“Power Building (PB) “is the process of providing targeted support to an organization with a development need or problem. It is commonly referred to as consulting. [PB] may be delivered in many different ways, such as one-on-one consultation, small group facilitation, or through a web-based clearinghouse. [PB] is one of the most effective methods for building the capacity of an organization. By including [PB] in a capacity building project, you make the capacity building much more likely to create change”. – Delivering Training & Technical Assistance, (p.12)
Simply put, power building support helps an organization or group strengthen their internal and external capacity to do their work more effectively. Power building can take the form of trainings, one-on-one support, coaching, resource-sharing, and connection to other support networks.
Typically, power building support provider(s) will help the organization assess their needs and together they will determine goals and a plan for moving forward to address those needs. Power building might come in the form of surveys, phone calls, virtual meetings, workshops & trainings, site-visits (including walks and kitchen-table chats!) and email communication.
Power building tends to be very unique and oriented to the needs of the particular organization. Some groups may need more support than others based on available resources and existing capacity. This impacts how PB is delivered and progress made over time.
What types of Power Building support does QMF provide?
The Queer Mobilization Fund and its Emergent Organizations program provides small grants to LGBTQ+ organizations in NC and the U.S. South. These grants prioritize small, grassroots and emerging groups and organizations. Groups enjoy the benefits of building their organizational capacity through participating in a cohort that includes peer-learning gatherings and networking events with fellow grantees.
Each grantee also receives access to a small group of organizations within the grantee cohort to be supported by two power building coaches, as well as one-on-one power building sessions from QMF staff and consultants to strengthen their organizations. This includes an organizational assessment and identifying top priorities that QMF coaches can provide support for. PB may include and is not limited to:
- Planning
- Mission/Vision
- Storytelling
- Strategic Planning
- Project/Program Planning
- Starting a non-profit
- Org Infrastructure
- Volunteer Management
- Board/Advisory Cmte. Development
- Tech/website
- Organizational structures
- Curriculum Dev
- Managing Staff
- Leadership transition
- Evaluation
- Legal
- Non-profit Legal Compliance
- Crisis response
- Policies & Procedures
- Political Trainings
- Racial Equity
- Gender 101
- Healing Justice
- Self-Care for Activists
- Popular education
- Multilingual spaces
- Organizing 101
- Finances
- Grantwriting
- Budgeting
- Managing grants
- Fundraising
- Misc
- Organizational Culture
- ED coaching (roles & responsibilities)
- Community feedback
- Community partnerships
- Meeting facilitation
Power building also comes in the form of a grantee cohort that hosts 2 gatherings per grant cycle. These gatherings support grantees in sharing knowledge and resources with one another and also provide trainings that are common needs across the cohort.
For questions on power building or QMF email: qmf@southernvision.org
References:
https://www.acf.hhs.gov/sites/default/files/ocs/delivering_tta.pdf
https://ectacenter.org/~pdfs/trohanis/trohanis_guiding_principles.pdf