Topic: Strategy

Developing Future-Ready Capabilities on Your Impact Team

Posted on by Brianna Provenzano

The most Successful impact teams reflect an optimal blend of passion, evolving skillsets, drive, and resilience.

On August 21, NationSwell hosted a virtual Leader Roundtable dedicated to exploring the tools and talent strategies that are helping organizations fuel innovation, foster agility, and cultivate the next generation of leaders from within.

Some of the key takeaways from the discussion appear below:

Key Takeaways:
AI literacy is becoming a mission-critical skillset. Teams are committing to universal adoption of AI tools, supported by training, shared use cases, and responsible governance frameworks. This not only boosts efficiency but also frees employees to focus on higher-order strategic and creative work.

Resilience and decision-making under uncertainty are essential leadership capabilities. With rapid change and rising complexity, leaders must strengthen their ability to make clear, values-driven choices amid ambiguity. Anchoring decisions to a “North Star” focus helps organizations stay disciplined, prune non-essential efforts, and move forward with confidence.

Cross-functional skills are critical for team adaptability. Rather than siloing capabilities, every team member should be comfortable interpreting data, telling stories, and applying new tools. This democratization of skills builds flexibility and helps teams pivot more effectively during times of change.

Storytelling is a powerful tool for building coalitions. In an era of skepticism toward public health, science, and social progress, compelling storytelling helps organizations mobilize stakeholders, strengthen coalitions, and sustain movements. Narratives that connect impact to human experience can bridge divides and inspire action.

Ruthless prioritization ensures resources drive maximum impact. With finite budgets and capacity, organizations must sharpen their ability to allocate resources where they matter most. Prioritization helps avoid burnout, clarifies tradeoffs, and maximizes the return on both social and financial investments.

Mentorship, shadowing, and sponsorship accelerate growth of soft skills. Formal and informal programs that pair employees with mentors, sponsors, or shadowing opportunities help individuals build confidence, broaden perspectives, and advance their careers. These practices also embed a culture of advocacy and leadership development within organizations.

Coaching creates organizational capacity for growth. Embedding coaching into leadership KPIs and encouraging leaders to “learn, do, and teach” creates a multiplier effect. As senior leaders coach others who then pass knowledge forward, organizations build a sustainable culture of professional development.

Connection and culture are as important as technical skills. In remote or high-change environments, intentional practices such as personal “user manuals” and dedicated time for relationship-building can strengthen trust and cohesion. This human connection supports teams in navigating turbulence with resilience and empathy.

Measuring what matters is critical for long-term credibility. Without strong metrics, social impact efforts risk being deprioritized during budget cuts. Building robust measurement systems and demonstrating “value on investment” ensures initiatives are recognized as integral to the organization’s strategy, not peripheral.

Purpose-driven alignment strengthens both impact and sustainability. Impact teams that tie their work to the organization’s core business strategy — and prove the social rate of return alongside financial outcomes — are better positioned to sustain funding and demonstrate long-term value. Showing that “doing good is good for business” helps win over skeptical stakeholders and ensures continued support.

Five Minutes with… NationSwell Strategic Advisor Rose Kirk

Posted on by Brianna Provenzano

NationSwell’s Strategic Advisor Network is a group of accomplished leaders who have steered global nonprofits, scaled purpose-driven companies, shaped policy, and catalyzed systems change. Together, they bring unparalleled experience and visionary leadership to strengthen our mission-driven community.

In our latest installment of Five Minutes With…, we sat down with one member of this network, Rose Kirk — a C-level executive in the telecommunications industry with more than 35 years experience leading sales, marketing, customer service, go-to-market strategies, and responsible innovation functions — to give our community a closer look at her leadership journey, what drives her work, and the impact she’s championing today.

Here’s what she had to say:

NationSwell: What is the “why” behind your impact work? What’s your personal north star?

Rose Kirk: The thing I come back to again and again is how best to develop and empower a team. People need leadership that is strategic and purposeful, that holds them accountable, and that expects them to deliver. My mission isn’t just to delegate, but to work alongside my team and give them the tools to meet their goals. The most successful leaders step up with excitement, embrace the challenge of finding new opportunities, move work forward in fresh ways, and measure real outcomes.

My path into ESG and corporate social responsibility was almost accidental. What began as a temporary assignment at Verizon became permanent when I realized the opportunity to use corporate assets to make a broader impact on society.

And really, who doesn’t want to go to work every day thinking about what a company owes its citizens, how it can leverage its assets, and how it can both drive revenue and deepen purpose? Looking back now, post-Verizon, at the legacy I left and the work still continuing, I feel affirmed that the vision was right, the execution strong, and the opportunities enduring.

