Capacity Building for the Organizations You Support

Asset funds

As an asset fund, you don't just give money to social organizations. You also give trust, space and the opportunity to take the next step .

But many organizations that do important work are themselves under pressure. They have a strong mission, committed people and valuable projects, but at the same time struggle with strategy, financing, governance, leadership, communication, growth or collaboration.

Then extra project money is not always enough.

Sometimes an organization mainly needs time, guidance and expertise to become stronger: to make sharper choices, to work more financially sustainably, to collaborate better, to build more influence or to be able to handle the next phase of development.

S&L helps capital funds not only finance, but also strengthen their partners.

When is this relevant to you?

This offer is relevant when you, as a fund, notice that your partners need more than a project contribution.

Perhaps you as a fund would like to do more sustainable impact . You may see that strong initiatives remain vulnerable because their organizational base is too narrow. Perhaps you want to help grantees become less dependent on one financier. Or perhaps you, as a fund, want to learn how to strengthen not only projects, but also organizations and ecosystems.

Then you can use organizational strengthening as part of your portfolio strategy.

You can offer this to one partner organization, to a selection of grantees or to an entire group of organizations around one social theme.

Why organizational strengthening?

A social organization can only make a sustainable impact if the organization itself is sufficiently strong.

That doesn't mean everything has to be professional, large or perfectly organized. It does mean that the basics are correct: direction, people, resources, structure, leadership and collaboration.

Many capital funds see this in their own portfolios. They support organizations with great social value, but at the same time notice that these organizations are vulnerable.

For example because:

the strategy is too broad or not sharp enough;
the revenue model is too dependent on one financier;
fundraising is insufficiently developed;
management, supervision or management are looking for their role;
teams grow, but the structure does not grow with them;
collaboration or merger becomes necessary;
communication and visibility lag behind;
organizations reach many people, but have not yet built a sustainable support base.

Organizational strengthening helps to work on exactly that.

Not as a control instrument of the fund.
Not as an additional burden of accountability for the organization.
Well if investment in the capacity of partners.

The broad expertise of S&L as a reinforcement offering

S&L has a wide range of services for non-profit and social profit. This allows us to deploy organizational reinforcement at various levels.

Strategic forward thinking

We help organizations to make clear choices. Where do they want to go? What impact do they want to achieve? What choices do they have to make? What do they do and what not?

This is relevant for partners who do a lot, but lack focus. Or for organizations that are facing a new phase, growth, shrinkage or changing context.

Financial strategy, business model and fundraising

We help organizations to strengthen their financial basis. This concerns income mix, reserves, cash flow, scenarios, fundraising, business model and financial management.

This is relevant for partners who are overly dependent on subsidies or funds, who want to broaden their income or who want to better understand their financial future.

Organizational model, governance and merger

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

This is relevant for partners who grow, get stuck, merge, collaborate more intensively or want to strengthen their governance.

Increase your influence

We help organizations to be heard better, to increase pressure and to get people moving sustainably through communication, coalitions and organizing.

This is relevant for partners who not only provide services or carry out projects, but also want to change something in policy, public opinion, behavior or sector practice.

Interim management and temporary expertise

Sometimes leadership or expertise is temporarily lacking. Then we can temporarily step in with strategic, financial, organizational or communication expertise.

This is relevant when a partner organization is in a vulnerable transition phase and needs reinforcement quickly.

Possible shapes

Organizational strengthening can take different forms.

1. Individual program for one partner

An organization receives tailor-made guidance around its most important development question. For example, a strategy process, financial scan, governance issue or fundraising strategy.

2. Multi-partner strengthening program

A group of organizations from the portfolio follows a process together. We combine joint learning sessions with individual guidance.

This works well when multiple partners have similar questions , for example around financial sustainability, leadership, impact, fundraising or governance.

3. Thematic program around one development question

The fund chooses one theme on which it wants to strengthen several partners.

For example:

financial sustainability;
strategic focus;
fundraising;
management and supervision;
collaboration and merger;
communication and visibility;
increase influence;
leadership in change.

4. Training for partner organizations

The fund makes training possible for a group of organizations from the portfolio. This way, multiple partners simultaneously gain access to knowledge, methodologies and practical instruments.

This could be about, for example financial strategy, fundraising, governance, strategic forethought, leadership, organizing or increasing influence .

5. Keynotes and inspiration sessions

A keynote or inspiration session can help to wake up partner organizations, provide language and create a desire to work on organizational strengthening.

This works well as a starting point for a broader program, as part of a fund day or as an accessible way to explore themes such as increase financial sustainability, social change, governance or influence to put on the agenda.

6. Portfolio analysis of organizational strengthening

S&L investigates where the most important development needs are in the fund's portfolio. We then develop a reinforcement offer that fits the strategy of the fund and the needs of the organizations.

Important principles

Organizational strengthening only works if it is set up carefully.

That is why we apply some principles.

The organization remains the owner.
The reinforcement is based on the development demand of the organization, not just on the fund's agenda.

The fund makes space possible.
Organizations not only need advice, but also time and budget to get started.

We strengthen the foundation, not just the project.
We look at what the organization needs to continue stronger after the subsidy period.

We combine customization with learning between organizations.
Some questions are individual. Other questions are interesting to investigate together with other partners.

We make it practical.
No abstract processes, but concrete steps, choices, instruments and guidance.