If You Received a CCNSF Grant: How PLUS Can Help You Fulfill Requirements and Build Lasting Capacity

Receiving a Communities of Color Nonprofit Stabilization Fund (CCNSF) grant represents a transformative opportunity for nonprofits serving communities of color in New York City. This competitive capacity-building program — supported by the NYC Council and administered through partner organizations including the New York Urban League, Hispanic Federation, Asian American Federation, and Coalition for Asian American Children and Families — provides targeted funding specifically to strengthen organizational systems, leadership, and sustainability.

But a grant award is only the beginning. To successfully implement your CCNSF project, your organization must demonstrate capacity, clear outcomes, a feasible timeline, measurable benchmarks, and sustainability beyond June 30, 2026 (the completion date for all funded projects). That’s where PLUS Accounting Services comes in — helping you not only meet these requirements but build financial and operational infrastructure that lasts.

Understanding CCNSF Eligibility and Project Areas

Before diving into implementation support, it’s important to highlight the criteria and focus areas of the CCNSF grant:

Eligibility Requirements

To qualify for CCNSF funding, your nonprofit must:

• Be a 501(c)(3) organization with at least two years of incorporated history.

• Serve primarily New York City residents (at least 75%).

• Serve communities where 51% or more of the population are people of color.

• Demonstrate a commitment to equal employment and culturally competent services.

• Have an operating budget between $150,000 and $3.5 million.

• Maintain current registration with the NYS Attorney General’s Charities Bureau.

• Demonstrate record of outreach to communities of color in leadership recruitment.Fiscal sponsorship models are not eligible under this program.

Eligible Project Areas

Grants can be used for capacity building in one of seven focus areas:

1. Management Information Systems (MIS) Design/Development

2. Financial Management and Planning

3. Evaluation and Outcomes System Development

4. Leadership Development

5. New Program Planning and Development

6. Strategy and Organizational Development

7. Collaboration and Strategic Alliances

Each area is intended to help strengthen internal capabilities — from financial systems to leadership, data tracking, strategic planning, and partnerships.

How PLUS Helps You Meet CCNSF Project Requirements

Below is a detailed breakdown of core CCNSF requirements and how PLUS supports your organization at each step.

1. Project Definition and Alignment with CCNSF Goals

CCNSF Requirement: Projects must be clearly defined and directly aligned with one of the eligible areas. Proposals are stronger when they articulate specific operational challenges, proposed solutions, expected outcomes, and relevance to organizational effectiveness.

How PLUS Helps:

• Facilitate project scoping workshops with executive leadership to define the problem, goals, and outcomes.

• Translate your organizational challenges into a well-structured grant narrative aligned with CCNSF categories (e.g., financial systems, MIS, evaluation).

• Draft logic models and theory of change frameworks that connect built capacity with mission impact.

• Provide templates and coaching to articulate measurable outputs and outcomes that comply with CCNSF expectations.

By defining your project rigorously with PLUS’s strategic support, your application and implementation plan meet CCNSF’s standards for focus, clarity, and mission alignment.

2. Financial Management and Planning (Core CCNSF Category)

CCNSF Requirement: Projects under this area must improve financial systems, planning processes, and/or staff skills related to reporting and cost-effective service delivery.

How PLUS Helps:

• Conduct a financial systems assessment to evaluate current practices, controls, workflows, and reporting capabilities.

• Develop a financial roadmap that outlines improvements to budgeting, expense tracking, cash management, and grant reporting processes.

• Support implementation of appropriate accounting software and chart structures that align with CCNSF deliverables.

• Build financial dashboards and reporting templates that enable real-time monitoring of progress against project benchmarks.

PLUS’s approach ensures that award funds are invested in systems designed for sustainability — not temporary fixes.

3. Building or Enhancing Management Information Systems (MIS)

CCNSF Requirement: Projects in this area focus on securing or designing software and developing staff skills necessary to manage data effectively.

How PLUS Helps:

• Lead software evaluation and selection based on organizational size, data needs, and integration requirements (e.g., combining financial and program data).

• Configure accounting and data systems (e.g., QuickBooks Online, Sage Intacct, or integrated CRM systems) for accurate financial reporting and outcomes tracking.

• Design workflows that link financial data with programmatic outcomes to support CCNSF progress reporting.

• Provide thorough staff training and documentation to ensure operational continuity post-grant.

PLUS’s MIS support positions your organization to manage data confidently beyond the grant period — a key sustainability indicator for CCNSF.

4. Evaluation and Outcomes System Development

CCNSF Requirement: Projects must include systems to track key metrics, measure outcomes, and monitor progress toward goals.

How PLUS Helps:

• Define key performance indicators (KPIs) tied to your organizational goals.

• Integrate outcomes tracking mechanisms into financial and program data systems.

• Develop monitoring dashboards and reporting tools for internal leadership and CCNSF reporting.

• Support periodic reviews and mid-award check-ins to document progress and refine systems.

This data-driven approach enables clear demonstration of impact — a critical piece of CCNSF evaluation criteria.

5. Leadership Development and Organizational Strategy

CCNSF Requirement: Projects may focus on strengthening leaders, developing board capacity, and supporting strategic growth.

How PLUS Helps:

• Conduct board financial literacy workshops that elevate governance oversight.

• Design leadership succession and performance review processes in collaboration with your team.

• Advise on strategic planning frameworks integrating finance, operations, and mission goals.

• Prepare organizational policies (e.g., internal controls, reserve policies, staffing standards).

PLUS helps your organization build leadership capacity that supports both grant compliance and long-term governance excellence.

6. Budget Development and CCNSF Reporting Compliance

CCNSF Requirement: Grants must include a clear, reasonable budget directly tied to the project design, with progress measured against benchmarks and outcomes.

How PLUS Helps:

• Prepare detailed project budgets that align financial resources with CCNSF objectives.

• Develop budget narratives explaining assumptions, project costs, and benchmarks.

• Create templates for mid-year and final grant reports to streamline compliance.

• Advise on scheduling and documentation to satisfy CCNSF reporting deadlines.

With PLUS’s support, your financial reporting becomes a strategic asset — not an administrative burden.

7. Sustainability Planning Beyond the Grant Period

CCNSF Requirement: Projects must include a plan to sustain newly developed capacity after funding ends.

How PLUS Helps:

• Create financial sustainability plans linking new infrastructure to long-term goals and revenue strategies.

• Provide scenario models for cash flow and operating projections beyond the grant period.

• Identify opportunities for future funding using capacity improvements as differentiators (e.g., earned revenue, diversified funding mix).

PLUS ensures that CCNSF funds help build enduring organizational strength — a core expectation of the grant’s design.

The CCNSF grant is designed to help nonprofits serving communities of color strengthen internal systems, leadership, and sustainability. But turning a funding award into long-term impact requires planning, strategic execution, and measurable outcomes.

PLUS Accounting Services offers the structured financial, operational, and analytical support that nonprofits need to meet CCNSF requirements, satisfy reporting obligations, and build infrastructure that supports mission growth well beyond June 30, 2026.

We don’t just implement projects — we help you build capacity that lasts.