Investing into Nonprofit Leaders of Color Through Capacity Building

“Capacity-building is defined as the process of developing and strengthening the skills, instincts, abilities, processes and resources that organizations and communities need to survive, adapt, and thrive in a fast-changing world.” - United Nations

In the heart of the Delaware Watershed, a powerful movement is underway to bridge the gap in philanthropy by providing access to capacity building tools and resources to help advance nonprofits during today’s economic climate.

The economy has presented unique challenges for many organizations, particularly those led by BIPOC leaders. Many operate on a very small budget, amplifying their need for support to overcome financial barriers to continue their essential work in the Delaware Watershed.

To help champion BIPOC led and BIPOC serving nonprofit organizations, The Nonprofit Makeover and Justice Outside have partnered to provide essential capacity building support.

Justice Outside advances racial justice and equity in the outdoor and environmental movement. Their mission is to shift resources, build power with, and center the voices and leadership of Black, Indigenous, and People of Color because the health of current and future generations demands it.

Their Liberated Paths Grantmaking Program supports outdoor initiatives and organizations that cultivate and celebrate the contributions of Black, Indigenous, and Communities of Color and affirm the many experiences and identities our communities hold, through grantmaking, capacity building, and network building.

The Nonprofit Makeover had the opportunity to provide industry leading training and resources for over a dozen BIPOC led organizations through a new partnership with Justice Outside. Recipients received capacity building training along with 1-Year Access into The Nonprofit Makeover University.

Here to spotlight some of our recipients and bridge connections between the organizations and future supporters, we welcome you to become an agent of change by supporting these nonprofits.

Philadelphia City Repair Project

We believe in creating and supporting environments that foster community, art, and ecology that are made by the people who live in them.

We work with grassroots initiatives reclaiming public space through the lens of placemaking: a multi-layered process where citizens foster active, engaged relationships with their neighborhoods and work together to make changes.

Homies Helping Homies

Homies Helping Homies (HHH) is a collective mutual aid initiative with the simple goal of improving the quality of life of the communities we serve in Point Breeze Philadelphia and beyond. We strongly believe that by alleviating the stress of procuring essential everyday items and battling food apartheid and gentrification, we can empower our communities to assist one another and change the current practices that continue to keep people impoverished.

At its core, HHH was born out of a community’s response to injustice. Founded in the wake of the unjust murder of George Floyd, HHH rose out of necessity – providing medical supplies to organizers marching for Black lives. Since then, we have only expanded our avenues for donation, whether it be food, hygiene products, or the chance to experience art-making during our Community Free Photo Days. HHH holds the belief that the community has the power to change structures. This sentiment is echoed in the makeup of the HHH team; the people who contribute to HHH–those who run our pick-ups and deliveries, the people who serve produce at our tables, the person writing this grant–are the people who are directly affected by systems of prejudice and marginalization. We care about the community we serve because it is our community. 

Lenni Lenapexkweyok

Lenni Lenapexkweyok is an organization of Lenape matriarchs from the 5 Lenape tribes in the lands currently known as Canada and the United States. They are members and verified descendants of The Delaware Nation of Oklahoma, The Delaware Tribe of Oklahoma, The Stockbridge-Munsee Band of Mohican Indians, the Delaware Nation at Moraviantown, and The Munsee Delaware Nation. Their goal is to increase Lenape peoples' presence in their own homelands, having been violently displaced hundreds and even thousands of miles away. Short term, they organize multiple annual trips back home for our people, with special attention to the matriarchs and youth in our communities. Trips are focused on land and water stewardship, culture, language, stories, healing, education, building relationships, and ceremony. Long term, they intend to get land back, which will enable us to protect the local ecology, restore Lenape's ability to be home in their own lands, create a safe space for Lenape women and femmes, educate the local communities, honor their right to land-based culture, and help to heal a 5 century long wound. They gather together from the various corners of diaspora to revitalize and reclaim what was taken. 

