The Capacity Building Grant Program is designed to increase the effectiveness of organizations that work at the nexus of natural resource and community health issues, within the Chesapeake Bay, Coastal Bays, and Youghiogheny River watersheds by addressing organizational capacity needs.
Donor Name: Chesapeake Bay Trust
State: Selected States
County: All Counties
Type of Grant: Grant
Deadline: (mm/dd/yyyy) 07/18/2024
Size of the Grant: $100,000 to $500,000
Grant Duration: 1 Year
Details:
The Capacity Building Grant Program is an annual program of the Chesapeake Bay Funders Network (CBFN). It seeks to support the capacity of organizations working on both community and environmental health issues. “Organizational capacity” is defined as activities that strengthen an organization to help it better fulfill its mission. Organizations that are strong and healthy are more effective in carrying out their missions and are more consistent and sustainable partners. 
Grants will be awarded to eligible nonprofit organizations or local governments to either:

strengthen their internal capacity, or
strengthen the capacity of other similar organizations. 

Funding Information
The funding partners anticipate approximately $800,000 will be available for this round of the program. Requests are typically no higher than $30,000 for non-profits but may be higher (up to $150,000).
Grant Period
Projects must be completed within 12 months upon receipt of the award. 
Eligible Project Types 
Capacity building projects should focus on addressing nonprofit challenges to improve an organization(s) ability to adapt and be effective long term. An entity can apply to improve its own capacity or to serve in a capacity building role for other regional non-profit organizations. Examples of project types include but are not limited to: contractual support to assess organizational effectiveness, shared technical assistance models, developing or refining a strategic plan, developing a stronger and more diverse board, developing leadership skills of organizational leaders or up and coming leaders within the staff, training of management staff, developing efficient operations processes, fundraising plan development, creation of a Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Justice (DEIJ) plan, and technology improvements or database assistance. While the source and amount of funding available through the Capacity Building grant program does not allow for general operating support requests, a more robust list of project types that are eligible can be found in the appendices below. It should be noted that funding may not be used to meet any actions associated with consent decrees or any other mitigation actions required by local jurisdictions; all activities must be demonstrably above and beyond existing requirements of local jurisdictions. 
Eligible Criteria
Requests are encouraged from non-profit organizations, and tribal or local governments who:

Provide services within the Chesapeake watershed in one or more of the following Chesapeake Bay watershed jurisdictions: DE, DC, MD, NY, PA, VA, and WV. 

Non-profits must also have:

>1 and < 50 staff. At least one staff member must be employed full-time (defined as >35 hours per week). If a paid staff member is not in place, the applicant may substitute a dedicated volunteer position in which the individual contributes at least 35 hours per week. 
A water and/or natural resource-focused component within their mission
An active Board of Directors.

For more information, visit CBT.