Create a fund

After a facilitated process to shape your vision, we work with boards, staff, community decision-makers, donors, and institutional teams to ideate, research, and design a fund that achieves your goals. As part of the design phase we work to support the process of identifying community decision-makers to sit at the table, and we welcome them in. Creation can move at the speed needed.

Participatory grantmaking has distinct rewards and challenges, and we’ve learned what works. Our team brings expertise in community organizing, facilitation, mentorship, philanthropic education, and the development of custom curricula for specialized learning and training. Many of our funds include a formal cohort model, and we are particularly skilled in hosting transformative in-person gatherings and retreats.

Once your fund is designed, we operationalize it. From timelines and workplans to communication protocols, detailed budgets, and reporting, we ensure every element is ready for smooth implementation. Each fund receives its own online “Home Base”—a centralized portal for documentation, updates, and key resources. Our team manages this and adapts processes as needed to support evolving goals.

With deep networks and years of experience, our team conducts field research and outreach to communities of impact, if desired. Bringing in community knowledge at entry points throughout the life cycle of a fund is a best practice for healthy programming and strengthens field-building overall.

We handle grant administration with care and rigor, from due diligence and fund distribution to docket development, reporting, and compliance. We also cultivate positive grantee relationships. Some funds involve light-touch communications, others invite grantees into deeper connection with us, community decision-makers, and one another.

We develop detailed budgets that align with the needs of each fund, and manage them transparently. All aspects are tracked through a dedicated sub-program in our system. We ensure accurate accounting and provide annual reports. We can also collaborate with private foundations or external accounts to make gifts or grants.

Stories have the power to catalyze, and the amplification of our collective work is key to learning, influencing, and uplifting the people and projects we work with. Not all funds have a major external communications component, but when desired we have a range of tools for collecting and sharing inspiring stories that highlight our partners and innovative grantmaking approaches.

Our relationships with donors and foundations are extraordinarily special. Some partners desire deep connection, others prefer a lighter touch. We will work with you to find the right collaborative alchemy—your desired level of involvement will shape how our relationship grows. We also have experience with families and small groups of donors, and can create powerful learning cohorts that deepen shared understanding and engagement. Many of our donor relationships span years; we’re honored to grow alongside our partners.

Reflection is essential. Depending on the needs and wishes of each partner, we can gather impact data, success metrics, feedback, and stories to evaluate what worked and where there’s room for growth. Our approach to evaluation is relational, participatory, and rooted in learning—not just reporting. We can help you understand the deeper story of your fund’s impact and chart what’s next with clarity and care.