Jacob Deitz’s Post

Call it "dreaming" or "enabling", funders and intermediaries need to shift current structures to support #local #leadership (#LLA #Locally #Led #Adaptation) More resources to go through on how community solutions can be enabled: Global Resilience Partnership 's #rainchallenge: https://lnkd.in/eG5bfHv7 Griffith Centre for Systems Innovation 's resources on #challenge led #innovation: https://lnkd.in/eHaXyqFN

The Scaling Gap: Why Building Bridges is Key to Nonprofit Impact Nonprofits face a unique challenge: scaling interventions to maximize impact, which is frequently donor-drive. But let's be honest, the "middle child" rarely gets the love. Many donors are eager to fund sexy startups or established giants, leaving high-potential organizations stuck in the messy, crucial growth stage. This is where strategic funders like Development Innovation Ventures (DIV) and the Global Impact Fund (GIF) play. Gearing for scale. As complex to navigate as they are, strategic scaling funders are game-changers. They recognize the power of bridging the scaling gap. Take my client The JumpStart Foundation, which has a tried and tested model for early grade numeracy and a drive for systems-change. True impact for the 1 million children who start grade 1 in South Africa, means MAKING SOME NOISE in the government education delivery system, which requires intervening in more and more of the nearly 15k primary schools in the country because powerful NOISE is based on evidence. Why should you care? Unscaled interventions leave potential untapped. We need more funders who champion the messy middle, investing in organizations like JumpStart who are poised for exponential growth. Nonprofits: Be clear about your scaling goals! Don't shy away from the "growth stage" in your funding proposals. Donors: Look beyond the flashy startups and established players. Consider the immense potential of organizations ready to bridge the scaling gap. #Nonprofit #ScalingImpact #StrategicFunding #JumpStart#developmentinnovationventures#globalimpactfund

🚨 Grant Opportunities 🚨 Nordstrom Community Grants for Nonprofits - Nordstrom is dedicated to supporting causes that provide basic needs to youth and their families. They award over $2 million in Community Grants annually across the U.S. as part of this commitment. Applicants must work in the Education, Health Care, or Human Services space. Learn more at https://lnkd.in/eqyH53-W Roddenberry Catalyst Fund - The Catalyst Fund offers grants to Nonprofits & Social Enterprises to fund ideas or early-stage projects with a high potential for large-scale impact and sustainable change. You can be a seasoned social entrepreneur or a first-time changemaker. Eligible candidates for the Catalyst Fund may be individuals, teams of individuals, nonprofit organizations, or social enterprises. Funding up to $15,000 - https://lnkd.in/eU5YW4n Future of Capitalism Tech Startup Pitch Competition - The competition seeks Tech that can transform how businesses operate – from customer experience, admin/management systems, financial processes, logistics, marketing, or anything else. This is open to startups based anywhere in the world; however, the entry and pitch process will all be in English. Prize of $1,000,000. Apply by September 30 - https://lnkd.in/ezGNQjE7 #Grants #Development #Philanthropy #NonProfits #NonProfitFunding #GrantOpportunities #StrategicDisruption #NonProfitConsultant #Funding #FundingOpportunities

What is the biggest blocker for innovation in nonprofits? 🌟 (Add your blockers in the comments.) Innovation is crucial for nonprofits to stay relevant and impactful, yet many organizations struggle to foster it. Here are some common blockers: 💰 Lack of Funding: Limited resources often make it challenging to invest in new ideas and technologies. 🙅♀️ Resistance to Change: Established routines and fear of the unknown can stifle creative thinking. 🎯 Limited Expertise: Without dedicated innovation teams, many nonprofits lack the knowledge to implement effective innovation processes. 🛑 Risk Aversion: The fear of failure can prevent nonprofits from taking the necessary risks to innovate. At the heart of these challenges lies one core issue: culture. Building a culture of innovation means encouraging experimentation, embracing failure as a learning opportunity, and continuously seeking new ways to fund and fulfill your mission. At LaunchPath, we’re here to support nonprofits in creating this culture, driving impactful change and sustainable growth. 🌍✨ #Innovation #Nonprofits #ChangeMakers #NonprofitInnovation #LaunchPath #CultureOfInnovation #ImpactfulChange #SustainableGrowth

