Capacity Building
HDI helps local leaders and organizations become more effective, build credibility, and scale their programs through the following activities:
Organizational Capacity Building Cohort Program
HDI’s two-year, comprehensive, cohort-based capacity building program helps nonprofit leaders build the structure and systems for stronger, more effective organizations. The program addresses each organization’s capacity needs holistically, and is tailored to its specific gaps, as determined in an assessment we undertake jointly with the organization’s leaders. HDI strengthens local leaders and their organizations as agents to transform communities. So we select cohort members that have inclusive projects and programs that meet their community’s needs. Then our comprehensive capacity assessment looks at the leaders (Individual), the organization (Institutional), and the Community (Systemic).
The program employs blended learning that includes:
Group Training - Topics are selected following the assessments and may include: Governance, Leadership, Financial Management, Program Design and Management, Communications, Community Engagement, Fundraising and Grant Writing, and Impact and Performance Evaluation.
Peer Learning – We create opportunities for peer-to-peer networking, mentoring and information sharing.
Coaching – Following the group trainings, HDI staff and consultants provide on-site coaching and support to ensure that learnings are translated into the real work of the organization.
Nonprofit Accompaniment Support
HDI’s goal is to build the field of competent, credible Haitian nonprofit organizations leading development efforts in their communities. To do this, we offer flexible support that meets nonprofits where they are and supports their continued growth. We support organizations to, for example:
conduct strategic planning
shore up their budgeting and financial management systems
improve their governance arrangements, organizational structures and human resources
obtain and outfit office space
develop a website
prepare funding proposals
Capacity Building for Local Officials
Haiti lacks even one university-level program focused on Public Service. Politicians and local government officials typically have no specific preparation for their roles. In partnership with the State University of New York’s Center for International Development, HDI is developing curricula for a program to train civic–minded future local leaders in ethical and effective local government leadership and management. The program will introduce the concept of government as public service and build norms around ethics to help develop leaders who will partner with communities to build their way out of poverty.
Our interventions are designed to be mutually reinforcing:
Following participation in HDI’s cohort program or outside of it, organizations have access to HDI’s nonprofit accompaniment program.
HDI is a grant maker to local Haitian nonprofits (see below in Advisory Services for information about our grant intermediary services). Grassroots nonprofits that receive grants are supported with small-scale capacity assessments that help them identify organizational capacity needs that may be addressed in capacity development programs. Grantees learn by doing, with HDI support in the process of implementing their project. This increases the impact of the grant, while the community benefits from the outputs of the project.
Importantly, HDI maintains a network of all organizations we work with to increase local leaders’ ability to connect and collaborate.