Strengthening Nonprofits Grants

In an effort to strengthen and deepen the Strengthening Nonprofits (SNP) grant making process, the San Antonio Area Foundation will temporarily place on hold the current grant making process for Phase I and Phase II.

For a number of years, the Area Foundation has focused on helping nonprofits build and strengthen capacity. We will continue this commitment and ask for your patience as we transition into a better and stronger program.

For more information, see the grantmaking updates below or contact Sandie Palomo-Gonzalez at 210.242.4730.

Grant Reports

All grant reports for 2018 are still due at the date noted on your contract. All project reports must be submitted online through Grants Center.

Grants Center

FAQ: SNP Grantmaking Updates

Why did the Area Foundation temporarily put the Strengthening Nonprofits (SNP) Phase I and II grants on hold?

The Area Foundation has provided capacity building grants and capacity building training programs for the nonprofit community since 2011. We want to assure you that our commitment to capacity building has not waivered.

As you may know, the Area Foundation worked with a national consulting firm last year to help us look at how we could strengthen our work in the community. We also met with local nonprofit CEOs to get their feedback about our training programs and capacity building. We will pause to allow us to create the infrastructure and to roll out the initiative, taking the feedback we received from the nonprofit community and the consultant’s recommendations into account. By temporarily placing our SNP on hold, this will allow us to be thoughtful and intentional as we map out next steps.

I received a grant to purchase the Core Capacity Assessment Tool (CCAT) before the program was temporarily put on hold. Should I still purchase and complete the CCAT?

We recommend that you purchase and complete the CCAT. However, please be aware that the CCAT vendor, the TCC Group, will launch an updated CCAT interface in spring. Based on feedback from users, they are upgrading the log-in experience to make it easier for nonprofit organizations to administer the tool. They have also updated the look and feel of the CCAT final report. Graphics, data and capacity building planning will now more easily accessible for nonprofit users and CCAT facilitators. We will share more information about the new interface as soon as the TCC Group makes it available.

In what ways will the SNP grantmaking be different?

We are looking at a number of ways that we might deepen our SNP grantmaking. Potential changes, might include:

“CCAT 2.0” – providing funding to enable nonprofits to purchase the CCAT as well as to obtain assistance in reviewing the report and developing a capacity building plan that aligns with the results.
Multi-year Funding – Capacity building is an ongoing effort. We may decide to award grants for up to 2 years.
Strengthen multiple areas – We may also award SNP grants to enable nonprofits to strengthen more than one area.
Learning Circles or Cohorts – We may support learning circles to allow grant recipients to share lessons learned in a safe setting.
Feedback Loop – We want to find ways to capture the voice of the nonprofit community to ensure our grantmaking is relevant and aligns with the needs of the community.