NationSwell: What’s one insight or trend you think every impact leader should be paying more attention to right now?

Rose Kirk: I can speak to the trends we’re seeing both as someone who’s practiced this work day-to-day and now from the vantage point of a corporate board. Corporations, especially in the U.S. but also globally, are trying to navigate today’s systems and government engagement on a wide range of issues. One of the biggest opportunities I see is grounding this work directly in business strategy. That requires practitioners to truly understand how the company makes money, align with the broader strategy, and build relationships across P&L functions in ways they may not have before. They also need to help the CEO navigate the current environment. Those who succeed earn a seat at the table, where their perspectives are valued. That’s what will sustain this work and carry it through challenging times.

NationSwell: What role do you see NationSwell playing at this moment? Why did you choose to get involved?

Rose Kirk: What I love about NationSwell is that it’s not just about the network — it’s about the insights, perspectives, and willingness to tackle complex issues in ways that lead to real solutions. The thoughtfulness in how rooms are curated, and how members themselves are empowered to curate, creates a true give-and-take that sets NationSwell apart. Unlike other organizations where events feel one-directional, NationSwell is a genuine two-way street.

What also stands out is the culture of sincerity. When leadership asks, “How can I help?” it isn’t just talk — they take action. Too often organizations want more from their members than they’re willing to give back, but NationSwell operates differently. As a Strategic Advisor, I take that seriously and strive to represent the brand with the same spirit of generosity and authenticity that defines its leadership and community.

NationSwell: In your experience, what’s one underrated lever for advancing social or environmental progress from inside an organization?

Rose Kirk: One of the biggest levers many practitioners overlook is building relationships with the board of directors and the board’s committee chair for ESG.  Presenting to the board is valuable, but the real opportunity lies in connecting with those leaders directly. Board members are often senior executives at other corporations, serve on multiple boards, and bring a wealth of insight into where the company is headed and what it needs. Developing those relationships helps hard-code this work into the company in a more integrated way. Many ESG leaders don’t utilize this connection. 

At Verizon, I was fortunate to have the CEO’s support, the reputation, and the relationships that allowed me to engage meaningfully with the board and several of its members.

NationSwell: What’s one book, podcast, ritual, or person that’s fueling you lately?

Rose Kirk: I’m definitely a consumer of The Daily — I appreciate how they break down the news and give you a broader sense of the “why.” I also love Michelle Obama’s podcast, and how she shows up with such generosity — constantly sharing wisdom, being vulnerable, and giving back when she doesn’t have to. Her podcast with her brother is such a powerful example of sibling relationships and how to navigate grief. After losing their mom, the way they lean on each other — the only two people who shared that lifelong bond with her — is both moving and joyful. They manage to be insightful, vulnerable, and fun at the same time, which always makes me want to text my own siblings little love notes.

What I especially value is that it isn’t political — it’s just real conversations about life. And I think that matters: stepping away from politics to simply connect with the humanity and joy in someone else’s journey.

Five Minutes with… NationSwell Strategic Advisor Maggie Carter

Posted on by Brianna Provenzano

NationSwell’s Strategic Advisor Network is a group of accomplished leaders who have steered global nonprofits, scaled purpose-driven companies, shaped policy, and catalyzed systems change. Together, they bring unparalleled experience and visionary leadership to strengthen our mission-driven community.

In our latest installment of Five Minutes With…, we sat down with one member of this network, Maggie Carter — a senior advisor and consultant specializing in strategic planning, impact measurement, program development, and partnerships who previously served as Director of Social Impact at Amazon Web Services (AWS) — to give our community a closer look at her leadership journey, what drives her work, and the impact she’s championing today.

Here’s what she had to say:

NationSwell: What is the “why” behind your impact work? What’s your personal north star?

Maggie Carter: My “why” stems from my childhood, growing up in a multi-generational household where my parents and grandmother taught me the importance of giving back. I saw them model this firsthand, spending Thanksgiving and Christmas packaging meals and clothes for the homeless in Washington, D.C. That instilled in me the value of using whatever resources you have to help others.

That foundation was cemented during my time at the NBA, when Hurricane Katrina struck. I saw firsthand how vulnerable populations are disproportionately impacted by catastrophic events. That experience stuck with me and fueled a passion for mobilizing resources for social good.

That’s where my time at AWS became so meaningful. We weren’t just about providing technology; we were about applying our scale and resources to solve problems in real-time. This was never clearer than when I co-led Project Sunflower, AWS’s global response to Ukraine. We mobilized over 350 employees and technologies to support more than 30 organizations, earning us the Ukraine Peace Prize. That experience showed me how powerful it is when a company’s core business value is intentionally used to create meaningful, lasting good.

