The Cape & Islands Partnership for Nonprofit Advancement Announces Results of Community Survey

The Cape and Islands Partnership for Nonprofit Advancement announced today the results of a large-scale community survey gauging the training and capacity-building needs of nonprofits on Cape Cod and the Islands.

The Cape and Islands Partnership for Nonprofit Advancement is a regional collaborative whose mission is to leverage resources to effectively coordinate and expand training and educational opportunities for nonprofits on Cape Cod and the Islands to support the health and vitality of the nonprofit sector. They conducted the survey in the fall of 2015. It yielded 405 responses from nonprofit staff, Board members, and volunteers, and will inform current and future programming. A diverse group of respondents participated in the survey, with broad representation of organizational size, age, and geographic representation.

The key findings of the survey revealed the top four training needs, in order, are: Fundraising; Nonprofit Management; Executive/Leadership Training; and Organizational Strategy. Donor Relations and Communication/Marketing were tied for fifth. No matter the size of the organization, senior staff and Board members agreed on these rankings. Survey responses regarding desired distance to travel for training supports the need for expanded local training opportunities.

“We were thrilled with the response we received to the survey,” said Kristin O’Malley, Executive Director of The Cape Cod Foundation, the organization facilitating the Partnership. “There is a strong appetite for more local training and capacity building support, and while anecdotally, we all had ideas of what some of the needs were, having the data has been instrumental in helping the Partnership evaluate the current landscape and formulate plans for moving forward in a cohesive, more impactful way.”

The Partnership has moved forward with enhanced coordination of sharing educational opportunities and increased collaboration on existing programming. In addition, they are working on initiating new programming, specifically around leadership development, to address some of the gaps that were identified. Local funders are working together to identify opportunities to synchronize the grant making process to make it easier for organizations to identify and apply for funding.

Members of the Cape & Islands Partnership for Nonprofit Advancement include: The Cape Cod Foundation (facilitator), Arts Foundation of Cape Cod, Associated Grant Makers, Bilezikian Family Foundation, Bridgewater State University of Cape Cod, Cape Cod Community College Center for Corporate and Professional Education, Cape Cod Five Cents Savings Bank Charitable Foundation, Cape Cod SCORE, Cape & Islands United Way, Community Foundation for Nantucket, Gestalt International Study Center, Goodwin Procter LLP, Massachusetts Nonprofit Network, Philanthropy Partners of the Cape and Islands, Stonehill College Center for Nonprofit Management, Suffolk University Moakley Center for Public Advancement, and The Peter and Elizabeth C. Tower Foundation.

Learn more at www.capecodfoundation.org/2015survey