Invitation to join a Learning Community on Building Organizational Capacity

Applications are due by June 13, 2025. Access the application here.

The Grandfamilies & Kinship Support Network, a National Technical Assistance Center at Generations United, is inviting non-profit kinship organizations with budgets of less than $250,000 to participate in a Learning Community focused on building organizational capacity to grow their program and plan for long-term sustainability.

The learning community, which will engage approximately 12 organization leaders, is designed to empower, encourage, and support small or grassroots organizations that are serving kinship families in their communities. Its overall goals are to help participants:

• Build their local and national visibility;
• Participate in building a trusted community for professional support;
• Be a united voice from the grassroots kinship organization perspective; and
• Increase each organization’s capacity to obtain funding.

Qualified applicants must be organizations that:

• have an organization annual budget of $250,000 or less;
• are led by a person with lived experience in kinship care or advised by kinship caregivers;
• has a mission primarily focused on serving kinship families;
• provides direct services to kinship families; and
• is designated as a 501(c)(3) organization.

The organization may be serving kin caregivers who are caring for children in state custody and/or outside of the child welfare system. 

There is a one-year commitment by the organization leader or designated board member. Participants will be expected to:

• commit to attending all monthly learning community sessions over a 12-month period, which begin in June, 2025, and actively participating in quarterly training sessions; 
• commit to creating and implementing action steps focused on building organizational capacity to benefit their kinship program and the families they serve;
• complete a brief pre- and post-survey to help the Network evaluate the effectiveness of the learning community.

This learning community is an expansion of a smaller learning community that the Network hosted last year, comprised of four peer-led kinship organizations. A toolkit was created from that learning community to provide insights and experiences for other organizations to consider. Leaders from that learning community will help lead and support this new cohort.

This is a great opportunity for smaller kinship organizations who are making a difference for kinship families in their communities and want to grow their programs and increase their impact.

You may access the application here. Applications are due by June 13, 2025.

If you have any questions, please contact Melissa Devlin, Assistant Director, Grandfamilies & Kinship Support Network at Generations United, at mdevlin@gu.org, or Karen Gillespie, Project Coordinator, National Center on Grandfamilies, Generations United, at kgillespie@gu.org.