Episode Overview

Title: Why Most Capacity Building Fails — and What Works Instead
Podcast: We Are For Good Podcast
Host(s): Jon McCoy, Becky Endicott
Guest: Leona Christy, Founder & CEO, Catalyst Exchange
Date: February 16, 2026

Theme/Purpose:
This episode dives into the persistent underperformance of traditional capacity building in the nonprofit and public sectors, and offers compelling alternatives rooted in responsiveness, equity, and local empowerment. Leona Christy draws on her personal and professional journey to share what makes capacity building work at scale and what needs to change for more resilient, impactful organizations.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Leona Christy's Journey to Social Impact (03:19)

• Background:

  • Grew up in India; father worked in government and required her as a child to promise to work in public/nonprofit sector.
  • Initially took "detours" through the corporate world before returning to her roots in the social sector.
  • Immigration to the US at age 27 was a transformative, humbling experience — became aware of "what it means to be on the outside" and brought empathy and perspective to her work.

• Quote (on nonprofit work):

  “It is easy to sell soap. It is easy to design an app. The work we do here in the social sector...is so, so hard.” – Leona (04:17)

2. The Problem: Why Most Capacity Building Falls Short (06:24, 20:02)

• Nonprofits face uniquely difficult challenges with drastically fewer resources compared to corporate sector.

• Traditional philanthropy often funds programs, not organizations—ignoring the foundational systems and people that make mission delivery possible.

• Common barriers:

  • Lack of agency; organizations don’t get to choose how to build capacity.
  • Capacity support is often “one size fits all”
  • Interventions disconnected from actual on-the-ground needs.

• Quote:

  “You have philanthropy that funds programs, but doesn’t fund the organizations, the systems, the people behind it... That was the problem I was trying to solve.” – Leona (07:19)

3. The Catalyst Exchange Model: A New Approach (10:10)

• Capacity Advisors: Provide strategic guidance (“part strategic advisor, part therapist, part confessor”) to help leaders define needs and envision success.

• Capacity Wallets: Pooled philanthropic funds distributed directly to organizations, allowing leaders (not funders) to direct spending to their most urgent needs (“agency is really important for project success”).

• Expert Network: Local and national technical assistance providers are vetted and matched based on organization needs and context—leaders choose their providers directly.

• Ongoing Data & Accountability: Evaluating projects for true impact—collecting data to refine and improve.

• Memorable Analogy:

  “It’s kind of like trying to build a skyscraper with a shovel and spade...” – Leona (07:10)

4. Strengthening Local Networks: Place-Based Partnerships (15:21)

• Definition: Community organizations collaborate to address interrelated challenges—education, health, economic mobility, etc.—with shared vision and pooled resources.

• Catalyst’s role: Supporting “backbone” organizations and network members, not just with funding, but with strategic capacity-building to foster a “group resilience”.

• Framework: Painkillers (solve immediate problems), Vitamins (build for tomorrow), Vaccines (community-level resilience-building).

• Memorable Metaphor:

  “Our community-based work as vaccines...building that kind of group immunity, group resilience...” – Leona (17:35)

5. Why Traditional Capacity Building Fails (20:02)

• Inaccessible, often ineffective, and sometimes exacerbates inequities.

• Too often funder-driven, removed from real local needs.

• Based on “best practices” of large, well-resourced organizations, replicated uncritically.

• Three Key Shifts Needed:

  1. Mission-Driven: Prioritize unique mission over generic solutions.
  2. Responsive: Meet organizations where they are—address immediate pain points as well as long-term needs.
  3. Timely: Support must be provided when it’s needed most.

• Quote:

  “The need for capacity building is greater now than ever before. And yet... it’s inaccessible, it’s ineffective, and rather than reducing inequities, it often exacerbates them.” – Leona (20:03)

6. The Resource Challenge & What Leaders Can Do (24:55)

• Acknowledge that resources are limited—it’s not simply a matter of "resourcefulness."
• Actionable tips:
  • Leverage “office hours” with experts—even brief conversations can spark actionable ideas.
  • Strengthen the connection between capacity investments and mission delivery when talking to funders (make the impact case).
  • Seek small grants—e.g., from foundations backing capacity building, or through network/backbone organizations.
  • Sometimes, survival means staying mission-centered and holding out for future opportunities.

7. Story & Philanthropy (30:01)

• True generosity is often about giving even when it “hurts”—not just big philanthropy, but local partners sharing limited resources.

• Acknowledges the hard work of program officers (often women of color) who push to expand narratives and take risks to make funding more equitable.

• Quote (on philanthropy):

  “It’s so much more powerful when folks who don’t have that much still give... It hurts to give, and yet you’re giving.” – Leona (31:10)

8. Leona’s Advice: Agency, Resilience, and Gratitude (33:24)

• Show up: Even when it’s hard, resilience means continuing to engage instead of retreating.

• Practice gratitude: Regularly reframe perspective—ask what you have now that your past or future self would deeply value.

• Quote:

  “What do I have today that I would have done so much for 10 years ago? And likewise, what do I have today that I would kill for 10 years from now?” – Leona (33:35)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• Leona (10:10): “I think of it as part strategic advisor, part therapist — and I grew up Catholic, so part confessor as well.”
• Host Jon (14:18): “I think that too, like centering agency in this is sadly disruptive... But the bar is so low.”
• Leona (20:03): “Rather than reducing inequities, it often exacerbates them.”
• Leona (17:35): “I think of our community-based work as vaccines... building that kind of group immunity, group resilience...”
• Leona (33:24): “We need to show up. When things are as hard as they are right now, it is so, so tempting to say we’ll just retreat... And yes, rest is important, but retreating and leaving the field isn’t a solution.”

Timestamps for Key Segments

| Timestamp | Segment | |-----------|-------------------------------------------------------| | 03:19 | Leona’s personal story and the roots of her mission | | 06:24 | The core problem with traditional capacity building | | 10:10 | How Catalyst Exchange works—including “wallets” | | 15:21 | Place-based partnerships and “vaccines” metaphor | | 20:02 | Why capacity building often fails | | 24:55 | Resource advice for nonprofit leaders | | 30:01 | Stories of generosity and shifting the philanthropy narrative | | 33:24 | Leona’s closing advice: resilience and gratitude |

Episode Takeaways

• Capacity building fails when it’s generic, top-down, and disconnected from local realities.
• Empowering leaders with agency—funding them to choose their support—yields far better results.
• Local, place-based networks are vital to community resilience; capacity building is most powerful in these collaborative, context-driven settings.
• Philanthropy must shift from prescribing solutions to enabling agency and letting organizations define what capacity means for their context.
• Practical resilience for leaders comes from showing up, reframing perspective, and leaning into community support—even when resources are scarce.

Connect with Leona & Catalyst Exchange:

• LinkedIn: Leona Christy
• Catalyst Exchange: catalyst-exchange.org