An overview of CCAT assessment tool for Vermont nonprofits as part of the Benchmarks for a Better Vermont initiative. For more information HTTP://http://bbvt.marlboro.edu/ and www.CommonGoodVT.org This is funded with a grant from the Corporation for National and Community Service.

1. Benchmarks for a
BETTER VERMONT
Welcome to the BBVT Briefing Call on
Using the Core Capacity Assessment Tool
(CCAT)
March 7, 2012

2. WELCOME!
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3. Benchmarks for a
BETTER VERMONT
What is Benchmarks for a Better Vermont
(BBVT)?
•AFederally funded grant project to strengthen Vermont
nonprofits and expand their impact through performance
measurement.
•Employs Results-Based Accountability™ framework, from
the book Trying Hard is Not Good Enough by Mark
Friedman

4. Benchmarks for a
BETTER VERMONT
Funding from Corporation for National
and Community Service to six statewide
capacity builders:
Marlboro College Graduate School, lead partner
Common Good Vermont
Vermont Community Foundation
United Way of Chittenden County
United Ways of Vermont
SerVermont

5. Benchmarks for a
BETTER VERMONT
BBVT’s “Ladder of Opportunity”
Common Good Vermont Nonprofit Conference –
Tuesday, March 20 – Seats still available in
Newport and Bennington
Core Capacity Assessment Tool (CCAT)
BBVT Performance Institute

6. Benchmarks for a
BETTER VERMONT
BBVT Performance Institute
• 15 nonprofits with budgets under $2.5 million
• 3 cohorts: education, healthy lifestyles, economic
opportunity
• 75 hours of engagement over 15 months
• Organizations will master performance measurement
skills, and create individual and shared indicators

7. Benchmarks for a
BETTER VERMONT
BBVT Collaborators Circle
•Expands the reach of BBVT beyond 15 nonprofits
•Bringstogether private and public funders, key
consultants, state government leaders, and businesses
committed to supporting nonprofits.
•Bring experience in performance measurement and
indicators of health and well-being to help develop shared
measures for broad use

8. Benchmarks for a
BETTER VERMONT
Overview of the Core Capacity
Assessment Tool (CCAT)
•An on-line questionnaire providing a “360 assessment”
of your agency’s strengths and areas for improvement –
45 minutes to take, and an instant report
•A report highlighting where to start in strengthening
your nonprofit’s effectiveness

9. Benchmarks for a
BETTER VERMONT
CCAT is a national research-based model of organizational
effectiveness developed by Peter York and Paul Connolly at
TCC consulting group in Philadelphia.
CCAT has been used all over the country – for example, by a
broad group of nonprofits in the Los Angeles area,
organizations in the arts sector, and many nonprofits across
New Hampshire.
It not only gives you a picture of your organization -- It also
creates data for the state of Vermont. Your participation is
important because it can give us guidance about how to make
the most helpful investments in Vermont’s nonprofits.

10. Benchmarks for a
BETTER VERMONT
Why use the CCAT?
•Asa tool to start conversations about continuous
improvement and benchmark progress each year
•Asa starting point for strategic planning, board and staff
development, annual workplans, and fundraising
•As a way to present your case to funders

11. Benchmarks for a
BETTER VERMONT
How does the CCAT fit with the BBVT
Performance Institute?
•Gives a global picture of how to strengthen your agency
•Specific CCAT questions focus on building a culture of
continuous learning
•You must take the CCAT to qualify for the Performance
Institute. Scores will be one part of the selection process,
and participants will re-take the CCAT one year later.
•Assembling all CCAT results will show us a picture of
statewide needs and gaps in capacity-building help

12. Benchmarks for a
BETTER VERMONT
What do we mean by “capacity”?
•The ability to deliver on your mission
•NOT an assessment of specific programs and services
•YESan assessment of the systems and processes that
make that possible

13. Benchmarks for a
BETTER VERMONT
Examples:
•NOT “Is our hotline working well?”
•YES “Do we have a system for knowing whether it’s
working well, defining what ‘working well’ means, and
using the learning to improve our hotline?”
•NOT “Did we meet our fundraising goals this year?”
•YES “Do we have the leadership and systems to keep
fundraising on track? Does our board need more
training?”

