practitioners, it explores how funders can move beyond one-off capacity-building interventions towards more holistic, trust-based approaches that centre partner agency, equity and context. The publication offers a practical ten-step framework for designing or renewing organisational development support, addressing challenges facing civil society today.
CurrentKey manual or guideFree - 3.4C038
Oak Foundation Governance Assessment Tool
A framework for assessing the practices and processes of a grantee's governing body. Oak programme officers use it during due diligence and through the grant to give boards a consistent assessment, to discuss with grantees what an effective board looks like and to track governance over time. It also helps programme officers spot where capacity-building support would help and orients new staff to Oak's view of good governance.
ClassicTool or templateFree - 12.3C162
Choosing Your AI Path: A Framework for Nonprofit Leaders to Make Strategic Choices
An article and framework that help nonprofit leaders decide how to use AI. It sorts choices into 3 dimensions: augment internal operations, advance mission and programmes, and advocate on AI governance and policy. Each dimension has field examples, strategy elements and low-cost no-regrets actions. A section sets out what institutional funders can do for grantees. Companion worksheets help teams apply the framework.
EmergingKey manual or guideFree - 13.1C168
Strengthening Nonprofit Capacity: Core Concepts in Capacity Building
A primer for grantmakers on supporting grantee capacity. It defines nonprofit effectiveness, capacity and capacity building, and covers trust between funders and grantees, links to funder strategy, grantee and funder readiness, and 5 types of support from unrestricted grants to collective capacity building. It sets out 3 principles: contextual, continuous and collective. Each section ends with questions for grantmakers, and a final section covers measuring impact.
Start hereClassicKey manual or guideFree - 6.2C078
Trust, Rest, and Joy
A short article from the Spring 2024 issue of SSIR, in a supplement sponsored by the Trust-Based Philanthropy Project. Leaders from the Durfee and Satterberg foundations describe how they fund rest: Durfee's sabbaticals since 1997 and its Lark Awards for staff wellbeing, and Satterberg's support for a BIPOC executive director sabbatical and retreat programme. It discusses who gets to rest and why funders need to trust grantees on what restores them.
CurrentShort readFree with sign-up - 8.4C109
The Nonprofit Starvation Cycle
A short article on why nonprofits underfund overhead such as IT, finance systems, training and fundraising. It describes a 3-stage cycle: funders expect low overhead, nonprofits feel pressure to match, then underspend and underreport their costs. It cites data on real versus reported overhead rates. Closing sections set out what funders can do, such as general operating support, and what nonprofit leaders and boards can do.
ClassicShort readFree - 12.4C164
Digital Security & Grantcraft Guide
An introductory guide that helps funders judge whether grantees face digital security threats and how to support them. It explains the difference between passive monitoring and remote intrusion and suggests a case-by-case approach in 3 steps: triage, recalibration and reaction. It gives 7 questions for funders to ask about grantees' security systems, encourages short and long term security plans, and adds an annex on travel security.
ClassicKey manual or guideFree - 6.3C080
What's the Point of the Revolution if We Can't Dance?
A book based on the experiences of more than 100 women human rights activists around the world. It looks at how activists keep going over time, covering fear, hope, exhaustion, grief, pleasure, humour and spirituality, and practical problems such as lack of funding, conflict inside movements and burnout. Activists, movement groups and funders use it to talk about collective care. Free PDFs are available in 6 languages.
ClassicKey manual or guideFree - 7.5C099
A Practical Guide to Measuring and Managing Impact
A guide from EVPA for venture philanthropy funders, social investors and the organisations they support on putting impact measurement into practice. It was launched in 2013 and updated in 2015, and gives practical tips for each of 5 steps in the impact measurement process. Funders use it to agree impact measures with the organisations they back and to build measurement into their investment process.
ClassicKey manual or guideFree - 9.3C124
Advocacy in restricted spaces
A toolkit from Lifeline, a consortium of 7 NGOs, for civil society groups that want to do advocacy where civic space is closed or shrinking. It uses case studies and concrete examples to show ways of advocating while keeping risk to staff and partners low. CSOs, and the funders and consultants who support them, use it to plan advocacy that weighs safety alongside impact.
CurrentKey manual or guideFree - 12.3C163
Pursuing the Promise of AI
A guide for African nonprofits on using AI in their programmes. It sets out 4 stages of AI adoption: explore and prepare, prove and learn, embed and operate, and sustain or scale, each with guiding questions. It draws on interviews and a focus group with over 40 nonprofits, social enterprises, funders, experts and intermediaries. It describes the type of funding needed at each stage, from risk-tolerant early capital to patient operating support.
EmergingKey manual or guideFree - 14.2C187
The Mission Model Canvas
A short Strategyzer article presenting the Mission Model Canvas, a version of the Business Model Canvas for mission-driven organisations. Revenue streams become mission achievement, customer segments become beneficiaries, cost structure becomes mission cost or budget, channels become deployment and customer relationships become buy-in and support. Teams print the canvas and fill each box to test how their model creates value for beneficiaries and funders.
ClassicTool or templateFree
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