I have often heard people say that nonprofit fundraising is similar to sales. While there may be some similarities, it occurs to me that a better analogy in the for-profit sector might be an entrepreneur seeking investment for their company. Here's why: 💠 Long-term Relationships: Just like entrepreneurs cultivate lasting relationships with investors, nonprofits must build enduring connections with donors, emphasizing trust and mutual goals. 💠 Shared Vision: Investors buy into the vision and potential impact of a startup. Similarly, donors invest in the transformative power of a nonprofit's mission, hoping to make a substantial difference in the community or sector. 💠 Strategic Alignment: Startups must align their strategies with investor expectations. Nonprofits, too, align their goals and activities with the interests and values of their supporters to ensure ongoing engagement. 💠 Growth and Impact: Just as investors support a startup's growth trajectory, nonprofit donors contribute to scaling the organization's impact, driving broader social change. In both scenarios, the fundamental element is not merely transactional; it’s about creating a meaningful partnership that aims to change the status quo. I think this is an interesting comparison, and frames nonprofit fundraising as an opportunity to forge impactful, visionary partnerships that drive real change. #NonprofitFundraising #SocialImpact #NonprofitSector #StrategicPartnerships

This is a good viewpoint in nonprofit vs. for profit and how they're different.

Nonprofit overwhelm. When we are constantly being bombarded with challenges of: - too little funding - information overload - a lack of peer support - and so much more. This job has never felt bigger - we need changemakers and doers more than ever. This recent Hive interview with Anna Taylor highlights the same challenges we are seeing coming out of many Hive conversations. As nonprofit employees we can't just pay lip service to it and say, "hey, all staff talk about what's hard right now." Pushing past our reality is injurous to our teams and our greater ability to have Impact. It feels hard to keep a positive outlook as we head in to Year End but we love Anna's advice - Be Patient and Be Curious. How do you stay positive in the face of nonprofit challenges? ____________________________________ Anna is the Executive Director of The Greater Sum Foundation - a foundation focused on fueling innovation in the sector by providing tools, grants, and assistance for nonprofit startups. Whether you're an innovative, scalable, early-stage nonprofit, a donor looking for worthy organizations to fund, or a volunteer ready to offer expertise and time, The Greater Sum is where you belong. Through networking, professional development opportunities, subject matter expertise, and funding, all the parts come together to equal success greater than the sum of its parts. Their Accelerator program is now OPEN and accepting applications - if you identify as a nonprofit startup make sure to apply! https://lnkd.in/eke8FyPq #nonprofit #innovation #challenges #nonprofitwork

STOP struggling to fix philanthropy on your own. ❌You wouldn’t expect yourself to be able to train for a marathon without a personal trainer. ❌You wouldn’t expect yourself to be able to manage investments without an advisor. ❌You wouldn’t expect yourself to be able to run an organisation without staff. ❌You wouldn’t expect yourself to be able to get through the ups and downs of life without a community support system. So why do people feel like they have to (or can) fix the challenges of philanthropy alone? 🤔What we most often hear from our clients at I.G. Advisors is that it feels like it should be simpler, or that everyone else knows how to do it, or is already doing it. 🤐Or, it feels weird to talk about the fundamentally strange world of fundraising and funding work in the same way you would about impact or politics, and consider how to change it rather than just 'play the game'. 🤬We sometimes hear that people aren’t technically on their own with it because they’re doing it with colleagues, but that feels lonely and hard if you disagree on the best approaches or aren't given the buy-in you need to succeed. 😳We also hear a TONNE of imposter syndrome, with people feeling like everyone else has it more figured out, or knows more about how to use money to change the world, or isn't struggling in the ways they are struggling. But the thing is, like any complex job, everyone struggles, everyone needs help with it. Everyone who tries to go it alone swiftly hits a bunch of barriers, and it often slows down progress. So, reach out for help! 🥰 Our community in the #FixTheFlow Fellowship is honestly beautiful. There are so many questions, discussions, collaborations and celebrations on our virtual platform, and the first thing we always hear from new joiners is 'I thought it was just me!'. But you're not alone! Applications to join the next Cohort close on the 21st June. The application is short, and we would love to have you join the movement, and the community. learn more at fixtheflow.org

