Access Training and Resources for Financing Your Community Change Work

Financing can be one of the most challenging and complicated elements of community change work. When considering financing options, it is important to incorporate a robust variety of funding streams as well as use funds that exist as leverage to stretch funding and achieve more impactful results. Building the capacity to understand one’s own costs of achieving community change, identifying funds that are already available, and then identifying potential other funding streams and leveraging or partnership opportunities is the key in creating a financing system that can be both successful and long-term.

But often, it’s difficult to even know how to access the funding sources out there. Creating a financing plan to support a community change project or entire nonprofit organization requires in-depth of skills and knowledge around how to craft grant proposals, build and sustain an effective board, and how to craft a budget.

Luckily, Grant Space^SM, a service provided by The Foundation Center, offers a number of resources that can assist nonprofit organizations in securing funding and establishing strong boards and organizational structure. The service offers many free webinars as well as in-person training sessions in New York, Atlanta, Washington DC, Cleveland and San Francisco on fundamental topics that nonprofit organizations need to continue and grow their work. The most popular webinars or courses they offer are:

•          Proposal Writing
•          Proposal Budgeting Basics
•          Grant Seeking Basics
•          Before You Seek a Grant
•          Finding Foundation Support for Your Organization

Check out their training calendar for the opportunity to attend these or any of the many classes they offer. Can’t make it to any of these scheduled events? You can also browse through past recordings of their webinars, attend live discussions with funders, and listen to their podcasts featuring experts in the field of non-profit development.

Want more specific tools related to financing community change work? Be sure to visit the financing section of the tools and templates in our online Building Neighborhood Capacity Resource Center.