by Jen Levy, ANCA Executive Director
When I started with ANCA in 2007, I thought the fundraising challenges I faced leading a local nature center would disappear. Surely, foundations would be eager to support a national organization serving hundreds of members across North America.
I quickly learned otherwise. Demonstrating the impact of a capacity-building organization is far more complex than showing the results of direct service. In my previous role, I could point to the number of schoolchildren who attended programs, the percentage of those who returned to summer camp, or the number of families who joined weekend events. Now, I’m tasked with showing how capacity building strengthens leadership and infrastructure—with results that multiply across organizations and communities.
Our outcomes are often two or three steps removed from the ultimate beneficiaries. Funders may struggle to see the connection between our work and tangible, on-the-ground change. Our support is just one factor contributing to a leader’s success, making it difficult to attribute specific outcomes solely to ANCA. And some of our most essential impacts are invisible: the crises that never happened, the staff who didn’t burn out, the organizations that didn’t falter—because an ANCA member attended a CONNECTS session, sought advice on the Discussion Forum, or reached out to a Mentor.
The challenge, then, is to make the invisible visible—to demonstrate how ANCA’s work extends outward, enabling others to create a more effective, sustainable, and transformative impact. We do this by combining stories and data: blending the measurable outcomes of our programs with the lived experiences of leaders whose work has been shaped by their involvement in ANCA.
The ANCA Network thrives when ideas and solutions are shared, tested, and spread—sparking innovation and strengthening organizations across our community. Over the years, I’ve seen both simple, effective practices take root and more complex strategies emerge to meet evolving challenges.
In addition to sharing ideas and stories, ANCA provides leaders with the professional development that turns those ideas into action. Through programs like the Summits, ANCA CONNECTS, and Peer Consults, we help leaders develop the skills, confidence, and capacity to implement new approaches and strengthen their organizations. This combination of shared wisdom and leadership development is what makes the ANCA Network so powerful—and so enduring.
Our data tells part of this story. In the 2025 ANCA Annual Summit Impact Report, more than 125 leaders participated in the Summit, and 94% reported that the event strengthened their organization’s capacity to fulfill its mission. We have similar data from more than 30 years of programming—but we also need stories to bring those numbers to life.
At the 2025 Summit, host Bo Glover, executive director of the Environmental Nature Center (ENC), shared how ANCA has shaped his leadership over the past 30 years. He spoke about being inspired by early adopters of nature-based preschools and green building practices—ideas he encountered at ANCA Summits since his first Summit in 1998. As a result, the ENC earned LEED Platinum certification in 2008 for its new green building and, in 2019, opened its Nature Preschool, a 10,380-square-foot facility that provides nature-based education for children aged 2½ to 5.
Bo continues to inspire others through his leadership. He recently led ENC to achieve TRUE (Total Resource Use and Efficiency) Platinum Certification from Green Business Certification Inc. for outstanding zero-waste performance. At the Summit, he challenged leaders from across the country to prioritize waste reduction and resource conservation—and participants’ feedback and social media posts made clear that many returned home determined to take action.
Bo’s story is a perfect example of capacity building in motion. The outcomes take time, but they are lasting. His journey reflects the long-term impact of strong leadership, supported and inspired by the ANCA Network.
By sharing stories like Bo’s—and yours—we can illuminate the human side of capacity building: the moments of change, resilience, and growth that data alone can’t capture. Storytelling helps us show not just what we do, but why it matters, connecting our work to the real-world impact felt by communities across North America.
Your stories are the heart of ANCA’s impact, and we want to hear them. Have a story? Share photos of your story with us.