Building Capacity for Community or an Agency?

The battle to control the use of jargon is never-ending. Grantmakers often use big words to which everyone nods their heads but inside they wonder, “What are they really talking about?” Two such words are “capacity building” and “sustainability.” These frequently used words beg the question of whose capacity are we building, and why are we building it? Are we raising our community’s capacity to address homelessness issues, for example, or are we concerned about an individual agency’s capacity? And, if we raise an agency’s capacity, will the community impact be either noticeable or sustainable?

Williams College President Morty Schapiro muses in the June 2007Alumni Review that the term sustainability implies both change and constancy. That’s a thought provoking observation. Can an agency adapt to change, whether in its leadership or in external factors? Can a community adapt to change, as employers come and go, or as population shifts occur? Are there desirable societal values that can survive these and other changes, and how can we invest effectively to preserve and protect those values?

Mayor Wilder wrote in “Visions” on June 11th about teen pregnancy as a major issue affecting Richmond, Virginia. As a grantmaker, should we be more concerned about an individual agency’s capacity and the sustainability of its efforts to address this issue? Or, is the agency only important insofar as it is part of a broader community effort to make a sustained impact on this important problem? In other words, without community leadership to make a sustainable impact on problems such as teen pregnancy or homelessness, are we as grantmakers just throwing our money away by supporting agencies that daily fight strong headwinds to make little overall impact?

This question points out why the leadership initiatives of community foundations are so important. Donors are coming to realize that making grants to worthy agencies is not enough. Rather, we need to bring partners - philanthropic, civic and political - together in order to address problems effectively and on a coordinated basis. There is a recognition that good grantmaking necessarily includes building the community’s capacity to address key issues in a sustainable way. One grantmaker and one grantee alone cannot do that.

Robert Thalhimer