There are no current grant opportunities. Capacity Building Grants will be offered again in Fall 2025.
Below are details on the most recent grant application process.
Organizational Resilience Capacity Building Grants
ACT awarded 8 capacity building grants to support organizational resilience. We believe supporting our community means investing in those who care for our community. These grants will support the leaders of nonprofits because we know strong leaders are critical for building organizational resilience, guiding teams through challenges, adapting to changes, and seeing possibilities in times of adversity. ACT also targeted grant support to organizations that align with ACT’s strategic priorities of Supporting Community Voice and Supporting Community & Economic Wellbeing.
ACT hosted a virtual information session on Tuesday, October 8 at 9am to learn more about the capacity building grant opportunity. To watch a recording of the session, visit: https://us06web.zoom.us/rec/share/9WEC89EM29VMhpGuhSZdNsjjEI1FBno0VD0k_8thXDk6VajBvCEJSCGMlcWm1bwN.LbOeEutQCVbY4uJa
Application – Organizational Resilience – Capacity Building GrantsPlease note – the application must be completed in Foundant, ACT’s grant management system.
Additional questions can be sent to grants@actforalexandria.org.
FAQs
What is a capacity building grant?
- A capacity building grant is designed to help a nonprofit develop competencies, strategies, systems, and structures to improve organizational effectiveness and resilience.
- The aim of a capacity building grant is to strengthen an organization to grow its impact and accomplish its mission and goals.
- These grants are meant to aid development at a structural and organizational level, they are not intended to cover general operating expenses nor provide on-going programmatic support.
- When capacity building is successful, it strengthens a nonprofit’s ability to deliver on its mission over time, thereby enhancing the nonprofit’s ability to have a positive impact on lives and communities.
What are the capacity building priorities for 2025?
- ACT will fund projects focused on investing in leaders, teams and operations to build organizational resilience. Sample requests include:
- Executive, team and/or board member coaching
- Sabbaticals and operational support, including bonus/salary support for interim leadership
- Succession planning
- Planning for resilience – understanding organizational culture, assessing staff burnout and turnover and how to address these challenges
- Planning for right-sizing the organization
- Scenario planning and risk management
- Professional development and training, building team culture and understanding how to work better together
Who is eligible to apply?
- Organizations must have a 501c3 or be fiscally sponsored by a 501c3 organization.
- Organizations must serve Alexandria.
- If the organization serves the broader region or isn’t solely focused on Alexandria, the capacity building request must demonstrate how the grant will have an impact on Alexandrians.
- Organization must support one of the key priorities of ACT’s strategic plan – Community Voice or Community & Economic Wellbeing.
What are ACT’s strategic planning priorities?
- Support Community Voice
- Support and amplify local leadership to ensure groups that have been historically excluded are involved in civic decision making.
- Support Community & Economic Well-Being
- Advocacy and Narrative Change – building public support for policies and programs that support Alexandrians
- Career Pathways for Young People
- Housing Access and Affordability
- Economic Mobility – programs and supports that enable families to sustainably address the high cost of living in Alexandria – such as workforce development, entrepreneurship, homeownership, childcare, etc.
Organizations can also complete this checklist to determine if they should apply:
- Serves the geographic area of Alexandria – City of and Fairfax County Alexandria
- Mission and programmatic work supports one of the two identified ACT strategic plan priorities – Supporting Community Voice or Supporting Community & Economic Wellbeing
- Actively addressing racial equity externally and internally within the organization
- Demonstrates a commitment to organization wellbeing and staff wellness
- Using funding solely for capacity building project related to investing in leadership to build organizational resilience
- Is a 501c3 or fiscally sponsored by a 501c3 organization
- Will expend grant funds during the period of January – December 2025
- Agrees to share the impact and learnings from the capacity building grant by February 2026 in the form of a written report, conversation, or video format, as selected by the nonprofit
- Will participate in one grantee convening in 2025 and conversation with ACT staff in 2025
What is the grant timeline?
- Application opens and ACT hosts Information Session – October 8
- Application deadline – October 29 at 11:59pm – late applications will not be accepted
- Grant Review Committee meets – Mid-November
- Notification of next round advancement – November 22
- Applicant conversations – December 4 – 13
- Grant award notifications – December 18
- Grant award payments – Early January 2025
- The grant period will be January – December 2025.
How much funding is available, how much can I apply for and how many grants do you anticipate awarding?
- ACT will invest $80,000 in capacity building grants.
- Organizations can request up to $10,000 and we anticipate 8 awardees. Please note this will be a very competitive grant process and organizations must align with ACT’s strategic planning priorities of Supporting Community Voice and Supporting Community & Economic Wellbeing.
How often does ACT offer capacity building grants?
- ACT anticipates offering capacity building grants on an annual basis.
How do I apply?
What is trust-based philanthropy?
- The trust-based philanthropy movement is reimagining the role funders can have in building a more just and equitable society. The goal is to create mutual accountability between funders and nonprofits. We want to change the power dynamics and structural barriers that can often get in the way of nonprofits achieving their intended impact.
- We believe our philanthropy will be more strategic, rewarding and impactful when we approach our relationships with nonprofit partners from a place of trust and collaboration rather than compliance and control.
- The trust-based framework encompasses 6 practices. While we are not in a place to practice all of them right now, our proposed grant process aims to simplify and streamline paperwork by taking a more relational approach which will ultimately save time for the nonprofit and help us gain a deeper understanding of the work through deeper and more interactive relationships with nonprofits.
What is racial equity*?
- Racial equity is the condition that would be achieved if one’s racial identity no longer predicts one’s life outcomes. When we use the term, we are thinking about racial equity as one part of racial justice, and thus we also include work to address root causes of inequities, not just their manifestation. This includes elimination of policies, practices, attitudes and cultural messages that reinforce differential outcomes by race or fail to eliminate them. Racial equity is both a process and an outcome. As a process, we apply a racial equity lens when those most directly impacted by structural racism are meaningfully involved in creating, implementing, and evaluating the policies and practices that affect their lives. As an outcome, racial equity is when we achieve equal outcomes across all Alexandria racial groups.
What is systemic racism*?
- This is an interlocking and reciprocal relationship between the individual, institutional and structural levels which function as a system of racism. These various levels of racism operate together in a lockstep model and function together as a whole system. These levels are:
- Individual (within interactions between people)
- Institutional (within institutions and systems of power)
- Structural or societal (among institutions and across society)
Where can I find additional resources on racial equity?
Where can I find resources on resilience? This is a list curated from Heather Jelks from Nautilus Coaching & Consulting.
What if I have additional questions?
Previous Grant Opportunities
ACT for Alexandria’s grantmaking continues to evolve based on the needs and challenges in our community. Check out our Past Grant Programs to learn more about ACT’s recent investments to support Alexandrians!
