The Best Practice Guide

The Best Practice Guide provides a close look at practices organizations can put into place to build their “capacity” (i.e. sustainable resources, strong boards and staff leadership skills, and effective management practices) needed to achieve its mission. This Guide also provides leaders with a “road map” of strategies to employ during each lifecycle stage for building organizational strength.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)


How Can I Use This Guide To Help My Organization?
This Guide is designed to be flexible so that different people can use it in different ways to meet their organization’s needs.  Here are some ideas about ways you might use the Guide.

1.  As a Reference Tool. Use the Guide to look up best practices in a particular area or to check out what best practice looks like at the next stage of development.

2.  As a Discussion-Starter.  Individually or as a group, review one or more sections of the Guide and think about what stage of development your organization is at and which practices you already have in place.  Then talk about what you find.  Where do you agree?  Where do you disagree?  Which practices seem out of place?  Which seem especially important?  Where do you want your organization to be in terms of one or more of these practices a year from now?  Which capacity-building strategies could you implement right away?

3.  As a Follow-Up to the Organizational Self-Assessment Tool.  Once you have completed the Organizational Self-Assessment Tool you will have a pretty good idea of where your organization’s strengths and weaknesses lie.  Now use the Best Practice Guide to dig a little deeper.  For example, if your assessment showed that you are weak on internal leadership – go to the internal leadership section of the Best Practice Tool to identify the specific practices that comprise internal leadership for an organization at your stage of development.

4.  As a Precursor to the Organizational Assessment Tool.  Share parts of the Guide with your leadership team and use it to generate interest in/excitement about using the Organizational Self-Assessment Tool to get a snapshot of where your organization is at this point in time; how you fare compared with other similar organizations; and as a way to measure your progress over time.

5.  As a Jumping Off Place for Strategic Planning.  Review the Best Practices Guide and/or take the Organizational Assessment Tool before you create your strategic plan.  Use the Guide and/or Assessment Tool to focus your discussions regarding where you are and to set priorities regarding where you want to be in the future.

Do these Practices Apply to Funders?
Absolutely.  Just like service providers, funders are responsible for achieving a mission, providing leadership, responding to change, making effective and efficient use of their resources, and ensuring that they have the human and technical resources they need to get the job done.  So for funders also, the underlying principles of best practice are the same.


Who Decided That These Practices are “Best”?
The practices described in this Guide are the compilation of research the TCC group has done nationally on capacity building; data TCC has analyzed from hundreds of organizations that have completed the Organizational Self-Assessment Tool; a survey of research on best practices; and, feedback from Executive Directors, funders and consultants who piloted the Guide in New Hampshire.  This wealth of experience and research provide a level of confidence in the Guide. By the same token, the authors of this Guide and the Sector as a whole, are still learning and will continue to refine the guidelines as new information becomes available in the field.

My Organization Is at the Start-Up Stage in Some Areas and the Growing Stage in Other Areas.  Is This Normal?
Yes.  As noted above, the progression through an organizational life cycle is no more orderly than the progression through a human life cycle.  Organizations, like people, often develop faster in one area than in others.  While the goal is to move all of the capacities forward together the key is to begin by understanding where you are right now and then making conscious decisions regarding where you want to go.  For example, if you find that your organization fits the “Mature” stage in almost every area except those describing financial management, this is a good indication that you need to spend some time bringing your financial systems up to speed.

What is the Difference Between The Best Practices Guide and the Organizational Self-Assessment?
The Best Practices Guide and the Organizational Self-Assessment Tool are designed to complement one another.

The Best Practices Guide:

•    Answers the question, “What does research suggest we ‘should’ we be doing?”
•    Pulls together in one document a description of best practices for all four capacities at each stage in the organizational life cycle.
•    Allows an individual or an organization to quickly reference “best practice” in a specific area.
•    Shows the progression of practices from one stage to the next.
•    Identifies Transitional Milestones

The Organizational Self-Assessment Tool:

•    Answers the question: “Where are we?”  It provides a snapshot of the organization’s strengths and weaknesses at one point in time.
•    Is completed independently by multiple leaders of an organization. 
•    Uses randomized questions, a rating system, and an external analysis.  Consequently, it provides a more objective picture of an organization’s strengths and weaknesses.
•    Includes a report that helps organizations prioritize which areas to work on first.
•    Allows an organization to measure its progress over time and to compare itself to other organizations of similar size and focus.

There is So Much to Do – How do I Decide Where to Begin?
Start with leadership and start small.  TCC’s work indicates that Leadership and Adaptive Capacity are the capacities most closely related to achieving mission.  While you need all four capacities, if you are missing these, all the systems and skills in the world won’t get the job done.  So start by making sure that you have the leadership you need and that you are paying attention to the changes going on around you – both internally and in the community.

Second, start small.  It’s easy to get overwhelmed- especially if you try to “fix” it all at once.  Instead, pick one area that 1. you are convinced is critical for your organization at this point in time; and, that 2. your key leaders (both formal and informal) are excited about working on; and, 3. that seems “doable” given everything else you have on your plate.  Commit whole heartedly to that area.  Articulate a simple plan.  Do it.  Reflect on what you learn.  Celebrate your successes.