Transformative Organizational Change through Hybrid Capacity-Building: The North Penn Experiment

Abstract

“How do we get the most bang for our buck?” That’s one of the first questions nonprofits, their funders and donors ask, especially when it comes to capacity-building – the strengthening of the non-programmatic functions, operations and business of a nonprofit organization. 

Traditionally, the answer has been “you get what you pay for.” At the low end, the one-off workshop costs little but doesn’t change the organization. At the high end, extensive consulting can bring the deep organizational transformation required to make a real difference but can be prohibitively expensive.

The North Penn Nonprofit Academy, a unique program for nonprofit health and human services leaders, has come up with a different answer. Founded by the North Penn Community Health Foundation, the Academy has found a way to combine elements from across the spectrum of capacity-building efforts to achieve organizational behavior change much more cost-effectively than by simply assuming that there is one best way. The Academy’s resulting ability to build the capacity of executive directors, board members and management-level staff serving the North Penn region of Eastern Montgomery County, Pennsylvania not only provides an innovative answer to the bang-for-the-buck question but also provides a blueprint for other nonprofit communities.