Supporting organisations to strengthen their resilience: How to go beyond the cheque

In Spring 2024, we offered additional grants of up to €15,000 to organisations funded by an active Economic Opportunities grant, helping them strengthen their resilience, agility, and sustainability. This support complemented our other support for grantee partners – what we call Funding+ – and was part of a broader commitment to bolster the capacities of small and medium-sized gender equality organisations in Europe and ensure the delivery of high-impact work during the grant period and beyond.

Over a year later, we spoke to the recipients to learn how they used this funding and what difference it made to their organisations and teams. Their feedback revealed how even modest investments in organisational development can have a positive ripple effect, supercharging their ability to deliver on their mission. Going beyond the main cheque (in our case flexible, multi-year core and project grants) in ways that improve partners’ organisational health is a smart investment that can multiply impact.

How it started

Since the very beginning of the Alliance, our member foundations have wanted to offer capacity strengthening support due to concerns that most grassroots gender equality and women’s rights organisations face numerous internal challenges, such as burnout, small teams, and stretched budgets. Too often, available funding is restricted to specific projects, leaving little room to invest in their own infrastructure and capacity development.

Inspired by trust-based philanthropy and the positive experiences of other funds hosted by the Network of European Foundation, the Alliance decided to introduce organisational development grants as part of its Funding+ support when its budget substantially expanded in 2023 — and a survey sent to our grantees confirmed that we were responding to a real need.

What we offered

The feedback we received from grantees guided us to focus on flexible support that is designed to respond to a wide range of organisational needs, from developing fundraising plans to providing wellbeing support for staff to accessing legal aid in case of attacks from anti-rights groups.

Organisations submitted a short, streamlined application, proportionate to the size of the award, outlining how they planned to use the funds for activities beyond their main grant. To help applicants identify their needs and gaps, we shared a self-assessment tool developed by our member Bodossaki Foundation. Each plan reflected the organisation’s unique context, way of working, and immediate challenges.

The grants were available on a rolling basis from April 2024 to May 2025, with organisations able to apply for several smaller grants up to a combined total of €15,000. For requests below €5,000, the Alliance team aimed to respond within two weeks, while for larger applications, the team aimed for four to six weeks, as these were reviewed by an assessment committee, which also included a member foundation and an advisor of the Alliance.

In total, €308,204 was awarded to 23 organisations that applied, representing 71% of those eligible, with an average amount of €13,400 per organisation.

How grants were used

The flexibility of the funding was highly valued, with each organisation tailoring their grant to accommodate their unique needs in a holistic and sustainable way.

Most organisations used the grants to strengthen different aspects of their operations and wellbeing:

• 27% used some of the grant on financial resilience, such as developing fundraising plans and materials, or organising donor-focused events and initiatives.
• 30% used some of the grant on wellbeing, including therapy for staff, organising retreats, holding workshops on collective care, or offering staff bonuses.
• 41% used some of the grant to improve internal policies, management and communication, or strengthening governance and organisational structures.
• 27% used some of the grant on strategic planning, updating organisational or programmatic strategies and organising planning retreats.
• 27% used some or all of the grant on communications, investing in website updates, rebranding, or hiring communications consultants.
• 23% used some of the grant on alliance building, including developing new partnerships, travelling to meet peer organisations, or hosting joint civil society events.

A few organisations focused on practical needs:

• Two organisations used some of their grant to improve their safety and security with upgraded protocols to respond to attacks and security measures at their offices.
• Three organisations used some of their grant to update their office materials and digital tools.
• Four used some of the grant on upskilling their teams in grant writing, public speaking, media relations, leadership, and other key aspects of nonprofit work.

Impact of organisational development grants

• 95% of recipients that have completed their final reporting said their capacity improved because of the organisational development grant. One grantee said: “Thanks to the grant, we were able to build our internal capacity in communication and fundraising.“

• 40% of organisations highlighted the positive impact of the support on their sustainability in terms of new or strengthened fundraising plans, access to new individual donors, and new forms of engagement with companies. For example, one grantee shared: “We developed and tested new tools, such as upgrading services for businesses and working with companies. We created three new types of trainings and piloted them with companies […] We are counting on this to yield results in the future.“

• 40% credited the support with strengthening team wellbeing and cohesion, improving internal dynamics and enhancing workplace culture, which in turn allowed organisations to sustain their work in difficult contexts and weather different storms. One grantee reported: “It was the first time we were able to have therapy for the team to take us through the year which was tough in [our context].”

• 35% said the funding helped them develop or deepen collaborations with other civil society partners, expanding their networks, learning from peers, and strategising together. One grantee said about a trip to another corner of Europe: “It gave us a space outside of our usual office environment to strategise with different lenses.”

What grantees still need support with

Despite these positive short-term results, recipients of organisational development grants also shared that they continue to face the following ongoing challenges:

• Increasing demand for services
• Challenging environment due to anti-gender and anti-migrant backlash
• Increased stress due to physical attacks and threats from anti-gender groups
• Increased personal risk of working in NGO sector
• Increased scrutiny from public donors
• Pressures or limitations due to closing civic space
• Worries about funding sustainability
• Decreasing engagement from corporate partners due to anti-DEI backlash
• Emotional toll of frontline work

Lessons learned

The pilot round of organisational development grants offered valuable insights into what worked well and what could be improved. The flexibility of this support proved effective: while most organisations requested larger grants, having the option to apply for smaller amounts with a shorter application process enabled several grantees to request funding for targeted initiatives and apply closer to the deadline. Holding calls with grantees before they submitted larger requests was useful to further develop ideas and ensuring eligibility.

At the same time, a few aspects could be strengthened. The final application deadline for these grants was set too late, leaving some grantees unable to complete their organisational development activities within their main grant period. Despite information being disseminated, there was also a mixed level of awareness about this opportunity among grantees, which led to a surge of applications towards the end of the cycle. Maintaining the Q&A webinar while also sending quarterly email updates to grantees with reminders could help address this.

The assessment committee played an invaluable role. Their generous investment of time and expterise helped the Alliance team refine its approach to organisational development – an area that was new to us when these grants began. Even so, the process slowed down decision-making, with some grants taking up to 13 weeks for approval.

We will use these findings to revise our Funding+ offer, to shape how we manage additional support grants, and to understand the pressures that the organisations we fund face every day.

Recommendations for funders

Beyond providing flexible, multi-year grants with additional, complementary financial and non-financial support, we encourage funders to:

1. Offer specific organisational development funding in addition to main grants. Even when funders provide unrestricted or flexible funding, organisational development is often the last area organisations invest in, while dedicated funding allows them to prioritise it.
2. Check in with your partners through calls, surveys or other methods to understand the internal and external challenges they face and adapt your support accordingly.
3. Build in flexibility with a broad understanding of capacity, sustainability, resilience, agility or wellbeing that allows grantees to define what matters most for their development.
4. Keep applications and reporting requirements short, streamlined, and proportionate to the size of support.
5. Support grantees in carrying out a thorough needs assessment to identify what it may need for optimal development and delivery of their missions, while ensuring plans are manageable and achievable.
6. Hold calls with grantees prior to funding requests, helping grantees refine ideas and shape effective organisational development strategies.
7. Ensure clear communication, processes, and requirements to help grantees plan better.
8. Provide sufficient time for grantees to implement activities.
9. Focus on outcomes rather than outputs when assessing organisational development. Recognise that progress in this area is often incremental, less visible, and difficult to measure.