Supportive Assistance Program

What is SAP?

As a complement to our grantmaking work, NVR’s Supportive Assistance Program (SAP) is aimed at strengthening our grantee partner organizations as they build internal capacity and grow the skills, knowledge, and abilities vital for carrying out their changemaking work. 

SAP foregrounds cultural relevance. Rather than imposing external “capacity building” frameworks that often assume a deficit, SAP is rooted in existing Indigenous knowledge and community expertise. This program connects our grantee partners with Native practitioners for customized consulting support, as well as with offerings like peer learning opportunities, webinars and training, partner networking, and resource sharing. Every year, we revise and adapt our Supportive Assistance Program to better serve the needs and interests of grantee partners. SAP is also an important way we deepen reciprocal relationships in our circle, from grantee partners to consultants to donors. 

Since 2019, NVR has achieved 1,447+ capacity-building support engagements through the Supportive Assistance Program. This includes 155+ grant partner-consultant matches focused on capacity building, 320 individual Native executives and leaders engaged in Peer Leadership Circles, and over 972 webinar attendees.

Our SAP Offerings

The Consultant Match Program: SAP matches grantee partners to Native organizational development consultants, practitioners, and professional coaches for areas of targeted need such as organizational development, fundraising, communications, systems, and financial management. We assess consultant matches based on short-term, single capacity-building needs that a grantee partner organization seeks to prioritize. 

Peer Leadership Circles: Guided by trained Native Coach-Facilitators, these monthly virtual calls are designed to create opportunities for peer learning through focused topics, sharing of organizational solutions to everyday challenges, and intentional networking among grantee partners. 

Webinars and Trainings: SAP offers educational webinars to help grantee partners better understand the world of philanthropy. Topics, which continue to evolve according to grantee partner feedback, include grant writing, storytelling, relationship building, fundraising from both foundations and individual donors, strategic planning for organizational growth, understanding financial reporting, and developing a communications strategy. After the webinars, participants also have the opportunity to engage in small learning pods to dive deeper into the material.

Resource Sharing: SAP currently shares specific resources with NVR grantee partners that meet their current capacity building and networking interests. Our goal is to develop a comprehensive and coordinated hub of resources covering everything from available funding, training, and conferences to collaborative opportunities and skills development. 

SAP addresses these commonly shared capacity building focus areas:

• Fundraising and Financial Sustainability: diversifying income streams, securing grants, establishing long-term funding plans, and developing strategies for individual, philanthropic, and capital campaigns.
• Organizational and Operational Development: strengthening infrastructure, formalizing systems, improving policies and procedures, establishing clear internal roles, and managing data/CRM systems.
• Leadership and Governance: executive coaching, board development (including financial management and transitioning to a governance role), succession planning, and general leadership/management training.
• Team and Staff Capacity Building: effective team management, improving inter-departmental collaboration, developing individual staff work plans, and human resources support.
• Marketing and Communications: refining brand guides, refreshing websites, developing social media templates, and creating materials for campaigns and media coverage to raise the organization’s profile.