Capacity Building
Williamsburg Health Foundation lists a number of different capacity-building resources below. We honored NetworkPeninsula at our 2022 Annual Awards for its work to the build the capacity of local organizations.
NetworkPeninsula serves nonprofits across the Peninsula by helping build their capacity to remain sustainable and equipping them with the tools to ensure they fulfill their respective missions effectively. Learn more >>>
Office of Community Engagement at College of William & Mary
The Office of Community Engagement (OCE) partners with nonprofits to create positive community-driven social change. OCE offers the opportunity to share volunteer needs in its weekly student volunteer listserv, hosts a volunteer fair in the September, and holds networking and resource sharing events in fall and spring. OCE funds a limited number of internships focused on students completing capacity projects for local nonprofits. Visit the community partners webpage for details, and email oce@wm.edu for a one-on-one conversation.
Listserv for Nonprofits: Nonprofit-l
The Williamsburg Regional Library has a listserv for nonprofits to share information with each other. WHF uses this list frequently to post news and announcements. Subscribe to the Nonprofit-l for up-to-date, nonprofit-specific announcements from WHF. To sign up, click here.
Williamsburg Community Foundation
The Williamsburg Community Foundation gives grants twice a year to a wide variety of Williamsburg-area nonprofit organizations working in many different fields, including arts and culture. If you are a local organization, be sure to check them out.
GuideStar by Candid
Did you know that GuideStar was founded in Williamsburg? And it still has its main office here? Let’s hear it for the hometown hero for charity in America!
For a nonprofit organization, completing your GuideStar profile gives you a competitive edge. According to GuideStar, “updating your GuideStar Nonprofit Profile ensures that prospective donors and funders will find the accurate, timely information about your organization. Your information will be seen by the 8 million users who visit GuideStar each year and millions more who visit the 200+ charitable applications and websites that are powered by GuideStar.”
BoardSource
Based out of Washington DC Board Source aims to assist with nonprofit board leadership support, training, and education in order to unleash the full potential of boards and board leaders. They believe a commitment to diversity, inclusion, and equity is essential to making this a reality. They have a wide range of diagnostic tools, education seminars, best practice resources and guidance, and coaching and consulting services to strengthen nonprofit board performance.
“Catchafire provides us access to high-level executive professionals willing to share their skills and expertise. In addition to quality products that result from these projects (marketing materials, handbooks, etc.), the knowledge that staff gain during these projects in invaluable and further builds our agency’s capacity.”
— Charvalla, COO/Dir of Community Impact,
United Way of the Virginia Peninsula
Catchafire
The Bernardine Franciscan Sisters Foundation and the Williamsburg Health Foundation partnered to launch Catchafire Virginia Peninsula.
As part of Catchafire Virginia Peninsula, organizations access to Catchafire’s virtual platform and programming to leverage a network of more than 100,000 skilled volunteers to help accomplish the projects they need the most, so organizations can more efficiently and effectively carry out the important work now and in the future.
Catchafire is a full service, on-demand solution designed to address the wide-ranging and complex needs of nonprofits and is the largest online tool to connect social good organizations with talented professionals looking to donate their skills.
Catchafire’s virtual volunteering network connects nonprofits with passionate professionals across a diverse range of fields, from Fortune 500s to 1-person startups, all over the world.
Finding the right match is important. Each of the 150+ pre-scoped projects contains prerequisite skills and experience, core deliverables, and time estimates, so volunteers know exactly what is required when they apply to work with a nonprofit. Nonprofits review resumes, interview, and select volunteers.
WHF sponsors 50+ Catchafire memberships for health and human services organizations impacting the health of the Greater Williamsburg Community. Contact us to see if your organization qualifies!
Advocacy
WHF has the goal to “Advance organizations, systems, and public policy crucial to community health and well-being.” This work includes not only WHF doing advocacy but also supporting grantees and other nonprofits to engage in advocacy themselves.
Here are three powerful resources for nonprofit advocacy work.
According to the National Council for Nonprofits, Advocacy is “not complicated. Really. All you have to do is care about your nonprofit’s mission. Most people think that advocacy and lobbying are synonymous. Lobbying is a form of advocacy, but there are so many more ways to advocate for your nonprofit’s mission.”
National Council for Nonprofits keeps an archive of “Advocacy in Action” stories. At least one story is included in every edition of their free bi-weekly newsletter, Nonprofit Advocacy Matters.”
