The Chesapeake Bay Trust and the Chesapeake Bay Funders Network are excited to announce that the Capacity Building Grant Program is now open!

The Capacity Building Grant Program is an annual program of the Chesapeake Bay Funders Network (CBFN). The program seeks to increase the effectiveness of organizations that work at the nexus of natural resource and community health issues, within the Chesapeake Bay, Coastal Bays, and Youghiogheny River watersheds by addressing organizational capacity needs. “Organizational capacity” is defined as activities that strengthen an organization to help it better fulfill its mission.

Grants will be awarded to eligible nonprofit organizations to either a) strengthen their internal capacity, or b) strengthen the capacity of other nonprofit organizations.

Examples of Project Types Include (but are not limited to):

  • Contractual Support to assess organizational effectiveness
  • Developing or refining a strategic plan
  • Developing a stronger and more diverse board
  • Developing the leadership skills of organizational leaders or up-and-coming leaders within the staff
  • Training of management staff
  • Creation of a Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Justice (DEIJ) plan
  • And more…

This program can support nonprofit organizations that provide services in the Chesapeake Bay watershed jurisdictions in MD, DE, DC, PA, VA, and WV, that have between 1 and 50 employees (at least one staff member must be employed full-time – more than 35 hours per week), a water and/or natural resource-focused component within their mission, and an active Board of Directors.

Application Deadline: March 16th, 2023, at 4:00pm EST.

For more information and to view the Request for Proposals, visit the “Annual CBI Grant Program” tab on: https://cbtrust.org/grants/capacity-building/

For questions and technical assistance, contact: Kacey Wetzel at kwetzel@cbtrust.org or (410) 974-2941 x104.