Welcome to Mosaica

Grantmakers Services

Mosaica helps strengthen nonprofits so they can provide high quality services and advocacy and be sustainable, well run nonprofit organizations that strengthen their communities and help the U.S. live up to its ideals. Following are just a few of the ways in which Mosaica helps individual nonprofits:

Research for Grantmakers:

Community Development Support Collaborative, Washington, DC. Mosaica has served as a technical assistance provider for this grantmaker collaborative, which is managed by the Local Initiative Support Corporation (LISC) and sponsored by the Washington Regional Association of Grantmakers. Community development corporations receiving flexible multi-year funding from the Collaborative are required to undergo organizational assessments and do program planning. Selected as a provider of such services for two different funding cycles, Mosaica assisted four Washington-based CDCs, conducting comprehensive or targeted organizational assessments and in some cases assisting organizations in preparing three-year plans and addressing identified needs.

The Community Foundation for the National Capital Region, Washington, DC. Mosaica is involved with two Community Foundation grantmaker collaboratives described below. In addition, it periodically assists the Community Foundation by facilitating panels or work sessions. For example, staff facilitated a joint planning session between the Inter-Group Initiative and Partnership grantmaking coalition leadership and moderated an elected officials panel at a conference on day laborers.

Common Ground (formerly the Initiative to Strengthen Neighborhood Inter-Group Assets), The Community Foundation for the National Capital Region, formerly Eugene and Agnes E. Meyer Foundation, Washington, DC. This funding collaborative provides grants, capacity-building assistance, and learning clusters to support intergroup activities that build bridges and strengthen positive relationships between newcomers and more established populations in specific communities in Washington, DC and Northern Virginia. Projects do intergroup work related to programs such as parent involvement in education, gentrification, and culturally appropriate health care. Mosaica assisted the Meyer Foundation and Advisory Committee to plan and make the transition from the Initiative’s original sponsor and fiscal agent, the Meyer Foundation, to the Community Foundation, including structural changes and strategic planning. Mosaica is now the Initiative’s technical assistance provider, providing training and individual consultation to grantees, preparing a toolbox of materials to support multicultural work, and arranging for periodic training sessions by Mosaica staff or intergroup experts from other communities. Mosaica also facilitates the Initiative's Advisory Committee and staff retreats and planning sessions.

Washington Area Partnership for Immigrants, The Community Foundation for the National Capital Region, Washington, DC. Mosaica has facilitated planning sessions for this grantmaking collaborative, which emerged from the Emma Lazarus Fund work on citizenship but has continued as a private-public coalition supporting organizations that serve immigrants and refugees. Mosaica staff also facilitated a day-long organizational development session for the Immigrant Empowerment Council, a multicultural immigrant and refugee leadership organization established and supported through the Partnership.

Latino Funds Collaborative, New York. Mosaica has assisted this coalition of six Latino grantmaking foundations since its inception in 1996. The Collaborative is led by and housed at the Hispanic Federation in New York and includes Latino funds associated with community foundations as well as independent entities. Mosaica facilitates and documents coalition meetings and is the primary author of a detailed Toolbox of self-help materials for existing and emerging Latino Funds, including detailed “how-to” chapters on such topics as structural models for Latino funds, strategic planning, governing boards, raising endowment funds in the Latino community, and evaluation of grantmaking. Mosaica provides other organizational consultation and assistance in proposal preparation and internal assessment as needed.
Pfizer Corporation and Pfizer Foundation, New York, NY. Mosaica assisted the Corporation and Foundation in the development of a grantmaking program called Community Health Ventures that supported innovative projects of community-based health care providers. Mosaica prepared materials to guide applicants and provided individualized advice and assistance to applicants in preparing responsive letters of inquiry and funding proposals. Mosaica provided more limited support in other aspects of the project, including development of the Request for Proposal, identifying small and minority health care providers to receive the RFP, and providing input to the review process.
Washington AIDS Partnership, Washington, DC. Mosaica provides a variety of services to the Partnership. It is the second largest HIV/AIDS grantmaking collaborative in the nation, providing $1 million a year in grants for prevention, care, capacity building including technology improvement, policy work, and related activities. Mosaica assisted the Partnership in assessing and clarifying its relationship to its fiscal agent, the Washington Regional Association of Grantmakers. It also worked with staff and the Steering Committee to carry out an internal and grantee-focused environmental scan and provide strategic planning assistance to the Partnership. Mosaica is now engaged in a three-year evaluation of the Partnership’s grantmaking process and impact, working closely with the Evaluation Subcommittee and staff. The evaluation involves focus groups, case studies, surveys, evaluation of the Partnership’s AmeriCorps program, and assistance in establishing an ongoing system for obtaining data from grantees for both process and outcomes evaluation.
Washington Regional Association of Grantmakers, Washington, DC. Mosaica staff assist with some of the Association’s skill-building sessions for members. For example, staff facilitated a session for family foundations, helped to plan and implement a day-long session for grantmakers on models and methods for implementing capacity-building technical assistance for grantees, and helped to facilitate a multicultural session.

Organizational Assistance at the Request of Grantmakers:

Much of Mosaica’s organizational development work is supported by grantmakers as “third party” funders. In addition, Mosaica sometimes carries out organizational development assignments at the specific assistance of grantmakers – and with the approval and support of the organizations involved. Two examples follow.

Carlos Rosario International Career Center, Washington, DC. This adult education school for immigrants was originally a public school. When the Board of Education closed it unexpectedly after 18 years, during a budget crisis, the Meyer Foundation asked Mosaica to assist the principal in transforming the school into an independent and sustainable nonprofit organization. Mosaica worked with staff and the emerging Board for over a year in establishing an operational nonprofit organization, obtaining tax-exempt status, raising funds and developing resource development capacity, developing the Board, and doing strategic planning. Today, the Center now has funding as a charter school and other support for its overall services to immigrants. It has obtained an unused public school and is in the process of renovating the facility to house its services.
PreventionWorks!, Washington, DC. This harm reduction and needle exchange program was originally a project of a large clinic, but it had to divest itself of all needle exchange activities because of a Congressional ban on federal funding to any organization providing such activities that was made a part of a DC appropriations bill. The Washington AIDS Partnership called in Mosaica to support the organization’s transition from a project to an independent nonprofit organization. Participating in biweekly Board meetings and working with staff, Mosaica assisted with every aspect of organizational development, management and personnel systems design, resource development, and Board development, providing intensive services for six months and more limited assistance over a longer period. Focus was both on developing systems and strengthening staff and Board capacity. The organization has become sustainable and continues to provide harm reduction services throughout the District of Columbia.