Initiated by BoardSource — together with the Alliance for Justice, the Campion Foundation, the National Council of Nonprofits, and the United Philanthropy Forum — the Stand for Your Mission campaign seeks to unleash the full potential of the nonprofit sector to create positive impact by engaging board leaders more directly in the advocacy work of their organizations.
Stand for Your Mission states:
“Public policy can play a powerful role in making our society more just. And it can help nonprofit organizations make important advances that create lasting, positive change. Board members can serve as powerful champions for missions, using a combination of passion and influence that can powerfully accelerate your organization’s voice. Learn how advocacy made a difference for nonprofit organizations that committed to standing for their missions.”
In 2021, WHF presented trainings from Bolder Advocacy.
Bolder Advocacy promotes active engagement in democratic processes and institutions by giving nonprofits and foundations the confidence to advocate effectively and by protecting their right to do so.
Have a question about advocacy and regulations?
Call Bolder Advocacy Hotline
1-866-NP-LOBBY
advocacy@afj.org
TCC Group collaborates with foundations, nonprofits & companies to solve complex social problems.
Provocative partners who collaborate with clients, leaders, and communities to propel positive social change. Trusted for a distinct blend of integrity, intuition, passion, and practical wisdom.
Want to learn more? Visit tccgrp.com
Did you know that there are over 25+ Foundations in the Williamsburg area? Wondering about all the other local foundations? You can find them in a variety of ways. Check out below!
For research on foundations and grants, nothing beats Candid’s The Foundation Center Directory Online. If your organization is looking for grants, consider buying a month (or more) of time in which to do prospect research.
Candid’s Foundation Center also offers fantastic free resources via its:
- IssueLab: free research from social sector organizations.
- GrantSpace: training for grantseekers (both free, online, and paid in-person)
Research
Health Wheel PDF
What goes into your health? Download Here >>>
Older Adults: Where We Are and Where We’re Going
“Older Adults: Where We Are and Where We’re Going,” new research from the Williamsburg Health Foundation, provides both qualitative and quantitative data to inform and catalyze collaborative approaches to making ours a more age-friendly community. With a higher percentage of older adults than a typical Virginia community, Greater Williamsburg has the opportunity to improve overall community well-being and quality of life though a focus on this important and diverse population. The Williamsburg Health Foundation looks forward to working with various partners in this worthwhile endeavor.
Click here for Full Report
and Executive Summary
Housing and Health Report
This report captures the interconnections between health, housing, and community in the Williamsburg region while exploring possibilities for cultivating neighborhoods that improve the health of all residents across the socioeconomic spectrum and every stage of life. Where we live — both our individual homes and their surroundings — plays a substantial role in our well-being.
Download Here >>>
Status of Health Report
This report collects and analyzes publicly available, community-level health related data. The goal of the report is to transform the data into actionable knowledge. It is our hope that the report will facilitate community dialogue, inform health and human service providers and decision makers, and support collaborative approaches that will address challenges, gaps and opportunities. In many cases, the findings highlight disparities in health outcomes among different segments of our community. This version includes an expanded section on the impact of the Social Determinants of Health.
Download Here >>>
THE CASE FOR INTEGRATED CARE IN THE GREATER WILLIAMSBURG REGION
This report explores integrating medical and behavioral care in Greater Williamsburg.
Download Here >>>
COVID-19 Related – Vaccine Acceptance Resources
For Organizations Reaching Out to Individuals
From the group that brought you “Put Litter in its Place”; Smokey the Bear; and those other things you just can’t get out of your head, you can now get potent vaccine promotion “assets.”
Page down to “Assets” and you can search by type of media and by specific audiences. These assets are free to you to use in your own vaccine promotion efforts. They are multi-lingual and diverse.
Center for Disease Control (CDC) Vaccine Resources
Highly detailed information from the Federal Government.
On this page, you can find a large variety of downloadable print files on different topics around the vaccine. These materials primarily include detailed, one-page sheets of information on individual topics.
For Employers Reaching Out to Employees
US Chamber of Commerce has curated a large selection of materials from a variety of sources.
Want to learn about tailoring your message to different audiences? And why tailor your message? Here is a one-hour YouTube video from Association of Schools and Programs for Public Health.
Sugary Drinks
Sugary drinks are a major cause of preventable disease. WHF developed these “sugary drink” posters in consultation with the School Health Initiative Program.
Get Active Poster
3 Mile Walk Poster
Historic Ride Poster
Get in Touch.
