Stop Calling It Capacity Building When You Mean Survival

Dear nonprofits & fundraising professionals,

“Capacity building” has become one of philanthropy’s favorite phrases.

It shows up in grant guidelines, funder conversations, and nonprofit strategy decks as something aspirational, supportive, and future-focused. Capacity building is supposed to mean growth: stronger systems, healthier teams, long-term sustainability.

But for many Queer nonprofits, especially trans-led, BIMPOC-led, and community-rooted organizations, that’s not what’s actually happening.

What philanthropy often calls capacity building is, in practice, survival funding. And pretending otherwise does real harm.

The Language Gap Matters

Words shape expectations. When funders say they are “building capacity,” they often expect:

• New systems

• Increased output

• Innovation and scale

• Measurable growth

But when organizations are chronically underfunded, understaffed, and operating in hostile political environments, the reality looks different:

• Covering payroll

• Preventing staff burnout

• Keeping doors open

• Responding to crisis after crisis

That isn’t capacity building. That’s triage.

And calling it capacity building allows the sector to avoid naming the real problem: Queer organizations are being asked to grow without being stabilized first.

Survival Is Not a Failure of Leadership

Too often, the burden is shifted onto nonprofit leaders.

If an organization isn’t “ready” to scale, funders assume:

• Leadership lacks vision

• Systems are weak

• Strategy is unclear

But the truth is simpler and more uncomfortable: You cannot build capacity on an empty tank.

Queer nonprofit leaders are not failing to build capacity. They are being forced to:

• Fundraise constantly to stay afloat

• Stretch limited staff across too many roles

• Absorb emotional and political labor without relief

• Perform resilience for funders while holding real harm inside their organizations

Survival is not a lack of ambition. It is a rational response to scarcity.

When Capacity Building Becomes Conditional

Here’s where the disconnect deepens.

Many funders will say: “We’d love to fund capacity building, but first we need to see stability.”

But stability requires:

• Multi-year funding

• Unrestricted dollars

• Trust in leadership

• Time to plan beyond the next emergency

When capacity funding is only available after organizations prove they can survive indefinitely under-resourced, it becomes a moving target—one that Queer organizations are rarely allowed to reach.

This is especially true for organizations serving communities under active attack. The demand for services increases, while the tolerance for “risk” decreases.

That’s not neutrality. That’s abandonment dressed up as process.

What Real Capacity Building Actually Looks Like

If philanthropy is serious about capacity building—especially for LGBTQIA+ organizations—it has to start by naming survival honestly and funding accordingly.

Real capacity building means:

• Stabilization before scale: Covering core operating costs so leaders can breathe, plan, and lead.

• Multi-year, unrestricted funding: Capacity isn’t built one grant cycle at a time.

• Investment in people, not just programs: Leadership sustainability, staff retention, and rest are capacity.

• Trusting lived experience as expertise: Queer leaders know what their communities need. Fund them accordingly.

• Funding before crisis peaks: Not after damage has already been done.

Capacity building isn’t a workshop. It’s not a toolkit. It’s not a pilot program.

It’s sustained belief in an organization’s right to exist and to thrive.

Time for Honesty

If what you are funding helps an organization survive another year, say that. Survival matters. Survival is meaningful.

But don’t pretend it’s the same as long-term capacity building while continuing to deny the conditions that make real growth possible.

Queer organizations are not asking for special treatment. They are asking for accurate language, aligned expectations, and honest investment.

Stop calling it capacity building when you mean survival.

And if you truly want capacity? Start by funding stability without apology.

Sincerely,

Queers

Queer For Hire provides fundraising support to Queer nonprofits, LGBTQIA+ cultural competency to straight-led organizations and corporations, and individual coaching for Queer professionals.

Learn about our Fundraising Services <here> – we’ll lead or support your fundraising efforts, whether you need general support or want to focus on raising money from and for the LGBTQIA+ community.

Learn about our Fundraising Trainings <here> – we can coach your board, staff, and fundraising team on how to fundraise and how to engage LGBTQIA+ donors.

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