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Abstract
Conducting an organizational capacity assessment is a key first step in identifying need for capacity-building. A variety of organizational capacity assessment tools are available to nonprofits. This review compares 24 publicly available tools based on the time and energy it takes an organization to complete the assessment process and their scientific rigor. We make the case for nonprofits to select the most scientifically rigorous process with the smallest amount of burden to the organization.
Background
An effective nonprofit organization makes progress towards fulfilling its mission and accomplishes its stated goals (Sawhill & Williamson, 2001)(Herman & Renz, 1998). But how does an organization build and obtain the resources and skills necessary to carry out its mission? What factors and components are necessary for an organization to be successful? In the nonprofit arena, there is little consensus on the answers to these questions, and even less agreement on effective methodologies to assess whether an organization has the required capacities to reach its goals.
Although answers to these questions remain murky, capacity-building is playing a growing role in international development, raising questions about how best to implement and evaluate capacitybuilding interventions. The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) has defined organizational capacity building as "the strengthening of internal organizational structures, systems and processes, management, leadership, governance, and overall staff capacity to enhance organizational, team and individual performance" (USAID & AIDSTAR-Two, 2011).
Capacity-building is a frequently debated term and many organizations that engage in building capacity have their own definitions. For the purpose of this paper, we define capacity-building, as a continuous process whereby efforts are taken to improve an area or areas of an organizational function to assist in meeting goals, improving performance, and increasing outputs or efficiency. In organizational capacity-building, this process is applied to an organization as a whole (Goldberg & Bryant, 2012; Horton, 2002; USAID & AIDSTARTwo, 2011; Vita & Fleming, 2001; Wing, 2004). Organizational capacity building is beneficial because-when done correctly-it will contribute to the long-term sustainability of an organization (Lafond & Brown, 2003)(Mizrahi, 2004). This begs the question: how does an organization or a donor know where to focus capacity-building efforts in order to realize improvement in organizational capacity?
Historically, it has been easier for nonprofits and community-based organizations to...