Understanding the Implications of Our Stories by Peter Brach

You may wonder about the origins of the stories on this site. Some came from others, and many are drawn from my experiences over five years. Over these years, I have dedicated myself almost exclusively to providing capacity support to social impact infrastructure organizations (SIIOs). I am pleased to share that the outcomes have far exceeded my expectations, suggesting that even small to modest grants can drive big results.

What Are Social Impact Infrastructure Organizations?
Social Impact Infrastructure Organizations (SIIOs) are the connectors, conveners, accelerators, trainers, educators, researchers, media outlets, and platforms that enable the rest of us to impact change effectively. SIIOs are the backbone organizations that broadly and directly support the social sector. They play a crucial role in enhancing the capacity and effectiveness of countless organizations, making them key drivers of large-scale social change.

Broadly Directed Issue-Focused Organizations
Under the right circumstances funding theme-focused coalitions, networks, community foundations, and affinity groups can lead to an exceptionally broad impact.

Opportunities and Challenges with Supporting Broadly Directed Organizations
While the potential of funding broadly directed organizations can be immense, this approach comes with its own set of risks and challenges. Below are several considerations.

Negotiating the Broadness Spectrum: Supporting SIIOs in turn helps many causes through its membership or users. For example, my fund backed TechSoup, an organization that increases the capacity of hundreds of thousands of nonprofits across 236 countries. While that may be an impressive approach for some, others might prefer to support a coalition or network that addresses a specific area of concern, such as combating climate change or advancing social equity.
Measuring Impact: Traditional giving often allows for straightforward measurement. For example, how many students enrolled or how many children received medical care. The stories on this site reflect a different kind of impact: Improve the trajectory of organizations already making promising strides. There are numerous examples where some will agree that small gaps were filled, which led to catalytic results. However, the ability to measure outcomes greatly varied. In some cases, the impact is clear, such as a $100k grant that enabled an organization to generate $1.4 million in revenue. In other instances, correlations were weaker, and outcomes less clear.

Propel Philanthropy operates on the principle that providing growth funding to organizations producing broadpromising results can produce extensively positive results. However, this is not always the case, and grantmakers should undergo due diligence before giving grants. However, not always, and careful due diligence should be used prior to providing grants.

Considerations for Mitigating Risks and Maximizing Returns

While some of my grants did not achieve the desired results, the benefits from those that did far outweighed those that did not.
You can choose low-risk opportunities by selecting favorable organizations and circumstances.
Engaging in matching grants, responding to them, or participating in pooled funding can help mitigate risks. These mechanisms have allowed me to save hundreds of thousands of dollars while maximizing impact.

Proving Correlation
Hopefully, the stories presented on this site are not only encouraging but also inspiring. However, they do not prove a correlation. At the same time, as our collection of stories grows, so will the likelihood that the exceptional examples found on our Stories of Impact page were not just by chance. Readers should further consider that countless businesses have become successful because they invested in building a solid foundation from which to operate. Many leaders of nonprofits will attest that they too could benefit greatly by filling critical gaps preventing them from reaching the next level of results.

Social Proof Exists
Supporting SIIOs and other broadly directed organizations is not a new concept. Some of the most reputable foundations have supported these for nearly a century. In some instances, a strong case can be made that the results have been tremendous. Consider the Foundation Center Directory, which has helped countless nonprofits survive and thrive since 1960. Readers can explore other high-ROI examples here.

Supportive Environments for Funders
If the idea of adopting this funding strategy feels overwhelming, you’re not alone. One of the biggest challenges with non-traditional approaches is ensuring that funders receive the support they need. Fortunately, there are several avenues available if you wish to explore how this approach could lead to achieving extensive impact with your grantmaking:

The Worldwide Initiative for Grantmaker Support (WINGS) maintains a Funders Working Group dedicated to fostering thriving philanthropic ecosystems. You can contact WINGS here.
Propel Philanthropy hosts a funder-to-funder group that aims to help participants achieve outsized impact. All endowed funders are welcome to join here.

Propel Philanthropy also provides free facilitation services to assist funders interested in exploring approaches for achieving a bigger and broader impact.