From 1995 to 1999, The James Irvine Foundation supported capacity-building activities for a select group of 20 youth-serving nonprofit organizations in Fresno and Los Angeles.

A five-year, $4.3 million project, the Youth Development Initiative (YDI) provided both funding and technical assistance to strengthen the management and governance capacities of youth-serving organizations so that they could better meet an increasing need for community-based out-of-school activities. While the key goal was to strengthen the 20 nonprofits that participated directly in the Initiative, YDI also created lasting capacity-building resources for the youth development field in California.

Grantmaking activities

Working through intermediary organizations (Community Partners in Los Angeles and the Fresno Regional Foundation in Fresno), YDI targeted both established agencies in need of restructuring and renewal, and younger, fast-growing agencies coping with a steep demand for services.

YDI funds helped these organizations plan and undergo assessments, arrange training, and retain technical assistance consultants. These efforts were designed to improve operations and build infrastructure in eight key areas:

• Administration and finance.
• Facilities management.
• Fund development.
• Governance (board and executive leadership).
• Staff development and training.
• Information and technology support.
• Legal (personnel, liability management).
• Planning and evaluation.

Results

The Youth Development Initiative supported efforts to make good organizations better—more efficient, more effectively managed, more productive, and more accountable. Although relatively small in size and scope, this effort helped establish a pattern for grantmaking that builds institutions and their fields—one that combines relatively large and flexible grants with an emphasis on organizational growth and measuring results.

The overarching assessment of YDI describes YDI's approach to building the capacity of nonprofits, highlighting stumbling blocks that emerged throughout the course of the initiative, and drawing out a number of lessons for similar capacity-building programs. The report offers an assessment of the efficacy of technical assistance services provided to the participating youth-serving agencies and identifies cross-cutting themes emanating from the evaluation of the Initiative on the local levels in Los Angeles and Fresno.