LVGS Selected to Participate in the ADVANS Project
Beginning in the fall of 2007 and continuing through 2010, the Gifford Foundation is implementing a stage-based approach to developing the capacity of eight organizations in our community. The initiative is named the ADVANS project, which stands for Advancing and Developing the Value and Assets of Nonprofits in Syracuse. Organizations in the ADVANS project receive from 1 to 3 years of consultant support and grants to help implement organizational changes and business plans.
LVGS is selected as a Tier I organization, which is a 3-year commitment on behalf of the Gifford Foundation. "This is a very generous initiative that will have a lasting impact on LVGS, and our ability to respond to the evolving literacy needs of this community," said Donna Valerino, LVGS executive director. "This is exactly the type of assistance we need at this stage of organizational growth. It is an incredible amount of support!" The Gifford Foundation has committed over $1.2 million for the next three years to implement the ADVANS project among the eight organizations. This new capacity building initiative reflects the recent shift in the Gifford Foundation's competitive grantmaking process to one that incorporates capacity-building for both its community partners and nonprofit grantees. "This approach to our grantmaking is based on the understanding that a variety of innovations designed to strengthen and sustain nonprofit organizational performance are currently transforming our field," noted Kathy Goldfarb-Findling, Gifford Foundation executive director. "Working with the development of capacity models, we believe we will be able to reinforce the concept that nonprofits are best able to accomplish their programs or mission as they develop and maintain overall institutional durability, health and competence."
The eight ADVANS organizations are currently working with area consultants and are utilizing the self-assessment and business planning tool and techniques developed by Dr. Susan Kenny Stevens as outlined in the book Nonprofit Lifecycles: Stage-based Wisdom for Nonprofit Capacity. The ADVANS organizations are Arc of Onondaga, Center for Nature Education at Baltimore Woods, Dunbar Center, Hiscock Legal Aid, Huntington Family Center, La Liga (Spanish Action League), Literacy Volunteers of Greater Syracuse and RedHouse Arts Center.
