Nonprofit Succession Planning and Organizational Capacity Building

This fall, we’re launching a new community program focused on leadership, organizational capacity and how people grow within community organizations.

Our own work is growing. What began as a relatively small collective of artists, volunteers and community members is becoming a network of nonprofits, projects and partnerships working across different communities and areas of activity. As that happens, we need to put more attention into how organizations grow, how people develop within them and how knowledge and responsibility are shared.

That means thinking beyond simply keeping existing programs running. A growing network needs people who can take on new responsibilities, organizations that can support them, and practical systems that make it possible to share knowledge and build capacity over time. Our succession planning work is part of that transition.

We’ll have more details in the coming weeks as we ramp up towards our fall and winter arts incubator program. But we did want to start letting people know about this new program, and why we’re doing it.

Why this matters

Succession planning is often treated as something an organization needs to think about when a board member, staff person or other key person is preparing to leave. We think it is just as important to think about what happens while people are here. How does someone move from participating to taking on responsibility? How do they develop the experience to lead a project, support other people or help make decisions? How does an organization make sure that knowledge and experience are not concentrated in only a few people?

This is particularly important for small nonprofits, volunteer-run organizations and community groups. Much of the knowledge that keeps these organizations going is practical knowledge. People learn how things work by doing them. They build relationships, figure out systems, develop programs and solve problems along the way. When more people have opportunities to take part in that work, the organization has more capacity to grow and is less dependent on a small group of people.

Growing from within

The program creates opportunities for people to take on different kinds of responsibility within community organizations. Someone might start by volunteering at an event or participating in an arts program. Over time, they might help organize an activity, take responsibility for a project, mentor someone else or become involved in planning and decision-making.

There is no expectation that everyone needs to become a formal leader. People contribute in different ways, and the program is about creating opportunities for people to develop their involvement when they are ready. A participant can become a volunteer. A volunteer can take on responsibility. Someone with responsibility can develop into a leader. Leaders can then help shape new programs, support other people and contribute to the wider community.

Building organizational capacity

People are only part of the picture. Organizations also need the systems and knowledge that allow people to work effectively. The program will look at practical areas such as administration, communications, fundraising, governance, project management, documentation and knowledge sharing.

Digital tools and AI will also have a role where they are useful. We are particularly interested in how they can support documentation, research, analysis, knowledge management and administrative work. The purpose is to give community organizations more capacity and make organizational knowledge easier to use and share.

This work can also extend beyond individual organizations. People develop skills and relationships that can be useful across different community projects, while organizations can share knowledge and build connections without giving up their independence. As our own collective develops into a network of nonprofits and projects, this kind of capacity becomes increasingly important.

Get involved

This program grows directly out of our experience. We’ve seen people take on new responsibilities because they were given the opportunity to try something, and we’ve seen how much organizational capacity can develop when that process is supported.

This fall, we’ll be sharing more about the program and opportunities to participate. If you have questions, ideas or feedback, or would like to find out how to get involved, contact us at info@artsincubator.ca.