The more that I work in the non-profit sector (20+ years and counting), the more I see how the financial model for non-profits is ripe for disruption.
Today’s challenges are complex and multi-dimensional and require new approaches and adequate resources to make a dent, let alone provide scalable solutions. Grants and funding do not provide near the resources required.
Scale works with amazing organizations doing important work; they are striving to adapt to a new landscape that requires them to be enterprising, adaptative, accountable, data driven and generating significant impact. The complexity of operating a non-profit is growing while available traditional resources are shrinking and competition for these resources is increasing. The overarching message is that there is not enough money to go around.
This scarcity mentality and culture extends beyond strapped non-profits to their foundation partners and government funders. Yet at the same time, there is a rise of impact investing and upcoming massive wealth transfers in the trillions of dollars. This all leads me to ask: How can community-based non-profits that are delivering high impact results gain access to resources that are equal to the size of challenges that they are uniquely positioned to tackle?
Kristi is Co-Founding Director at Scale Collaborative.