Afros in Nature

The purpose and hope for this collective is to come together, build a deeper connection with nature, invite some calm into our lives and, if comfortable, discuss our current challenges in the world & help create a better environment for BIPOC, on indigenous land.⁣

Founded in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, Afros in Nature is a collective aiming to connect Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) with nature. Our mission is to plant seeds of safety in natural environments so that individuals of color—regardless of their gender identity, sexual orientation, creed, or economic status—can create self-sustaining lifestyles with love, support, and community.

Working in groups, Afros in Nature brings BIPOC back to their roots in the great outdoors. We are taking a pastime historically dominated by white culture and showing BIPOC how to take advantage of its benefits for themselves, for the betterment of their health and well being, and the improvement of our community as a whole. We are teaching BIPOC how to find healing and wholeness again in nature and in one another.

With more than 7.5 million African-Americans diagnosed with mental illness, and as many as 7.5 million more affected but undiagnosed, we cannot afford to ignore the well being of ourselves and our community. Afros in Nature is committed to addressing mental health concerns through nature-based healing and therapeutic activities, including hikes, nature walks, communal gardening, and sustainable food cultivation. We're also in the process of creating a non-profit Cafe, which will include green space for growing food, a cafe, and communal space to offer additional programs, youth leadership opportunities, and more.

Vibe Tribe Adventures

Vibe Tribe Adventures (VTA) is a Denver, Colorado-based national 501(c)(3) offering global outdoor recreation and adventure sports opportunities for Black, Indigenous, People of Color (BIPOC), and friends. Our mission centers on helping the urban community connect, reconnect, or deepen their natural right to nature through outdoor recreation, extreme sports participation, backcountry and water safety and stewardship, outdoor industry employment, and outdoor industry entrepreneurship access.

Four Youth

Four Youth’s mission is to lead underserved students on a journey that inspires intellectual and creative growth. We provide education in a stable, safe, and supportive environment where youth from diverse backgrounds thrive throughout their formative years. By providing scholarships to students through art sales they participate in, we cultivate their entreprernial skills. This spirit combined with meaningful employment opportunities and mentorship encourages and facilities college admission and supports their future endeavors.

Delaware Bat Rehabilitation and Conservation

Mission: Care for injured and orphaned bats in Delaware. Cultivate connection, awareness, conservation and stewardship of natural areas for all.

Bats are an integral part of our natural ecosystems. They are an indicator of our forests and habitat health. It is our organizations priority to provide care to injured or orphaned bats and reintroduce rehabilitated bats to the wild. In doing so, we want to ensure a broader goal to also build awareness around the need for conservation and responsible stewardship of natural areas for bats and all wildlife. 
Connecting people with land and foster a relationship of stewardship and conservation for all especially those in communities will help with dispelling many misconceptions of bats, plants and other animals. Our organization wants the opportunity to share and provide educational outreach about the environment.

The Tiny Farm Wagon

The Tiny Farm Wagon of Culture Trust of Greater Philadelphia is a mobile art classroom/greenhouse/gallery inspired by the work of George Washington Carver and dedicated to building new knowledge around community vibrancy through public art projects. Our projects identify, preserve, and promote the threads of wellness that run through Black life. 

We build gardens, lead workshops, curate stellar art events, Visual Art, Performance, Sound, Installation, and more. And we make delicious plant-based foods from the freshest forest foraged and locally grown ingredients.

We ask the community to consider:

​What makes us well?

What keeps us from it?

The Bridging the Gap in Philanthropy Initiative, fueled by the support of Justice Outside, is a catalyst for positive change in the Delaware Watershed area. Through the empowerment of BIPOC nonprofits, we are witnessing the transformation of communities and the creation of a more just and equitable social justice movement. As we celebrate the successes of organizations like Homies Helping Homies or Vibe Tribe Adventures, it is essential to recognize the ongoing work needed to build a future where justice and equity are at the forefront.

Together, we can create a legacy of inclusivity and sustainability that benefits current and future generations.

Our goal is reach 100 nonprofits in 2024 through our Diversity in Philanthrophy initiative. If you’d like to learn how you can strategically invest into BIPOC led nonprofits, contact us.