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Greater Cabarrus Foundation Launches Support Cabarrus, a New Capacity-Building Division for Local Nonprofits

The Greater Cabarrus Foundation (GCF) is proud to announce the launch of Support Cabarrus, a new capacity-building division designed to strengthen Cabarrus County nonprofits by providing affordable, professional administrative and organizational support services. Created in direct response to extensive conversations with local nonprofit leaders, Support Cabarrus extends the Foundation’s ongoing commitment to providing capacity-building support to the nonprofit community. 

What Led GCF to Launch Support Cabarrus

Over the past year, Greater Cabarrus Foundation leadership engaged in ongoing dialogue with nonprofit executives across Cabarrus County. These conversations revealed that many organizations lacked access to affordable bookkeeping, financial management, grant readiness, and operational support, which are resources that are critical for sustainability but often out of reach for small and mid-sized nonprofits.

“Time and again, nonprofit leaders told us they were stretched thin trying to manage finances, marketing, grant writing, and other administrative tasks while still delivering essential services,” said Cam Cruickshank, Ph.D., President & CEO of the Greater Cabarrus Foundation. “We quickly realized this was not an isolated issue, it was a shared challenge across our nonprofit ecosystem. That is when the idea of a community-based capacity-building division truly took shape.”

Rather than asking each organization to solve these challenges independently, GCF saw an opportunity to build shared capacity that nonprofits could access as needed. Like the modern human resource strategy of “fractional” employees, GCF leaders envisioned a way for the Foundation to provide expertise in the administrative areas that are essential for nonprofit agencies but are not directly related to their mission of providing services to the residents of Cabarrus County.

“We wanted to find a way to help agencies with the ‘back-office’ responsibilities of an organization so that they could spend more of their time and their financial resources on achieving their mission and serving others in need,” said Cruickshank.

Listening Directly to Nonprofit Leaders

All 26 nonprofit leaders who participated agreed that a capacity-building division would significantly benefit their organization and the broader nonprofit community.

Key insights from these conversations included:

  • Strong demand for bookkeeping and financial reporting support
  • A need for grant readiness, marketing, and fundraising infrastructure
  • Limited internal capacity for grant compliance, reporting, and administrative systems
  • Challenges with board engagement, strategic planning, and long-term financial planning
  • Interest in flexible, scalable services rather than one-size-fits-all solutions

This feedback directly shaped the scope and structure of Support Cabarrus.

Moving from Idea to Action

With clear validation from the nonprofit community, Jenn Delaney joined the Greater Cabarrus Foundation in May of 2025 to lead the development of the new division.

Delaney conducted a comprehensive discovery process that included:

  • One-on-one meetings with local nonprofit leaders
  • Conversations with potential partner agencies willing to pilot services
  • Meetings with bookkeeping professionals, CPAs, grant consultants, and marketing vendors
  • Research conversations with nonprofit support organizations in other communities

“These conversations confirmed that nonprofits want support, but only if it’s affordable, flexible, and delivered by people who truly understand nonprofit realities,” Delaney said. “Everything we’ve built with Support Cabarrus reflects what leaders told us they actually need.”

This process informed the division’s tailored service model and its emphasis on accessibility and quality.

The Launch of Support Cabarrus

Support Cabarrus was officially formed on December 22, 2025, and began meeting with partner agencies in January 2026. It is the capacity-building division of the Greater Cabarrus Foundation, created to help nonprofits build strong operational foundations so they can focus more fully on mission and impact. As a part of the Greater Cabarrus Foundation, Support Cabarrus is also a nonprofit organization and exists solely to support the capacity building efforts of the Foundation in the community.

For those hearing about it for the first time, Support Cabarrus is best described as:

A trusted, local partner providing capacity-building services that strengthen nonprofits and the communities they serve.

Free Programming & Community Support

In addition to professional service offerings, Support Cabarrus will continue the Greater Cabarrus Foundation’s longstanding commitment to free capacity-building programming for local nonprofits.

These offerings are designed to meet agencies at their current stage of organizational development and include workshops, peer learning opportunities, organizational assessments, board and leadership development sessions, and other educational resources aimed at strengthening nonprofit effectiveness.

Free programming ensures that all nonprofits — regardless of size or budget — have access to tools, knowledge, and guidance that support long-term sustainability and impact.

What Support Cabarrus Offers

Support Cabarrus provides services across several core areas:

  • Financial Services – Bookkeeping, financial reporting, and system support
  • Grant Services – Grant readiness, reporting, and funding infrastructure
  • Marketing & Communications – Storytelling, donor communications, and outreach
  • Consulting & Capacity-Building – Operational and leadership support
  • Fiscal Sponsorship – Administrative structure for emerging organizations

Support Cabarrus allows nonprofits to access professional support at a fraction of the cost of hiring in-house staff or external firms independently. Additional information about Support Cabarrus services, upcoming free programming opportunities, and ways to engage in capacity-building support are available at www.supportcabarrus.org.

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