Across the Greater Philadelphia region, nonprofit leaders are doing vital work—responding to community needs, holding complexity, and sustaining organizations with limited time and resources. Many do this while navigating a capacity-strengthening landscape that is difficult to access, fragmented, and often misaligned with how their work actually unfolds. 

In the Coordinated Capacity Strengthening Initiative’s (CCSI) most recent blog, Coordinating for Impact: An Initiative to Watch (released October 20, 2025), we highlighted the reasons why nonprofit leaders across the region had been calling for a more coordinated, accessible, and equitable approach to capacity strengthening, and how those calls led to the creation of our work.

As this work has moved forward, nonprofit leaders and funders alike have continued to surface a shared truth; while capacity-building investments are essential, the way that they are designed and delivered often does not reflect the realities organizations face. The current system is marred by rigid timelines, pre-selected supports, and siloed funding structures that unintentionally reinforce inequities and limit access, especially for historically marginalized and under-resourced organizations. For many leaders, this means spending precious time navigating processes that pull energy away from their missions. What leaders are asking for instead is a system that is flexible, navigable, and grounded in trust. 

These insights were clearly expressed during CCSI’s 2024 regional engagements. As one funder reflected, funders should “allow organizations to use capacity-building support in the ways that they need it”, recognizing that nonprofits are closest to the work and are best positioned to name what will strengthen their organizations. A regional nonprofit leader echoed this sentiment, noting that, “...if funds continue to be allocated the same way, real capacity growth won’t happen”, and that funders, not just nonprofits, share responsibility for changing the system too. Together these reflections point to a desire not only for increased resources, but a reimagined system built on trust, shared responsibility, and respect for nonprofit expertise. 

This reimagined system has begun to take shape through CCSI's recent fundraising efforts and the selection of a Coordinating Organization to lead the charge.

In November 2025, the initiative secured an initial major investment from Independence Foundation, signaling confidence in both the vision and values guiding the work. Since then, four additional foundations have committed to supporting the effort; the most recent being Vanguard, as of March 2026.

Members of the Funder Coordinating Committee (FCC) have been actively exploring how they can align their individual and collective strategic support and investments to strengthen nonprofit capacity across the region. As one FCC member noted, “In order to progress toward equity, it is essential that we demystify both the process of securing program funding and the process of securing capacity-building support…CCSI is a good first step in that direction.”

The FCC, along with the committed foundations, represent a growing group of funders aligned on moving beyond fractured efforts and toward shared infrastructure that nonprofit leaders can rely on over time. This moment marks a shift from asking whether a different approach is needed, to demonstrating what it looks like to invest differently, together. 

CCSI exists to meet this moment; translating shared insight into collaborative action, inviting partners into a collective effort that centers nonprofit voice, expanding access, and building long-term capacity across the Greater Philadelphia region.

Investing Differently Together, Better  

Image: CCSI graphic comparison of initiative versus a traditional approach 

If the challenge before CCSI is disrupting a system that no longer works as intended, then the response should not merely be adding programs or increasing investments. Instead, what should change is what gets invested in, how those investments are made, and whose voices are heard along the way. 

CCSI’s approach to capacity-strengthening investments starts from a shared understanding that nonprofit leaders, especially those with deep ties to the communities they serve, are the most equipped to identify what support their organizations need, when they need it, and how it will be most useful. Rather than tying resources to fixed timelines or pre-designed offerings, CCSI emphasizes flexibility, coordination, and trust. 

Rather than spending time searching across a complex landscape of disconnected opportunities, leaders will have a place to turn to–one designated to be responsive, coordinated, and easy to navigate. 

At its core, CCSI is designed to support nonprofit leaders not just with resources, but with connection, learning, and sustained partnership. As a central hub, CCSI, stewarded by the Coordinating Organization, organizes support through:

• Curation & Navigation-streamlining access to high-quality, vetted resources, tools, and supports 

• Convening & Co-Creation-bringing leaders together with intention and creating spaces for relationship-building

• Grantmaking*-increasing access to capacity-strengthening funding opportunities

• Evaluation & Learning-providing a clearer picture of capacity-strengthening needs and progress across the region

• Coalition Building & Network Development-cultivating a more connected network that supports shared priorities and long-term collaboration

• Relationship Management-promoting consistent, inclusive nonprofit engagement

*Begins in Year 2

Together, these approaches ensure that support is accessible, coordinated, and grounded in nonprofits’ lived experiences.

Every Dollar Counts

If capacity is truly a shared responsibility, then building this system requires shared participation.

CCSI thrives when everyone contributes. The initiative is strongest when leaders across the region contribute in ways that reflect their capacity. Every investment of support matters, as, together, they set the foundation CCSI needs to sustain and grow its work.

The investment amounts below offer guidance on what sustained support can make possible, while honoring that meaningful participation looks different for everyone. 

• $10,000 | At 0.5%* of Y1’s cost projection, investments may contribute to participant tools and resources, training, technical support, or similar activities.   

• $25,000 | At 1.5%* of Y1’s cost projection, investments may contribute to programmatic coordination, continuous learning (data collection, feedback, analysis), communications costs, or similar activities.   

• $50,000 | At 3%* of Y1’s cost projection, investments may contribute to peer learning sessions, consulting support, evaluation and feedback, landscape mapping, or similar activities. 

• $100,000 | At 6%* of Y1’s cost projection, investments may contribute to convenings and collaborative exchanges, a funder capacity-strengthening Community of Practice, a provider database, the central learning hub, or similar activities.    

• $250,000 | At 14%* of Y1’s cost projection, investments may contribute to scaling programming, convenings and collaborative exchanges, communication and engagement costs, continuous learning, or similar activities.  

*Estimates rounded to the nearest half percentage

The future CCSI is working toward will only be possible through our region’s many hands. 

Investing in the Vision

This work is not about quick fixes. It’s about creating the conditions for organizations to grow stronger over time, supported by relationships, learning, and resources that adapt alongside them. By centering nonprofit voices and reducing barriers to access, CCSI aims to meet leaders where they are, and to grow with them as the work, and the region, continue to evolve.

Every dollar invested helps build a nonprofit ecosystem that honors leaders’ expertise, reduces unnecessary strain, and supports organizations as they continue to show up for their communities. To move toward that future, we must first show up together. 

We urge funders who are interested in supporting this work to take the next step. In the coming months, CCSI will host investment sessions detailing more about the initiative, its approach to investments, and how to contribute.

If you are interested in learning more and supporting the STC as the work continues to grow, we encourage you to sign up for CCSI's mailing list

If you are interested in contributing financial support to help bring this effort fully to life, please contact Kathryn Vore at kvore@unitedforimpact.org. 

This blog was written by members of the core consulting team for the Coordinated Capacity Strengthening Initiative, which includes Chaya Scott Consulting, LLC, GLE, ImpactED, and Yoder Consultancy.