Capacity Building initiative

At a Glance

This project, Capacity Building Initiative, led by the Sondercove Foundation works to expand fair and impartial access to mental health and substance use recovery supports by funding free, peer-led and culturally responsive services for individuals and families who are often excluded from traditional systems of care. Through this project, the Foundation will build the organizational infrastructure needed to sustain these services by developing a fundraising and sustainability strategy, establishing grant tracking, donor stewardship and reporting systems and strengthening board and leadership capacity in nonprofit governance, ethical fundraising and long-term resource development.

The Challenge

Sondercove Foundation has established a strong vision for expanding access to free, peer-led mental health and substance use recovery services that remove financial, insurance and systemic barriers to care. Grounded in lived experience, harm reduction, dignity and choice, the Foundation is informed by the expertise of its affiliated organization, Sondercove Wellness, including three of Wisconsin’s seven Peer Support and Parent Peer Support trainers. However, because many of the peer-led supports the Foundation provides are non-billable, sustaining and expanding these services requires a stronger organizational infrastructure. Without dedicated fundraising systems, a long-term sustainability strategy and enhanced board and leadership capacity, the Foundation remains reliant on short-term and unstable funding, limiting its ability to expand equitable access to free, community-based supports across Dane County.

Project Goals

To strengthen the Foundation’s long-term capacity to advance health equity, this project focuses on building sustainable systems for fundraising, governance and organizational development. To accomplish this, the organization will:

1. Establish a sustainable fundraising and development infrastructure to build the systems and strategy necessary to secure philanthropic funding for free, peer-led services.
2. Strengthen board and leadership capacity for governance, fundraising and stewardship to ensure the Foundation has informed, accountable leadership to guide sustainable growth.
3. Build operational systems that support accountability, reporting and long-term sustainability to ensure the Foundation can responsibly manage funds and communicate impact to funders and community.