Capacity Building initiatives

Capacity Building initiatives is sponsored by Herrick Foundation. The Herrick Foundation's capacity building initiatives fund nonprofit educational needs, leadership development, organizational strategies, and provide opportunities for organizations to build relationships with other nonprofits to enhance their effectiveness.

These grants fund important infrastructure needs and enable grant partners to develop skills that can make them more effective and sustainable.

Capacity Building — Herrick Foundation An important element of the Herrick Foundation’s wind down strategy focuses on building and sustaining the capacity of our grant partners so they can achieve their missions effectively now and improve their financial position in the future.

The Herrick Foundation’s capacity building initiatives fund nonprofit educational needs, leadership development, organizational strategies, and provide opportunities for organizations to build relationships with other nonprofits to enhance their effectiveness. Nonprofits, especially small nonprofits, rarely have the budget or time to access professional education.

Capacity building grants fund important infrastructure needs and enable grant partners to develop skills that can make them more effective and sustainable. As a time-limited foundation, the Herrick Foundation believes it is a wise investment to fund the tools our grant partners need to help them achieve their missions now and support their long-term sustainability.

CFRM Southeast Michigan cohort The Lilly Family School of Philanthropy is recognized as the national leader in philanthropic education for nonprofit fundraisers. They have successfully hosted Certificate in FundRaising Management (CFRM) programs elsewhere in the country, but this critical program has never been brought to Southeast Michigan. The Herrick Foundation changed that.

In 2024, we hosted and sponsored 12 days of training over 5 months for 36 individuals from 19 local nonprofit organizations. CFRM Northern Michigan cohort Due to the success of the CFRM program in 2024, the Herrick Foundation reached out to our partners at the Petoskey-Harbor Springs Area Community Foundation and the Charlevoix County Community Foundation , who enthusiastically agreed to host the CFRM program in Northern Michigan.

The Herrick Foundation underwrote this capacity building program to provide certification for 40 individuals from 25 nonprofit organizations in Emmet and Charlevoix counties over 8 months in 2025. Expanding on the success of these CFRM programs, the Herrick Foundation is further investing in the efficacy and sustainability of selected grant partners with capacity building grants.

Our commitment to these grants goes beyond funding - we are walking with our grant partners and supporting their needs as they unfold. One recently awarded capacity building grant was to Legacy Land Conservancy (Legacy). Legacy’s mission is to safeguard southern Michigan’s land and water to support diverse, resilient, and thriving communities - forever.

Though Legacy has strong leadership and is financially sound, they are on the cusp of impactful, mission-driven growth. The Herrick Foundation made a capacity building grant to support Legacy’s short and long-term planning, including succession, re-accreditation, fundraising, staffing, and professional development. The Herrick Foundation is excited to support this transformative work.

We look forward to sharing the impact of other strategic, capacity building investments in the future.