Strengthening the Field: Stronger Organizations for Healthier Communities

This blog is part of a series connected to Northern Virginia Health Foundation’s Strategic Framework. Together, these stories highlight each of the Foundation's four strategic pillars – Strengthening the Field, Access to Health Care, Systems-Level Change, and Knowledge for Impact – and the ways they continue to inform NVHF's partnerships, learning journey, and commitment to building a healthier, stronger Northern Virginia.

Every family deserves the chance to be healthy and thrive. Having that chance depends on more than individual will. It also depends on your community and the environment you live in, and whether the organizations serving the community are strong enough to be there when you need them.

In Northern Virginia, nonprofits are often the first line of defense for families facing limited access to health care, rising costs of living, and the ripple effects of cuts to programs they depend on. These organizations carry enormous responsibility. For them to succeed, they need to be stable, connected, and equipped to meet their communities' needs, even as those needs grow and the ground shifts beneath them.

Why Strengthening the Field Matters

Strengthening the Field is Northern Virginia Health Foundation’s (NVHF) commitment to ensuring that organizations building a healthier Northern Virginia have the capacity to do so.

But that capacity is harder to come by than it should be. Through conversations with our partners and recent research, we find that many nonprofits in the region are operating in survival mode. 

The strain this creates is often invisible from the outside. It shows up as outdated technology systems, limited communications capacity, staff burnout, or the inability to dedicate time to strategic planning. Over time, that pressure can weaken an organization’s ability to serve its community, even when the mission remains strong.

In this reality, NVHF believes it is crucial to make intentional investments in the capacity of community partners—providing tools, resources, and technical assistance that help them operate at their best. 

In practice, that takes a few forms: connecting organizations with the skills and support they need to run more effectively, helping leaders navigate a policy landscape that can shift without warning, and providing the kind of reliable, long-term funding that lets organizations plan ahead instead of just getting through the year.

Supporting Organizational Capacity

One of the ways NVHF does this first is through its partnership with Catchafire, an online platform that connects nonprofits with skilled volunteers who provide project-based support in areas such as marketing, IT, strategic planning and other operational needs. For organizations facing rising demand without the funds or staffing to match it, this kind of support can make a meaningful difference, whether freeing up staff time, filling knowledge gaps, or helping organizations tackle projects that would otherwise sit on the back burner.

Mission-aligned organizations not yet involved in the initiative can learn more and register using this form.

NVHF also partners with RS&F, a subsidiary of Frazier & Deeter, to provide its health safety net grantees with hands-on assistance navigating policy changes and the shifting rules and requirements that affect how they operate. This hands-on support helps leaders make informed decisions during periods of uncertainty. 

Supporting Stability Through Multi-Year Funding

The third form this support takes is funding itself. Alongside technical assistance and partnership, consistent funding is also crucial for nonprofits as they confront rapid financial changes and a shifting policy landscape. 

That approach took shape in 2025, when NVHF awarded multi-year grants to seven health safety net partners in the region—the first time in NVHF’s history that the Foundation structured grants this way. Long-term and reliable support like this provides stability for organizations so they can adapt their programs to the new realities their communities face, remain flexible, and plan for the future with more confidence.

As demand for resources grows, NVHF has shifted part of its grantmaking so partner organizations can continue to be a trusted support system for the individuals and families they serve. These efforts aren’t decisions that were made overnight. NVHF took into account more than 20 years of equity-focused work and learning to determine the best approach going forward. 

Our Long-Term Commitment

Strengthening the Field is a long-term commitment rooted in what the Foundation has learned over two decades of partnership with others in the Northern Virginia community. It also represents the Foundation’s conviction that lasting change requires a field that is connected, capable, and resilient.

Through all four strategic pillars – Strengthening the Field, Access to Health Care, Systems-Level Change, and Knowledge for Impact – NVHF will continue to ensure its work is community-centered and pushes for change that endures so that all communities in the region can remain healthier, stronger, together. 

NVHF is seeking input from the community as we continue to deepen our commitment to building relationships that reflect both lived experience and the broader ecosystem of stakeholders working to improve health and well-being across our region. Learn more and apply to join our inaugural Community Advisory Council here.