East Contra Costa Nonprofit Capacity Building Initiative

The East Contra Costa Nonprofit Capacity Building Initiative is a three-year investment designed to strengthen nonprofit organizations serving East Contra Costa County. The Initiative combines grantmaking with professional development opportunities, including free nonprofit-focused workshops, academic and community education courses, and leadership development opportunities. Across two grant cycles, the Initiative plans to distribute $500,000 in capacity-building grants. For the 2026 funding cycle, $240,000 has been allocated for sub-grants supporting nonprofit organizational capacity, with approximately half of the available funding intended for Capacity Building Projects and half for Workforce Development Internship Projects. The sub-grants are intended to strengthen nonprofit organizational effectiveness, sustainability, leadership, infrastructure, and workforce capacity. Capacity Building Projects may address Tactics, Talent, and Tools. Supported areas include strategic planning, program design, program evaluation, organizational systems, staff development, leadership development, board development, technology improvements, CRM or database systems, financial management systems, and communications infrastructure. Examples include strategic planning facilitation, board development and governance training, leadership coaching, technology implementation, fundraising infrastructure, program evaluation systems, and communications and marketing infrastructure improvements. Workforce Development Internship Projects are intended to provide meaningful work-based learning opportunities while increasing the organizational capacity of participating nonprofits. Internship activities may support programs, operations, communications, outreach, administration, fundraising, evaluation, technology, or other organizational priorities and should contribute to capacity-building objectives. Interns must enroll in at least one credit of WRKX-180 Work Experience Internship at Los Medanos College or document enrollment in an equivalent course at their institution; they do not have to be pre-existing Los Medanos College students. Los Medanos College will provide grant funding directly to the nonprofit host site for the intern, and the nonprofit will pay the intern no less than the applicable minimum wage. Host organizations must provide supervision, meaningful learning opportunities, and regular feedback and must identify internship responsibilities, learning objectives, and supervision plans. Advanced projects may use undergraduate or graduate students in relevant disciplines, and grant funds may offset tuition or enrollment fees associated with internship coursework. Eligible applicants must be 501(c)(3) nonprofit organizations or fiscally sponsored organizations. Applicants must primarily serve residents of East Contra Costa County, including Antioch, Bay Point, Brentwood, Byron, Discovery Bay, Knightsen, Oakley, Pittsburg, and Bethel Island. Organizations must have annual operating budgets under $2 million and must serve low-to-moderate income and/or historically marginalized communities. No matching or cost-share requirement is stated. Grantees are strongly encouraged to participate in at least one additional Initiative activity during the grant period and may be invited to peer learning, networking, and other collaborative opportunities, but participation in these additional activities is encouraged rather than required. For the 2026 cycle, the Initiative anticipates making approximately 10 to 12 grants. Most awards are expected to range from $10,000 to $20,000, although the Initiative expressly reserves the right to make awards above or below that range depending on funding availability, geographic distribution, proposal quality, and community need. Applicants may propose projects with either a one-year or two-year performance period. The stated key-date schedule identifies January through December 2027 for the grant performance period, while the program narrative separately permits one-year or two-year proposals. The 2027 funding cycle, expected to launch in August 2027, will offer funding for one-year projects only. Beginning with that cycle, preference may be given to organizations that did not receive 2026 funding, although organizations implementing complex, multi-phase projects funded in 2026 may apply for continued support. The RFP was released on August 25, 2026, and applications are due October 18, 2026. Applicant information sessions are scheduled for September 10, 2026 at 12 noon in person at the Antioch Chamber of Commerce, 640 West 2nd Street, Antioch, and September 15, 2026 at 5 PM virtually. These sessions are not identified as mandatory application gates. Award announcements are expected during the week of November 2, 2026, with the grant performance period beginning in 2027. The stated dates are subject to change, and updates will be posted on the East Contra Costa Nonprofit Capacity Building Initiative website and communicated to registered applicants. The source provides an Apply Now link but does not provide the underlying application URL or enumerate a complete application package in the supplied material. No individual program contact or program email is identified. The Antioch Chamber of Commerce contact information shown on the page is 640 West 2nd Street, Antioch, California 94509, phone (925) 757-1800, and fax (925) 757-5286.

Align the project clearly with one or more of the Initiative's Tactics, Talent, and Tools capacity-building areas. Demonstrate how the project will strengthen organizational effectiveness, sustainability, leadership, infrastructure, or workforce capacity. For internship projects, provide meaningful learning opportunities, supervision, regular feedback, and pay at least the applicable minimum wage. Proposal quality, community need, geographic distribution, and available funding may affect award decisions.