Capacity Assessment

The Process

A capacity assessment is a 360–degree evaluation of a fundraising organization’s readiness and ability to do comprehensive fundraising. It starts with a review of the organization’s by-laws, financial records, Board and committee structure, newsletters and annual reports. Next we conduct a series of interviews  with all key stakeholders of the organization: Foundation/Friends Board members, key library staff and Library Trustees.

Library Strategies presents a comprehensive report of our findings with specific recommendations for becoming a more robust fundraising organization, including:

• Board engagement and composition
• Committee structure
• Relationship with the Library
• Communications (both internal and external)
• Fundraising activities;
• By-laws
• Strategic and development plans

The report is presented to the organization’s Board of Directors who make decisions on implementing the recommendations.

The Players

The entire Board of the fundraising organization needs to be involved in this process, as well as key staff and the Library Director, plus a representative from the Library’s Trustees.

The Timeline

A thorough assessment process takes approximately 3 months and involves two on-site visits by the fundraising consultant: one for interviews and one to present the report.

The Outcome

At the conclusion of this process, the fundraising organization will have a blueprint for future fundraising activities and strategies for becoming a stronger, more focused organization. A new Committee of the Board should be appointed to oversee the implementation of all recommendations. Library Strategies consultants can also work with your fundraising organization after the assessment to ensure that the capacity building is successful.