Six Months and Change

Reflecting on my transition from leading national nonprofit programs to harnessing community-driven philanthropy into national impact

By Greg Wise, Vice President, National Impact

For most of my career, I’ve been on the delivery side of social change — working in various direct service and leadership roles at local and national nonprofits focused on social justice and economic mobility, supporting people and communities while leading efforts to remove barriers to success.

A little over six months ago, I embarked on a new journey. I joined GreenLight Fund as Vice President of National Impact, and the shift has expanded how I think about social change in ways I didn’t fully anticipate.

As I’ve done many times before, earlier this summer, I spent a week listening and learning from the field and catching up with longtime friends and colleagues at JFF’s Horizons conference. This time felt different and it served as a powerful reminder of just how distinct and unique this new chapter truly is.

Six months & change in, and countless conversations later, it’s clear that our philanthropic model addressing poverty, promoting equity and economic mobility, is truly distinct: a national network of community driven sites operating in 15 (and counting) cities, where every investment begins not with what we think a community needs — but with hundreds of conversations to find out what communities say is the need and then identifying a proven model that doesn’t just work elsewhere, but can have transformative impact in partnership with that community.

I’m still finding my footing, learning, and discovering exciting opportunities every day. What follows are thoughts about what has surprised me most so far, how our approach has a unique role to play in supporting the scaling of technology enabled innovations, and how the collective power of proximity is at the center of our thinking about national impact.

What’s Surprised Me

Technology & Trust
Part of my role entails engaging with the field to identify potential national strategic partners, cultivate a pipeline of organizations we can consider in our annual selection cycles, and stay on top of emerging trends in the sector. Since I’ve joined GreenLight Fund, I’ve attended a few convenings and forums that sit at the intersection of innovation and social impact with a focus on how the transformative power of technology can play a role in enhancing the reach of powerful interventions from pre-K to grey, across generations, communities, and ZIP codes.

Sitting in those rooms, I kept coming back to a tension: tons of tools already exist, with many more on the way and the potential is undeniable. And yet, there are concerns about privacy and the environment, and many mission-driven organizations are navigating technology with hesitation, under-investment, a lack of agency for trial and error, or strategies that were built for a different era.

I believe this is an opportunity.  Here’s what the last six months & change have made clearer for me:

Technology doesn’t replace relationships or traditional interventions. It extends them. And a human in the loop isn’t enough, you also need humans on the ground to build trust and drive impact.

At GreenLight, trust and community responsiveness are the foundation of everything we do. The relationships we build with and across communities, with our Selection Advisory Councils, with portfolio organizations, and with our local and national investors and partners aren’t replicable by any platform or tool. What technology can do, when adopted thoughtfully and with community voice centered, is help us all work smarter. Operationally to surface needs more accurately, vet solutions more rigorously, measure what’s actually changing, and learn across our network faster than we could otherwise. It can help nonprofits extend their reach well beyond their physical borders, incorporate real-time data into participant and staff decision making, and a million other avenues that no one’s even thought about yet. 

The organizations I’ve seen doing this well aren’t chasing every new tool. They’re asking a different question first: “What does our community actually need, and how might technology help us enhance and deliver it?” That sequence matters. Community first. Solution second. Technology third, in service of that, not the other way around. What I’ve learned from my time at GreenLight is that we (and others) can play an important role supporting the effective utilization of that “human on the ground” approach that’s so critical to driving successful local adoption, impact, and durability of those new and exciting technologies. Marrying broad national access with deep, locally embedded support has the potential to unlock a whole new level of equity and impact. 

What excites me isn’t any single platform, solution, or organization. It’s the shift in mindset. Nonprofit and philanthropic leaders who once treated technology as an IT issue are increasingly treating it as a strategic one — a lever for equity, access, and impact at scale. 

The Power of Proximity
Each year, in each GreenLight site we engage the community in identifying that moment’s unique challenge that if addressed could have a significant impact. One of the things that means, in practice, is that timing, fit, and alignment are critical ingredients to success within our model. In each of our communities each year, we might identify 15 different opportunities for impact, or the opportunities could be the same, but it’s the local context that matters.  As the world keeps moving, local conditions shift, and opportunities evolve differently in each community, our understanding of those shifts and the partnerships we build make each annual selection cycle an iterative step towards fostering equity and inclusive prosperity. 

Aligning local needs and opportunities with effective solutions requires deep listening, diligence, and a pipeline of exceptional nonprofit organizations. Scaling efforts require a strong track record and evidence base as well as being able to show up authentically in a new community, build partnerships, and trust to grow impact incrementally, day by day, year by year. Our  investments, both financially and with our beyond the check support, are a dynamic catalyst for change as a result of the   partnership between GreenLight, local communities, and the nonprofit organizations we pull-in to new places each year. 

Local Roots, National Impact

As I reflect on where I came from and where GreenLight is going, I continue to be struck by just how unique this model is. Our potential for national impact is rooted in the work happening in each community each year,  addressing the most pressing opportunities for change with nonprofit solutions we source to meet those challenges. As we share learning and insights across sites, the multiplier effect can ripple well beyond one investment or community, and can, over time, help inform how other communities think about building pathways to inclusive prosperity in cities across the country, whether they ever have their own GreenLight or not.  

Our community driven approach has grown into its own, much bigger, national community.  I’m honored and excited to sit in the middle of it as we continue on this journey to scale access to inclusive prosperity from community to community to country. We invite you to join our growing community of leaders, change agents, thought partners, and opportunity advocates. Visit our website, shoot us an email, and/or follow us on social media to stay updated on our latest learnings, opportunities for collaboration, and upcoming events.