14. Benchmarks for a
BETTER VERMONT
What are the four “core capacities”?
Technical capacity (p.s. - not technology!)
Management capacity
Leadership capacity
Adaptive capacity

15. Benchmarks for a
BETTER VERMONT
Technical Capacity
The ability of a nonprofit organization to implement all of
the key organizational and programmatic functions
Examples:
Marketing and communication, technology, legal skills,
fundraising, earned-income generation, accounting, and
facilities management.

16. Benchmarks for a
BETTER VERMONT
Management Capacity
The ability of a nonprofit organization to ensure the
effective and efficient use of organizational resources
Examples:
Financial management, service delivery, program
evaluation and replication, outreach and advocacy.

17. Benchmarks for a
BETTER VERMONT
Leadership Capacity
The ability of board and staff leaders to create and sustain
the vision, inspire, model, prioritize, make decisions,
provide direction and innovate, all in an effort to achieve
the organizational mission
Examples:
Board and staff visioning, inspiring, directing, prioritizing,
innovating, decision-making, leadership transitions, internal
communication.

18. Benchmarks for a
BETTER VERMONT
Adaptive Capacity
The ability a nonprofit organization to monitor, assess,
respond to and create internal and external changes
Examples:
Community needs assessment, organizational assessment,
program evaluation, strategic planning, collaborations and
partnerships.

19. Benchmarks for a
BETTER VERMONT
What else does the CCAT measure?
•Your organization’s life cycle stage
•Your organization’s culture
•And what they both say about where to focus your
internal development efforts

20. Benchmarks for a
BETTER VERMONT
Who should take the CCAT?
Any organization that wants to learn about itself and is
able to take the time to do the survey, and to have
ongoing conversations that make good use of the
results. Survey questions best fit agencies with some
staff, and budgets of $100,000 or more.
Who should not take the CCAT?
An agency facing short-term survival questions, an
internal crisis, severe cutbacks or financial struggles,
leadership transition within the past or coming 3 months,
major re-structuring, program expansion, a large grant, or
merger.

21. Benchmarks for a
BETTER VERMONT
Who is eligible to take the CCAT through
BBVT?
•75 Vermont nonprofits may take the CCA T this spring
at no cost, thanks to generous underwriting by the
Vermont Community Foundation and National
Corporation for Community Service
You must:
•Have an annual budget of under $2.5 million.
•Haveattended the Vermont Nonprofit Conference on
March 20th.

22. Benchmarks for a
BETTER VERMONT
What if we’re too large, miss the 75 slots,
or just aren’t ready yet?
•You can still take the CCAT now, or later this year – by
paying a substantially discounted fee of $200.
•Depending on future funding, additional free slots may
become available at a later date.

23. Benchmarks for a
BETTER VERMONT
How do we sign up for the CCAT?
•Attend the Vermont Nonprofit Conference on March
20th
•Sign-ups begin on March 21st by going to the BBVT
website
www.bbvt.marlboro.edu

24. Benchmarks for a
BETTER VERMONT
How does the CCAT survey work?
•Picka “lead person” in your agency who will receive the
CCAT log-in code, fill out some background information
about your agency, and organize 3 – 7 participants in your
agency who will fill out the survey.
•Your agency’s participants fill out the on-line survey –
about 45 minutes.
•Once all participants are finished, you will immediately
receive your report wit results and recommendations.

25. Benchmarks for a
BETTER VERMONT
Who in our agency takes the survey?
•Pick
3 – 7 participants who know your organization well
enough to answer a broad range of questions.
•These should be your top leaders – for example, the
executive director, 2-3 senior managers, and 2 board
members.
•Anagency with few staff might include more board
members.

26. Benchmarks for a
BETTER VERMONT
What happens after we take the survey?
Whether or not you apply to the Performance Institute, you’ll
get:
•Recommendations in the report for what to try next
•A debriefing workshop this spring to help you interpret and
prioritize your results
•A “Best Practice Guide” on how to build strengths in each of
the four Core Capacities
•Online resources from the TCC Group, www.tccgrp.com

27. Benchmarks for a
BETTER VERMONT
What can we do to prepare?
The most important thing is this:
Discuss as a board and staff whether you are ready
ready and excited about learning,
and how you will create the time over the coming year to
explore and act on the results –
even if you just pick 2-3 areas to focus on.

28. Benchmarks for a
BETTER VERMONT
Questions?

29. Benchmarks for a
BETTER VERMONT
For more information, contact:
Anne Lezak, Project Coordinator
Benchmarks for a Better Vermont
(802) 417-2714
bbvt@marlboro.edu
or visit our webpage,
www.bbvt.marlboro.edu