Skip to main content

Knapp Community Care Foundation

The Knapp Community Care Foundation (KCCF) seeks to help Mid-Valley communities in the Rio Grande Valley improve access to healthcare, wellness, nutritional services, and education by supporting local nonprofit organizations. Since its inception in 2012, the Foundation has granted more than $47 million to local organizations supporting children and families in the Mid-Valley region.

We have worked hand-in-hand with KCCF and grown to love the strength, resiliency, and warmth of the Rio Grande Valley community. Our partnership has deepened and evolved to multiple areas and projects with KCCF. We began by conducting organizational assessments with the Foundation’s capacity building grant recipients and then engaging in capacity building – working directly with the nonprofit grantees to strengthen their operations, programs, fundraising, Board governance, executive leadership, communications, and more.

Our partnership has also included strategic planning and implementation, and Board training and retreat facilitation with the KCCF Board of Directors. We developed and launched Knapp Community Care Foundation’s new website, created and designed social media posts, and have supported the Foundation with graphic design for several of their publications.

When the Knapp Community Care Foundation’s Founding Chief Executive Officer decided on her retirement, the Cielo Strategy Group team developed a retirement plan, process, and announcement strategy. We then successfully led a national search for the new CEO.

Most recently, in 2022, Knapp Community Care Foundation and Valley Baptist Legacy Foundation decided to launch the Nonprofit Leaders for Excellence program that brings 12 nonprofit leaders together for a 10-month leadership program. The two foundations asked Cielo Strategy Group to design the cohort program, create the full curriculum, and fully launch and manage the program. It was a true success that we are so proud of, and we are thrilled to bring the program back for its second year in 2023-2024.

Since 2019, we have worked with the following Knapp Community Care Foundation grant recipients for their capacity building efforts.

  • Holy Family Services
  • Monte Alto Recreation Center
  • Open Hands
  • Special Olympics of the Rio Grande Valley
  • South Texas Juvenile Diabetes Association
  • Su Casa De Esperanza
  • TEAM MARIO
  • Valley Nature Center
  • Weslaco Museum

Each organization received their own unique assessment that identified areas of strength and improvement, data trends, and our recommendations for where the organization should focus their efforts in order to become stronger. In addition to each of the full comprehensive reports, Knapp Community Care Foundation received an executive summary that their grants committee utilized to make capacity building funding decisions.

We are honored to partner with Knapp Community Care Foundation in their mission.

Back to Our Clients

  • The Cielo Strategy Group team brings a passion for strengthening nonprofits to their work, and it is evident in their every detail – from their outstanding customer service, to their impeccable follow-through, to the way they engage with residents, board and staff – I just can’t say enough good things. They are professional, knowledgeable, and genuinely dedicated to creating a sustainable organization. I am forever grateful to them.

    SANDRA WHITLEY, FOUNDER/FORMER EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
    Thrive Youth Center

  • The Bay City ISD School Board and staff could not have been more enthusiastic about the marketing plan that Cielo Strategy Group developed for us. We are extremely excited to see what we can do with the tools you've given us. Thank you so much for making my job easier."

    GRANT MCGALLIARD, CHIEF COMMUNICATIONS OFFICER
    Bay City ISD

  • Thank you so much, Cielo Strategy Group for creating capacity within our organization now and for the future. You guided us, coached us, encouraged us, and taught us how to execute ideas that had always felt like far-off dreams. You didn’t come in and point out our weaknesses – you celebrated our strengths, and then, you met us where we were and gave us actionable steps to strengthen our board governance, fundraising, communications, storytelling, and operations. We are stronger because of you!

    MINKA MISANGYI, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
    Girls on the Run Bexar County

  • The Cielo team has been a trusted partner strengthening our organization from the inside out. After facilitating our initial organizational assessment process, they identified key areas we needed to focus on that would move our mission forward. They didn’t just give us a report with recommendations, they jumped in and created the infrastructure we needed to help us operate more effectively – from basic Board governance documents and processes to a staff and volunteer handbook, to operational planning and goal-setting. They have coached me to become a better leader. As we celebrated our ten-year anniversary, we accepted a transformational gift to purchase our own land and build upon our vision. We could not have done this without “getting our house in order”, which is what Cielo Strategy Group did for us.

    DEBRA FRANCO, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
    South Texas Juvenile Diabetes Association

  • The Cielo team has been instrumental in helping the Weslaco Museum rebuild for the future. As a new Executive Director, I am thankful for their unwavering commitment. They provided our organization with the proverbial “light at the end of the tunnel” – enabling us to focus on our vision and mission. They have helped the Weslaco Museum grow our member base, streamline our website, strengthen our board, and our overall vision for the future.

    CRYSTAL RODRIGUEZ, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
    Weslaco Museum

  • Cielo Strategy Group is part of our Clinic family. With our long standing partnership, I have relied on their team as a steady support system – responding to our needs and flexing with us. They have elevated our storytelling and communications, guided us through annual fund development plans, designed and project managed annual appeal mailings, coached us through grant proposals, facilitated Board sessions and a strategic planning process. They push us toward excellence and don’t settle for less.

    GLORIA Z. CANSECO, CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER
    San Antonio Christian Dental Clinic
Spark A
Conversation