One of My Best Examples of Leveraging Impact
Initially, the concept of increasing technologies for nonprofits didn’t excite me. What drove me was the belief that I had an exceptional opportunity to leverage extraordinary progress with a relatively modest grant. It may surprise some that my greatest success came from breaking from traditional wisdom by not confining myself to specific causes or geographical areas, I’ve discovered a wealth of possibilities by focusing first on where I could achieve the most catalytic impact, and putting other considerations second.
I discovered that TechSoup (TS) embarked on a capital campaign overseen by the Securities and Exchange Commission. They were tasked with securing the remaining $3.5 million of a daunting $11.5 million target with a non-negotiable seven-month deadline: September 21, 2021. The stakes were high. Success meant they could vastly expand their service and product facilitation, benefiting hundreds of thousands of nonprofits across 236 countries. If not, after three years of working on this campaign, they would have to start over.
Responding to this, I extended a modest grant to TS, aimed at employing an assistant to free up approximately 15 hours weekly for a key senior development staff member. Emulating a venture capitalist’s approach, I appreciated that while many initiatives might not meet expectations, the ones that knock it out of the park can yield exponential returns. Here, the scale of potential social good achievable justified taking a manageable risk.
The summer was tense. June gave way to July, then August. Early to mid-September brought us a mixture of hope and anxiety. September 20 looked dismal. In the morning, TS was $700,000 short. At my last count, I braced myself for disappointment: The campaign was still behind by $400,000. However, on the morning of September 21 when I visited TechSoup’s website, I was thrilled with amazement. They did it! They crossed the finish line! They now had extensive funding to provide additional help to hundreds of thousands of nonprofits and civil society organizations across the globe.
It is often challenging to draw a direct line from cause to effect. However, in this instance, I believe many will agree that the $11.5 million would not have been raised by the deadline, particularly considering TS was $700,000 behind the day before. Freeing up 15 hours a week for one of the senior development personnel was crucial to achieving this success.
I am grateful to recount this experience. Such stories can encourage other funders to embrace manageable risks, especially when they come across extraordinary opportunities to achieve impact. My experiences to date suggest that under the right circumstances, even modest grants can achieve an extensive impact significant impact multiplier effect. .