The first time I heard of a nonprofit technical assistance grant, I imagined a grant for computers or IT support, a program likely underwritten by Microsoft or another tech giant seeking do-good points in the cause sector. I was wrong (hardly the first time in my nonprofit career).
Nonprofit technical assistance refers to specialized support services designed to help nonprofit organizations improve their operations, effectiveness, and sustainability. This assistance can come in various forms, such as training, consulting, resources, and direct services, typically provided by experts in a specific field. And, best of all, nonprofit technical assistance grants are real, viable, solid solutions for organizations who need a jump start in an area where hiring in-house expertise doesn’t make sense.
Common Areas of Nonprofit Technical Assistance:
- Governance & Board Development – Helping boards understand their roles, responsibilities, and best practices. Often, this happens through a board training, retreat, or onboarding process.
- Strategic Planning – Assisting with setting long-term goals and organizational direction. Strategic planning can also include stakeholder research, defining the organization’s identity, and tactical planning when a long-term vision is already known. Learn the different options for strategic planning before seeking funding!
- Fundraising & Grant Writing – Guidance on securing funding through grants, donations, and fundraising campaigns. Nonprofits often benefit from bringing in outside expertise to train a fundraising cabinet or committee, prepare a plan for a capital campaign, or help the organization develop an annual fundraising plan that supports the operations.
- Program Evaluation – Evaluation of programs is often done for external partners or funders. However, it can also be an internal process to ensure a strong return on investment and stewardship.
- Legal & Compliance Assistance – Ensuring nonprofits meet federal, state, and local regulations. While routine compliance is not often covered by a technical assistance grant, if your organization is facing a dispute or compliance issue that requires legal support, you may be able to leverage a grant for help securing representation.
- Marketing & Communications – Improving branding, social media strategies, and community engagement. This is especially helpful for organizations that cannot afford to keep a marketing professional on staff.
- Technology & Data Management – Implementing software solutions for donor management, impact tracking, and operations. While these were formally a top use for technical assistance grants, the shift from hardware to subscription-based services has made many applications part of ongoing operations and ineligible for a grant. Read the grant guidelines to make sure your project qualifies!
- Digital Presence Creation or Revamp – Funders know how important a strong digital interface is. Technical assistance grants are sometimes used to help create or improve an organization’s web presence, especially if the focus is on user experience (UX) or accessibility.
- Volunteer & Staff Development – Providing training and leadership development for employees and volunteers. Personality and working dynamics assessments such as DISC Profile and Working Genius are often considered one-time investments in professional development that funders will consider covering.
Where to Find Nonprofit Technical Assistance Grants
Local community foundations and state nonprofit associations are excellent starting points—especially for grassroots organizations or those in early growth stages. Even if your community foundation doesn’t offer technical assistance grants directly, they can often connect you with other local funders or donor-advised funds (DAFs) aligned with your organization’s mission and growth goals.
State and Federal Government grants for technical assistance have traditionally been available, depending on the field/mission of the nonprofit; however, given recent federal funding cuts (Q1 of 2025), we do not anticipate growth in these areas.
Many large foundations provide significant technical assistance funding around specific subject areas, often related to research or assistive support. Investing in grant research can help identify foundations that share your nonprofit’s values and purpose. Keep in mind, even if a foundation doesn’t specifically list “technical assistance’ as one of their grant programs, it does not mean you can’t ask!
Before you rush your local community foundation…
If this is the first time you’ve heard of nonprofit technical assistance grants, I bet your heart is racing a bit. Before you book your appointment with the community foundation or deep dive into Chat GPT looking for other providers, take these common attributes of nonprofit technical assistance grants into consideration:
-
- Build an execution plan. Dazzle foundations by demonstrating that your organization is ready and equipped to leverage the outside expertise a tech assistance grant will fund. An outline of what deliverables, timeline, and budget are expected will help the foundation feel confident in their investment and your consultant be clear about expectations.
- You need skin in the game. Few foundations will fund an entire project or scope of work without your organization having some investment. Prepare a budget that demonstrates your investment (in-kind counts!) when you apply.
- Beware of tech company “grants.” People who run tech companies are smart. They know you’ve already Googled “nonprofit technical assistance grants,” and I bet a few of them have shown up at the top of the feed. Yes, you can get “grants” from these companies, but they will be tied to product subscriptions. If it seems too good to be true.
- Even if you save some cash, you’ll need to invest time. Every item listed above requires internal time and energy to pull it off successfully. You cannot fully outsource any of these areas without collaborating with the technical expert you turn to.
As confusing as “technical assistance” is, this label is part of the nonprofit sector’s vernacular. Even using the term when seeking funding may help your appeal avoid being disregarded as seeking operating funds or attempting to handle something in-house you maybe shouldn’t, i.e., strategic planning. Whether by referral to awesome partners or direct service, Nonprofit Nav can help your organization with every area of technical assistance. Drop us a line and we’ll get started!
