Curated Listings for Funders

Creating win-win scenarios
Propel Philanthropy and Catalyst Now seek to provide grant-making opportunities that benefit all involved. We do so by providing funders with free listings we believe have the potential to deliver highly leveraged results while aligning with our respective mandates to accelerate the social sector.

We refer to this approach as the Million Dominoes Effect. You can learn more about our objectives and framing here.

Timelines
We are assembling a small team of experienced social sector professionals. This team will screen and vet the prospective opportunities we publish for funders. We expect to make our first set of candidates available for funder review by March 15, 2026.

Examples to be reviewed by the A Million Dominoes team
The examples below illustrate candidates currently under consideration and demonstrate the types of opportunities we believe could achieve far-reaching social sector-level impact.

1. Providing motivational AI training for nonprofits funders already support

Why we chose this option:

• Accessible entry point: Funders can support participation for nonprofits they already fund at approximately $750 per organization, making this a modest, clearly scoped investment.
• Lower downside exposure: AI training is considered to hold lower downside exposure. Even partial adoption is likely to provide participating nonprofits with practical tools that can save time and improve operational efficiency.
• Extended value beyond the initial session: Participating nonprofits receive ongoing, no-cost access to the PLAI (We Are PLAI) platform, where learning can continue within cohort-based communities.
• Focus on adoption: PLAI emphasizes reducing resistance, increasing motivation, and supporting responsible long-term use of AI—factors that often limit uptake.
• Grounded in prior research and pilots: The program draws on prior research led by Mark Zitter, whose work examined patterns of resistance and motivation among nonprofits. This research informed the AI Spark pilot scheduled to begin in February 2025.
• Scalability: Post-pilot programs could be scaled to support many nonprofits, creating a Million Dominoes Effect. Extensive impact can sometimes be delivered by training leaders of coalitions, networks, funder groups, affinity groups, and social impact infrastructure organizations.
• Shared participation model: Funders will be able to fund alongside peers.

Potential downsides

• Impact remains open to interpretation.
• Measurement is primarily limited to self-reported outcomes from participating nonprofits.
• In-depth training takes place after the session from nonprofit engaged with a community of cohorts on the free platform, not from the initial session.
• Ongoing access to PLAI’s platform may depend on the continuation of the organization.

2. Empowering GivingTuesday’s (GT’s) 2026 awareness-building media campaign

Why we chose this option:

• Exceptional, record-breaking outcomes: Investments of $355,000 in grants resulted in:

1. Demonstrated reach: GT’s media campaign brought first-time awareness of its movement to 13.5 million people, representing 5% of the U.S. adult population.
2. Large-scale funding results: A conservative estimate of $50 million in additional giving was generated from a 355,000 media outreach campaign. This funding supported thousands of nonprofits experiencing an exceptional social sector crisis.
3.  Systemic movement-building value: Repeated giving from current first-time givers increases long-term generosity.
4. Empowering GivingTuesday: The just-listed benefits will impact the long-term trajectory and capacity of GivingTuesday, the world’s largest facilitator of global giving. Examples include improved branding, promising statistics for prospective future funders, and the likely impact from media attention on the outcomes of GT’s awareness-building outreach in 2025.

• Untapped potential: GivingTuesday estimates that approximately $50 billion in charitable giving remains unrealized each year, suggesting meaningful upside from continued awareness-building.

Potential downside
The impact listed assumes funders prioritize increasing global giving as a social sector-level benefit deserving immediate and continued attention.

Next Steps
Propel Philanthropy and Catalyst Now expect to release multiple vetted listings for funder review by mid-March. Funders can then undertake their own more comprehensive due diligence processes.

Funders interested in funding situations we believe could achieve far-reaching social sector-level impact are welcome to reach out to us.