𝐅𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐫𝐚𝐢𝐬𝐞𝐫𝐬 - 𝒊𝒕'𝒔 𝒏𝒐𝒕 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒇𝒂𝒖𝒍𝒕. If you struggle with this work sometimes, it's not your fault. The challenges of the philanthropic funding system are bigger than you, and bigger than your organisation. Whilst learning the art and science of #fundraising is part of the solution, there are bigger problems that can't (and shouldn't) be solved alone. Which is why we're proud to be supporting I.G. Advisors' #FixTheFlow Fellowship - a unique programme for both #fundraisers and #funders that provides coaching, training, systems-change projects, and exclusive access to a global online peer community. It’s an experience that provides education, transformation, and personal and professional growth. As well as teaching the core skills of fundraising and grantmaking, the Fellowship takes each cohort through a groundbreaking Collective Design process, teaching systems thinking and culminating in the design of #FixTheFlow Action Projects that aim to create lasting change in the funding system, and fix the flow of resources, for good. 𝐖𝐞 𝐝𝐨𝐧'𝐭 𝐣𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐦𝐮𝐝𝐝𝐥𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐛𝐫𝐨𝐤𝐞𝐧 𝐟𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐬𝐲𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐦 - 𝐰𝐞 𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐛𝐞 𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐢𝐭! The deadline to apply is 21𝐬𝐭 𝐉𝐮𝐧𝐞, and we have managed to secure a unique 10% discount for our FE community, which you can get by commenting "I want to #FixTheFlow!" below (then the I.G. team will be in touch). More information on the programme can be found at fixtheflow.org Post any questions below!

Building #Community, Not #Competition: A New Model for #ResourceDistribution 🤝 The world of #funding feels a bit like a crowded marketplace, doesn't it? Everyone's shouting their pitch, vying for attention, hoping to snatch up the next dollar. This #transactional mindset can get exhausting, and focusing on the quick win sometimes overshadows real, lasting change. But what if we shifted from scarcity to #abundance, from competition to #collaboration? 🤔 #TheProblem: Scarcity's Side Effects 💸 When #scarcity drives the funding game, the results can be detrimental. We witness stifled #innovation, missed opportunities for collaboration, and, ultimately, less impact where it's needed most. Focusing on short-term solutions often #perpetuates problems rather than dismantling them at their root. The Kilimo Collective Ecosystem: A New Model 🌱 Imagine an alternative model – one inspired by the concept of #interconnected ecosystems. Think of it like this: funding isn't just about money; it's about the flow of #resources, #knowledge, and #support within a holistic #network. This is where models like the Kilimo Collective Ecosystem come in. It's about: #GlobalPartnerships: Connecting #nonprofits, #funders, #businesses, and #changemakers based on shared goals and strengths, not just who's got the biggest checkbook. #CapacityBuilding: Empowering organizations with the tools and know-how they need, not just with a one-time cash injection, fosters long-term #sustainability, #trust, and #impact. #ImpactDrivenFocus: Prioritizing #measurable outcomes and a commitment to long-term change. It's about solutions that empower communities, not just ticking boxes for a #grant report. Looking Ahead: Reimagining #Funding for #Impact 💡 This week, let's dive deeper into how we can break the traditional #funding models and build a more #collaborative and impactful system. Here's what we'll explore: #CollectiveImpact: Uniting organizations around #sharedgoals. How can nonprofits form strategic #collectives to maximize resources and achieve a greater impact on their chosen issue areas? ♻ (Credits for Communities) #SystemsOrchestrators: Introducing the role of community-funded #connectors who bridge gaps, foster collaboration, and streamline efforts across different sectors. 🎶 (Centre for Exponential Change) #Funding the "Dreaming Phase": Emphasizing the importance of funding ideation and co-creation, where funders, nonprofits, and communities collectively envision solutions. 🌚 (Pradnya Haldipur...this one is for you!) #CalltoAction 📣 Are you ready to embrace these fresh approaches to #funding and #resourcedistribution? Join the conversation this week as we discuss practical steps to make this shift from competition to true community building. Let's create a movement where #collaboration is the driving force...and impactful change is the ultimate goal!