Nonprofit Capacity Questionnaire

This form collects background information that funders commonly request during grant applications, due diligence reviews, and contract submissions. It focuses on three areas that are often reviewed closely: your board leadership, your partnerships, and your recent funding history.

The information you provide here helps us present your organization clearly and accurately, avoid follow-up delays, and reduce back-and-forth during proposal development. It also allows us to describe your organization’s credibility, oversight, and financial support in a way that reflects how you actually operate.

Please complete each section as thoroughly as possible. If a question does not apply to your organization, you may write “N/A.”

The Board Member’s section discloses who governs your organization and how they can be contacted if verification is required. Funders often review board composition to understand leadership structure, community representation, and basic oversight.

Board Member (Entry Example):

• Name: John Doe
• Board Title: President
• Email: jdoe@abcfoundation.org
• Phone: 555-555-5555
• Current Employer: Delta Airlines
• Current Job Title: Pilot
• Other Affiliations: Member, Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity; Volunteer, Habitat for Humanity; Board Member, Stonewall Baptist Church, Board Member.

Your board should have a minimum 3 people that fill the following positions: Board President, Treasurer, and Secretary.

Accuracy matters here. Some funders cross-check board information against public records or your IRS filings, so it helps if this matches your most recent Form 990 or internal records.

The following Community Partnership section captures the organizations you actively work with to deliver programs, reach clients, or operate your services. Partnerships help funders understand how your work fits into the broader community and whether you collaborate or duplicate services.

When completing this section:

Partnership Example.

1. Harvest Food Pantry, E. Lansing, MI. We partner with this organization to supply food to our families in need.
2. One Accord Mental Health, Lansing, MI. We partner with this organization for mental health screening and treatment for at-risk youth.
3. The Salvation Army, Lansing, MI. We partner with this organization for clothing supplies for children and families.
4. Department of Labor, Lansing, MI. We partner with this agency for meeting space for our job training classes.
5. Lansing High School, Lansing MI. We partner with the school for youth referrals and for program meeting space during the week.

Your organization should have a minimum 3 partnerships in your community. If you haven’t established any partnerships yet, that’s okay.  In this case, please look for partners that you will need in your community and still list them here.  You can work on establishing these partners now.

This section summarizes where your funding has come from over the past 12 months. Funders use this to understand your financial base, funding mix, and level of sustainability.

When completing this section:

• Include all major sources of revenue, such as foundations, government grants, contracts, individual donors, corporate support, events, and earned income.
• List the name of the funding source, the amount received, and the general type of funding.
• Use actual amounts received, not amounts awarded but unpaid.
• Include fundraising events only if they generated net income for your organization.

If your records are estimated, that is acceptable, just be as accurate as possible.