Propelling Impact: An Engine for Scale

How does GreenLight Fund identify the right nonprofit partner to bring into a community? Three executive directors sat down to discuss the select phase of the GreenLight Method and how it unfolds in their cities. 

The conversation highlighted that the approach, process and guidelines across their three cities are very similar, while the local context makes all the difference in what is ultimately selected.

During select, GreenLight deeply vets 2-3 finalist organizations to identify the proven program that effectively addresses the community-identified priority need, is ready to scale, would be the best local fit and is set up to deliver significant impact and long-term sustainability. The process has the added benefit of beginning to build the trusted relationship between the local GreenLight team and the nonprofit we are considering for selection. This sets us up well for long-term impact and sustainability. 

Below, we’ve pulled out a few key themes that surfaced in conversation with Simone Hardeman-Jones, GreenLight Twin Cities Executive Director, Tish Johnson-Jones, GreenLight Greater Newark Executive Director, and Erin Saul, GreenLight Cincinnati Executive Director.

For a closer look at how this phase comes to life in each city, you can watch the full conversation in the video below ⬇️

Local context and pinpointing the gap within the gap

When selecting Reading Partners in Greater Newark, the priority unmet need elevated by the community was closing the early literacy achievement gap. In the local context, GreenLight heard that parents have a deep desire to support their children, but unfortunately, sometimes lack the capacity to do so. Reading Partners’ unique approach stood out as a way to address this gap within the gap.

As Tish Johnson-Jones remarked, “[Reading Partners] provides effective, direct, individual tutoring support with the ability to meet students wherever they are – school, home, community center, etc. without dependency on one key stakeholder. Students’ access to high-dosage tutoring could change their entire academic journey.” 

Erin Saul had a similar reflection for the process that brought Father’s Uplift to Cincinnati. “During discovery, the community prioritized youth mental health as an area where a GreenLight Fund investment could make a real difference. This is a broad category that many local organizations were already addressing in one way or another, so they looked deeper.”

Similarly, in the Twin Cities, Simone Hardeman-Jones explained how food insecurity was a key focus area that emerged. The challenge was to determine an investment that would be additive to what was already available in the local ecosystem.

Simone added, “What we were hearing in Minneapolis and St. Paul was not that there was a shortage of food in our communities, but there were challenges with getting that food to the people who needed it the most.” 

Food Connect, a food logistics organization uniquely equipped to move food quickly and effectively to communities where it’s most needed, was selected as the solution.   

Learning during full diligence

We provide a full diligence grant to each of our 2-3 finalists in each selection cycle. This signals our acknowledgment of the work necessary and the value we gain from what we learn. Through this conversation, many of those learnings were described.

The site visit is an opportunity to see the organization in action and to understand what’s going well and where the challenges are. We dig deep into how the model addresses the gap in our community, their track record, resilience during difficult times and values alignment. We meet their leadership and program participants. 

Is an organization the right fit for the local community and ready to scale? Through this process, we’re evaluating if the organization will be additive and complementary to the local social sector while also having the building blocks in place to effectively replicate their model. We ask thoughtful, intentional questions that often have an organization reflecting on their own readiness for scale.

“When we’re selecting organizations, it’s not just if their model responds to our local challenges, but also if they fit the culture of our ecosystem. As I think about the GreenLight Fund Method  and the intentionality behind every single stage, it makes me appreciate that due diligence process and how it forces organizations to think about their expansion and sustainability plans for a new market,” said Tish.

Revenue model and partnerships

At GreenLight, when we help an organization scale to one of our communities, we truly believe in shared success, a shared commitment to deliver impact in our community for the long term. We want to make sure the organization is sustainable and limit its dependence on philanthropy. While we’ve looked at projections on paper, during the site visit, we’re looking to understand additional opportunities for earned revenue and private-public partnerships and focused on alignment with the players in our community that are necessary for growth and sustainability. 

Erin shared, “… the sustainable revenue model that really sold us on Fathers Uplift… they can bill commercial insurance, bill Medicaid so that most of their funding is coming through that renewable resource and not through philanthropy.” 

During the due diligence process that resulted in the selection of Let Everyone Advance with Dignity (LEAD) in the Twin Cities, GreenLight started having conversations with the city of Minneapolis early on and they came to the table to support that work. 

“That upfront investment from the city laid this amazing pathway for the LEAD program to have this really diverse funding stream of public sector and private and philanthropic dollars that is well balanced and will now be very sustainable over the long term.” 

Simone continued, “Part of our diligence process is asking those organizations to look into the future and build out a strategic plan for what it would look like in their respective market. And so it’s like there’s no surprises. They’ve already built the plan. We’ve already lined up the partners.”

What emerges from this comprehensive process is more than a decision, it’s a foundation for partnership, trust and long-term impact.