Capacity Building

An important element of the Herrick Foundation’s wind down strategy focuses on building and sustaining the capacity of our grant partners so they can achieve their missions effectively now and improve their financial position in the future.

The Herrick Foundation’s capacity building initiatives fund nonprofit educational needs, leadership development, organizational strategies, and provide opportunities for organizations to build relationships with other nonprofits to enhance their effectiveness.   

The Herrick Foundation has supported shelter and services for survivors of domestic violence and sexual violence (DVSV) since 1961. Recently, we engaged in a focused listening process with the DVSV organizations in our priority communities, the statewide coalition and other funders prioritizing DVSV. We sought to deepen our understanding of the current operating environment, scope and scale of services provided, organizational strengths and challenges and the impact of anticipated reductions in Victims of Crime Act (VOCA) funding. The purpose was to hear from experts so that our future investments would be thoughtfully and knowledgeably informed.

During the listening process, we heard several consistent themes:

*Organizational financial instability is widespread, driven in large part by uncertainty and reductions in VOCA and other government funding.

*Staffing challenges persist, including unfilled positions, below-market compensation, and staff burnout tied to the intensity of the work.

*Demand for services remains high and is increasing, particularly as housing shortages extend shelter stays and create longer waitlists.

Based on these themes, we have launched an integrated approach that is intentional and strategic.  We also shared our findings with other funders to encourage them to invest in this critical sector.

Women’s Resource Center of N MI

Our multi-pronged, integrated approach provides multiple levels of capacity building for our grant partners:

Recent investments have included:

Individuals

  • Certificate in Fund Raising Management training

  • Search and onboarding support for new team members

Organizational

  • Multi-year operational funding

  • Capital campaign funding

  • Capital campaign plan and gift strategy support

  • Organizational, strategic and event planning support

  • Board governance support

  • Database hygiene

Sector/Systems

  • Communications and messaging strategy

  • Tri-County Mobile Advocacy Pilot

LACASA

AWARE

The Herrick Foundation is honored to support these organizations and their staff as they provide essential services and shelter to survivors.