Workshops, cohort programs, and consulting services that increase effectiveness and impact

Mission-driven organizations are most often founded by leaders with a passion for positively impacting the world around them.  Although these organizations play a critical role by engaging directly with community members to build trust and deliver services, many struggle to find financial sustainability and reach their full potential. This often stems from an inability to build capacity in key domains: planning, resources, connectivity, and identity.

Since 2005, New Sun Rising has supported hundreds of projects, small organizations (nonprofit and for-profit), and collaboratives to increase their operational effectiveness, competitiveness for resources, and community impact.  Capacity building clients range from small individual artists and community-led nonprofits working with less than $50,000 to medium-sized, multi-partner development initiatives with $500,000 annual budgets.  These organizations span a wide range of impacts, including health and culture, environmental sustainability, and economic opportunity. NSR delivers capacity building support through education and support services covering core areas including financial management + fundraising, leadership development, data + technology, and communications + reporting.

While small and medium-sized nonprofits are critical to meeting community needs, they are limited by a lack of information about how to sustain and grow their efforts.  We know that social sector organizations who regularly use data have greater capacity through stronger fundraising, internal and external relationships, operations, and impact (Chaney Jones, Impact & Excellence, 2019). Based on insights obtained through the Nonprofit Data Collection + Evaluation Survey (NSR 2019), although 80% of nonprofit leaders recognize the importance of collecting and using data to demonstrate high performance, only 17% actually receive funding to invest in measurement and reporting efforts. Simply put, when nonprofits have greater capacity they are able to foster healthier communities (Health of the Nonprofit Sector in Western PA, PACE 2020).

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Capacity Building Framework

PLANNING

Planning is developing a shared commitment to goals and strategies, is co-developed with local stakeholders, and based upon community and client engagement.

 

Domains

  • Community Alignment
  • Program/Service Design
  • Operations
  • Financial Management
  • Legal Structure

RESOURCES

Resources are accessible people, networks, knowledge, and capital appropriate for your stage of development

 Domains

  • Leadership
  • Staff
  • Partnerships
  • Volunteers
  • Development + Fundraising

CONNECTIVITY

Connectivity is any activity which engages, strengthens, and co-powers networks to break down barriers, increase equity, and leverage the commitment of internal and external stakeholders. 

Domains

  • Diversity, Equity, + Inclusion
  • Internal Feedback
  • External Stakeholder Feedback

IDENTITY

Center tiles of Moose Mosaic

Identity is the expression of authentic culture, values, and impact, used to inspire hope, trust, and action.

Domains

  • Mission, Vision, + Values
  • Impact Measurement + Communication
  • Marketing

Equitable Development + Social Innovation Terms

Authenticity

Opening the door to transparency and building a foundation of trust is crucial for neighborhoods and its citizens to take responsibility community transformation.

Biomimicry

Approaching innovation through nature’s patterns and strategies to develop sustainable solutions to human challenges. (Biomimicry Institute)

Capital

Financial assets which may be used to generate wealth through investment (financial capital); the networks of relationships among people who live and work in a particular society, enabling that society to function effectively (social capital), the collective knowledge of the individuals in an organization or society (knowledge capital) and the people who utilize creative engagement, problem solving, relationships building, and communication (creative capital).  (Complete Capital, Stanford Social Innovation Review, Integrated Capital)

Collective Entrepreneurship

Conducting business and sharing ownership as a group or partnership to pool resources, diversify risk and raise funds.

Co-powerment

Co-power is a true sharing of power which reflects a deeper understanding of the dynamics of empowerment and disempowerment. Empowerment describes giving someone the power or authority to do something. This definition has inherent limitations by indicating that power is not truly with the person being empowered, and therefore it can be taken away. (Boje & Rosille)

 

Ecosystem

The “landscape” within which an organization or individual operates; a theoretical map which helps to understand the dynamics between all the entities, functions, relationships, opportunities and environmental factors within, and identify and address systemic issues or gaps in essential services and functions. (Entrepreneurial Ecosystem Builders)

Equity

Putting local citizens at the heart of all discussions and opportunities to develop resilience, and withstand the natural shocks and stresses of society and the environment. (Equitable Development: The Path to an All In Pittsburgh, Equity Cafe Toolkit, Barriers & Bridges Report)

Extractive

Industries and ecosystems which create their wealth and opportunity by removing value from the host system, typically of less power or status, leaving them more dependent and vulnerable.

Impact

Betterment of the lives of people, both as individuals and groups, and particularly underserved populations; to create significant societal improvement.

Outcomes

The results, impact and/or accomplishments which define the changes that have taken place because of your organization’s outputs. (p4 Pittsburgh Performance Measures, IRIS Metrics)

Outputs

The activities, services, methods and/or approaches of an organization.

Regenerative

Ecosystems which promote self-sufficiency, self-organizing, and resilience, where activities do not pollute or deplete the host system, and contributes to its ability to thrive by maintaining reliable inputs and healthy outputs. (Regenerative Capitalism)

Respect & Inclusion

Giving a fair chance to individuals and ideas regardless of background, experience or lack thereof.

Scale

Defining growth as a multi-dimensional unit of measure for impact in terms of geography, height, breadth, and depth.

Self-Awareness

Encouraging a reflective, adaptive approach toward new methods and solutions in order to catalyze interactions and fluid conversations, which in turn maximize social value.

Social Enterprise

Broadly encompasses ventures of nonprofits, civic-minded individuals, and for-profit businesses that can yield both financial and social returns. (GrantSpace.org)

Social Innovation

The process of developing and deploying effective solutions to challenging and often systemic social and environmental issues utilizing the exchange of ideas and values, shifts in roles and relationships, and the integration of private capital with public and philanthropic support. (Stanford Social Innovation Review, Community Development Innovation)

Stakeholders

A person, entity or community with an interest or concern in a nonprofit’s mission fulfillment.

Vibrancy

Comprised of three key facets — culture, sustainability & opportunity — vibrancy broadly encompasses the net impacts of a community’s liveability such as social stability, economic development, and the attraction and retention of residents & businesses. (Vibrant Communities)