Capacity building for the organisations you support

Foundations

As a foundation or trust, you do more than provide funding to mission-driven organisations. You also offer trust, space and the opportunity to take the next step.

Yet many organisations doing vital work are themselves under pressure. They have a strong mission, committed people and valuable projects, while also struggling with strategy, funding, governance, leadership, communications, growth or collaboration.

Additional project funding is not always enough.

Sometimes an organisation needs time, guidance and expertise to become stronger: to make clearer choices, improve its financial sustainability, collaborate more effectively, build greater influence or navigate its next stage of development.

S&L helps foundations and trusts do more than fund their partners: we help those partners become stronger.

When might this be relevant for you?

This offer is relevant when you see that your partners need more than a project grant.

You may want your funding to contribute to more lasting impact. You may see strong initiatives remain vulnerable because their organisational foundations are too fragile. Perhaps you want to help grantees become less reliant on a single funder. Or perhaps you want to learn how to strengthen not only individual projects, but also organisations and wider ecosystems.

Capacity building can then become an integral part of your portfolio strategy.

You can offer it to one partner organisation, a selection of grantees or a whole group of organisations working on the same social issue.

Why capacity building?

A mission-driven organisation can only deliver lasting impact if the organisation itself is strong enough.

That does not mean everything must be large, highly professionalised or perfectly organised. It does mean that the essentials need to be in place: direction, people, resources, structure, leadership and collaboration.

Many foundations and trusts recognise this within their own portfolios. They support organisations that create enormous social value but remain vulnerable.

For example, because:

their strategy is too broad or lacks focus;
their funding model relies too heavily on a single funder;
their fundraising capacity is underdeveloped;
the board, supervisory board or executive team are unclear about their respective roles;
their teams are growing, but their structure is not keeping pace;
closer collaboration or a merger is becoming necessary;
their communications and visibility are lagging behind;
they reach many people but have not yet built a lasting supporter base.

Capacity building addresses precisely these challenges.

Not as a control mechanism for the foundation.
Not as an additional reporting burden for the organisation.
But as an investment in the long-term capacity and resilience of your partners.

S&L’s capacity-building expertise

S&L offers a broad range of support for non-profit and social-profit organisations. This allows us to strengthen organisations across several interconnected areas.

Strategic direction and choices

We help organisations make clear strategic choices. Where do they want to go? What impact do they want to achieve? Which choices do they need to make? And what will they stop doing?

This is particularly relevant for partners that are doing a great deal but lack focus, or for organisations facing a new stage of development, growth, contraction or a changing context.

Financial strategy, business model and fundraising

We help organisations strengthen their financial foundations. We look at their income mix, reserves, cash flow, financial scenarios, fundraising, business model and financial management.

This is relevant for partners that rely too heavily on grants or a small number of funders, want to diversify their income or need a clearer view of their financial future.

Organisational design, governance and mergers

We help organisations rethink their structure, roles, decision-making, governance, supervision and collaboration.

This is relevant for partners that are growing, have become stuck, are considering a merger, want to collaborate more closely or need to strengthen their governance.

Building influence

We help organisations get heard, build pressure and move people to take sustained action through communications, coalitions and organising.

This is relevant for partners that want not only to deliver services or projects, but also to change policy, public opinion, behaviour or practice across their sector.

Interim management and temporary specialist expertise

Sometimes an organisation temporarily lacks the leadership or specialist expertise it needs. We can then step in with strategic, financial, organisational or communications expertise.

This is relevant when a partner organisation is navigating a vulnerable transition and needs experienced support quickly.

Ways we can work together

Organizational strengthening can take different forms.

1. Tailored support for one partner

One organisation receives tailored support focused on its most important development need. This might involve a strategy process, financial review, governance question or fundraising strategy.

2. A capacity-building programme for several partners

A group of organisations from your portfolio takes part in a shared programme. We combine collective learning sessions with tailored support for each organisation.

This works particularly well when several partners face similar challenges, such as financial sustainability, leadership, impact, fundraising or governance.

3. A thematic programme focused on a shared development need

The foundation chooses one area in which it wants to strengthen several partners.

For example:

financial sustainability;
strategic focus;
fundraising;
governance and supervision;
collaboration and mergers;
communications and visibility;
building influence;
leadership through change.

4. Training for partner organisations

The foundation funds training for a group of organisations within its portfolio. This gives several partners access to knowledge, proven methods and practical tools at the same time.

The training might focus on financial strategy, fundraising, governance, strategic direction, leadership, organising or building influence..

5. Keynotes and inspiration sessions

A keynote or inspiration session can introduce fresh perspectives, provide a shared language and motivate partner organisations to invest in their own development.

This works well as the starting point for a broader programme, as part of a foundation event or as an accessible way to put themes such as financial sustainability, social change, governance or influence on the agenda.

6. Portfolio-wide capacity-building analysis

S&L identifies the most important development needs across your portfolio. We then design a capacity-building offer that fits both your foundation’s strategy and the needs of the organisations you support.

Our guiding principles

Capacity building only works when it is designed with care.

That is why our work is guided by several principles.

The organisation remains in control.
The support starts with the organisation’s own development needs, rather than being driven solely by the foundation’s agenda.

The foundation creates the necessary space.
Organisations need not only advice, but also the time and budget to put it into practice.

We strengthen the organisation, not only the project.
We look at what the organisation needs to remain stronger after the funding period has ended.

We combine tailored support with shared learning.
Some questions are specific to one organisation. Others are valuable to explore alongside partners facing similar challenges.

We make it practical.
No abstract processes, but concrete steps, choices, tools and hands-on guidance.