Nonprofit innovators, whom we call social entrepreneurs, face a formidable gap when they reach the “second stage.” Seed funding begins to dry up, but the organizations don’t yet have the track record to access larger pools of capital or charge fees for their services. Meanwhile, founders and staff are increasingly stretched as they attempt to fundraise and manage their growing organizations. These lifecycle challenges are exacerbated by many traditional grantmakers who, short-staffed and shackled by risk-averse funding mandates, are often unable to support even the most promising of these nonprofit ventures.

Crossing to sustainability and growth requires: Funding Meaningfully-sized and flexibly-structured grants to slow the fundraising treadmill long enough to demonstrate measureable results. Professionalization Establishing systems to help budget for the long-term and turn anecdotal outcomes into measurable data.