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 professional development with grantmaking, including free nonprofit-focused workshops, academic and community education courses, leadership development opportunities, and a grant program that will distribute $500,000 in capacity-building grants over two grant cycles. For the 2026 funding cycle, $240,000 has been allocated for sub-grants supporting nonprofit organizational capacity. Approximately 10 to 12 grants are anticipated, with most awards expected to range from $10,000 to $20,000. The Initiative may make awards above or below that range based on funding availability, geographic distribution, proposal quality, and community need. The sub-grants are intended to strengthen organizational effectiveness, sustainability, leadership, infrastructure, and workforce capacity. Approximately 50 percent of available funding is intended for Capacity Building Projects and the remaining 50 percent for Workforce Development Internship Projects. Capacity Building Projects may address Tactics, Talent, or 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, governance training, leadership coaching, technology implementation, fundraising infrastructure, evaluation systems, and communications or marketing infrastructure improvements. Workforce Development Internship Projects provide meaningful work-based learning opportunities while also increasing nonprofit organizational capacity. Internships may support programs, operations, communications, outreach, administration, fundraising, evaluation, technology, or other organizational priorities and should contribute to the Tactics, Talent, or Tools capacity-building areas. 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. Interns 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. Interns must receive at least the applicable minimum wage. Host organizations must provide supervision, meaningful learning opportunities, regular feedback, identified 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. They must primarily serve residents of East Contra Costa County, including Antioch, Bay Point, Brentwood, Byron, Discovery Bay, Knightsen, Oakley, Pittsburg, and Bethel Island. Applicants must have annual operating budgets below $2 million and serve low-to-moderate income and/or historically marginalized communities. No cost-share or matching requirement is stated in the provided material. Grant recipients 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. The Request for Proposals was released August 25, 2026, and the application deadline is 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. Applicants may propose projects with either a one-year or two-year performance period, while the key-date schedule identifies January through December 2027 as the grant performance period. The dates are subject to change, and updates are to be posted on the East Contra Costa Nonprofit Capacity Building Initiative website and communicated to registered applicants. The Initiative states that another funding cycle will launch in August 2027 and will offer funding for one-year projects only. Beginning with that cycle, preference may be given to organizations that did not receive funding during the 2026 cycle, although organizations implementing complex, multi-phase projects funded in 2026 may apply for continued support. The provided source directs applicants to an Apply Now link but does not provide the underlying application URL, application questions, required uploads, or a named application portal in the supplied text. No individual program contact or program-specific email is provided. The source lists the Antioch Chamber of Commerce at 640 West 2nd Street, Antioch, CA 94509, with telephone number (925) 757-1800 and fax number (925) 757-5286.

Demonstrate clear organizational capacity benefits and community need, and align the project with Tactics, Talent, and/or Tools. Proposal quality, geographic distribution, funding availability, and community need may affect award decisions. Workforce Development Internship proposals should clearly define responsibilities, learning objectives, supervision, meaningful learning opportunities, regular feedback, enrollment compliance, and wages of at least the applicable minimum wage.