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Community Development Block Grant Program

City of San Diego Nonprofit Academy

Nonprofit Academy

City of San Diego Nonprofit Academy 
Upcoming Virtual Session: June 10, 2020

Past Academy Agenda: August 2019 City of San Diego Nonprofit Academy Agenda

   UPDATE: FY2022 funding for the City of San Diego Nonprofit Academy has not been identified. As a result, new information about the Nonprofit Academy and additional workshops will not be available until further notice.

An award-winning partnership between the City of San Diego and The Nonprofit Institute at the University of San Diego, the City of San Diego Nonprofit Academy is a free, two-day training program designed to strengthen the effective management and organizational capacity of nonprofits in San Diego.

The goal of academy is not only to grow existing nonprofits but also to increase the quantity, quality and diversity of nonprofits competing for City contracts to perform valuable social services.

The City of San Diego Nonprofit Academy, which is offered twice a year at USD's School of Leadership and Education Sciences (SOLES), supports nonprofit organizations in their development of effective and sustainable processes by providing:

  • High-quality educational courses taught by leading experts in nonprofit management and research
  • Personalized office hours
  • Information on how to partner with the City and apply for City grants
  • Networking opportunity with other local nonprofits
  • Organizations that complete all core courses receive a certificate of completion
     

City of San Diego Nonprofit Academy Curriculum

Core Courses Sample Elective Courses
Program Design and Development Volunteerism
Organizational Leadership and Governance Nonprofit Governance and Contract Compliance
Budgeting and Finance Financial Basics

Evaluation and Impact

 Social Innovation and Human Centered Design
Developing Strategy Partnering with the City

Eligibility

The City is seeking attendance from first time attendees who work for an IRS-registered 501(c)(3), 501(c)(4), or a 501(c)(6) nonprofit organizations providing services within the City of San Diego and may have an interest in applying for City grants. Attendees should plan to attend both days of the academy. 

Enrollment

Registration opens Thursday, May 7, 2020. For up-to-date information about the Nonprofit Academy and other related programs, individuals may add their name and contact information to the CDBG email distribution list. 

Partnering With the CityPartnering WIth the City and The Nonprofit Academy

The City of San Diego encourages academy attendees to apply for City grants. The City’s Economic Development Department and Commission of Arts and Culture fund eligible local nonprofits with missions and projects that enhance our economic prosperity and improve the quality of life for San Diegans.

The Economic Development Department has a competitive application process to award funding through both its Community Development Division (CDD) and its Business Expansion, Attraction and Retention Division (BEAR).

  • CDD administers the City’s entitlement from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) program. To learn more about CDBG, please visit the City’s Community Development Division site or email questions to cdbg@sandiego.gov.
  • BEAR provides Economic Development Funding through Economic Development and Tourism Support (EDTS) and Citywide Economic Development Support (CEDS), which allocate Transient Occupancy Tax (TOT) revenue to promote San Diego as a business and leisure destination; and the Small Business Enhancement Program (SBEP), which support efforts Citywide and in Microdistricts. For questions, please email sdbusiness@sandiego.gov.

The City of San Diego Commission for Arts and Culture offers funding opportunities to arts and culture nonprofit organizations. For information regarding its opportunities, please visit the Funding for Arts and Culture Nonprofits section of the Commission for Arts and Culture site.

Additionally, the City Council Offices offer City Council Community Projects, Programs, and Services  (CPPS) funding to public agencies or nonprofit organizations for one-time community, social, environmental, cultural, or recreational needs which serve a lawful public purpose. Interested organizations should contact their local Council Offices for information on funding availability. 

City of San Diego Nonprofit Academy HighlightsIEDC Gold The Nonprofit Academy

  • On March 28, 2019, the City of San Diego Economic Development Department and the University of San Diego Nonprofit Institute were honored with a California Association for Local Economic Development (CALED) Award of Merit for Collaboration for the City of San Diego Nonprofit Academy. The award was presented at the 39th Annual CALED Conference in Anaheim, California. 
  • The City of San Diego Economic Development Department won a 2017 Gold Excellence in Economic Development Award for the City of San Diego Nonprofit Academy, a project in the category of Partnership with Educational Institutions of the International Economic Development Council (IEDC). The honor was presented at an awards ceremony on Sept. 19 during the IEDC Annual Conference in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. (PDF icon Read the press release.)
  • In December 2017, the IEDC Journal profiled academy. PDF icon Read the article, "The Nonprofit Academy in San Diego: Building Strong Nonprofits to Drive Economic Development," on Page 37.

City of San Diego Nonprofit Academy Successes

About 150 attendees representing 100 nonprofits participate in each academy. In post-academy surveys, 75 percent of respondents indicated they had better understanding of City funding opportunities, and 70 percent had taken steps to implement new practices.

Qualified CDBG applicants increased 33 percent from FY2017 to FY2018. Of 33 nonprofits awarded FY2018 grants, 14 were academy participants, including Jacobs Center for Neighborhood Innovation (JCNI).

Founded in 1995, JCNI aims to revitalize Southeastern San Diego through programming focusing on physical redevelopment, education-to-careers training and the local economy. In FY2017, it received $276,334 in CDBG and leveraged funding for its Writerz Blok Youth Workforce Training Program (below), which provides an intensive, employer-informed, “earn and learn” program that prepares disconnected youth/young adults for employment through education, design-sector skills training and work experience. Graffiti, with Writerz Blok, is being used to transform the streets of blight into promise for a community.    

Writerz Blok at Jacobs Center for Neighborhood Innovation