Platform thinking pushes social entrepreneurs to leave the role of the problem solver in favor of being an enabler of changemakers who can solve problems locally.
How grassroots movements create durable and transformative impact.
_to_Scale_a_Nonprofit-737x737_-_28de80_-_f9d0b25a2c0fecc21f7e395884932b791cb1d38f.jpg)
Attempts to scale a successful, community-based nonprofit may have failed, but what the founder learned in the process is instructive for social entrepreneurs and philanthropists alike.
COVID-19 vaccine efforts showed how successfully centering communities can overcome mistrust and access barriers.
How do innovations move from the edges to the core of what an organization does? For maximum impact, innovations must cease to be innovative and become institutionalized and normalized.
Since 1970, more than 200,000 nonprofits have opened in the U.S., but only 144 have reached $50 million in annual revenue. They got big by doing two things: They raised the bulk of their money from a single type of funder. And just as importantly, these nonprofits created professional organizations that were tailored to the needs of their primary funding sources.
A decade of applying the collective impact approach to address social problems has taught us that equity is central to the work.
How do innovations move from the edges to the core of what an organization does? For maximum impact, innovations must cease to be innovative and become institutionalized and normalized.
Impact evaluations are an important tool for learning about effective solutions to social problems, but they are a good investment only in the right circumstances.
Scaling requires not only fidelity to core processes and programs, but also constant adjustments to local needs and resources.