At its core, my “why” is to help build and support organizations that genuinely live their values by using their unique strengths and resources to create lasting good in the world. My north star is to contribute to a future where values consistently drive decisions and actions, creating a virtuous cycle of innovation and impact.

NationSwell: What’s one insight or trend you think every impact leader should be paying more attention to right now?

Maggie Carter: Impact leaders must simultaneously embrace two critical aspects: technological curiosity and profound self-awareness. They need to regularly assess whether their leadership style and the organization’s current structure effectively meet present and future needs, especially in a rapidly evolving digital landscape.

NationSwell: What role do you see NationSwell playing in this moment; why did you choose to get involved?

Maggie Carter: The social sector is at a crossroads, with an urgent need to transition from performative to transformative action. I see NationSwell as a trusted convener, amplifier, and catalyst for this essential change. In a time when many leaders grapple with defining meaningful progress, NationSwell offers a vital space for courageous dialogue and nurtures a community committed to tangible action.

I joined NationSwell because I wanted to be part of a community that addresses challenges authentically and transparently. It’s an opportunity to sharpen my practice, deepen relationships, and actively contribute to a future where values truly drive decisions.

NationSwell: In your experience, what’s one underrated lever for advancing social or environmental progress from inside an organization?

Maggie Carter: In my experience, finance is one of the most underrated levers for advancing social and environmental progress within an organization. Finance teams uniquely understand the priorities of executive leadership and boards, and how investments are measured. They can push thinking beyond short-term ROI to include social ROI, long-term outcomes, and opportunity costs. When CFOs, controllers, and budget managers become true stewards of social impact, rather than just financial health, they can unlock significant scale, accountability, and systemic change.

NationSwell: What’s one book, podcast, ritual, or person that’s fueling you lately?

Maggie Carter: I’m currently reading “Non-Governmental Organizations, Management and Development” by David Lewis. This book is shaping my understanding of how the social sector develops strategies, architects organizational structures, and delivers impact. It’s also prompting me to consider how organizations should navigate crises and who is best equipped to lead through such changes: whether it’s the CEO, a donor, or the Board.

My recent daily ritual involves a morning walk through town. This simple act allows me to connect with nature, reflect on ideas, and find inspiration. I also have weekly walking meetings with peers, which I find incredibly invigorating and conducive to creative problem-solving outside traditional meeting settings.

Q2 2025 Social Impact Trends

Q2 2025 Social Impact Trends

Q2 2025 trends indicate that employee engagement and wellbeing are at alarming lows; nonprofits face heightened threats amid federal scrutiny and funding cuts; DEI efforts are under political attack but still supported by consumers and investors; cross-sector coalitions are forming to defend civil society; funders are stepping up with bolder strategies to counter government pullbacks; and companies, though quieter publicly, remain committed to impact through value-aligned, resilient strategies.

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Corporate Social Impact Team Design

Corporate Social Impact Team Design

This resource is meant to help leaders look at their own organizations to consider: what’s working, may be changing, and could be next for your impact team design. It provides a practical, anonymized compilation of organizational charts serving as a foundation for shared learning and strategic reflection on:

  • the current landscape of impact team design,
  • the size and complexity of structures by industry, 
  • the functional areas of teams in relation to the broader company, 
  • reporting lines to the chief suite

This resource will continue to evolve as more models are shared. Email us at [email protected] if you would like your corporate social impact team to be represented in the next iteration of this resource.

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Strengthening Nonprofit Sector Resilience

Posted on by Brianna Provenzano

Nonprofit organizations today are facing a range of significant challenges related to federal funding cuts, adoption of and adaptation to emerging technologies, workforce strain, and more.

On July 8, NationSwell convened nonprofit leaders and funders for an open, solutions-oriented dialogue on how to strengthen organizational resilience across the sector and explore the most promising strategies for building nonprofit capacity, increasing organizational durability, supporting team members, and ensuring mission-driven organizations are able to thrive in 2025 and beyond.

Some of the most salient takeaways from the discussion appear below:

Key takeaways:

  1. Resilience in the nonprofit sector must evolve its orientation from survival to impact. Many organizations are operating reactively, focused on enduring budget cuts, staffing strains, and shifting demands. Building resilience should not just mean staying afloat, but developing the internal capacity and adaptive systems needed for long-term mission delivery.
  2. Nonprofits must embrace their role as businesses with a mission — not just tax-exempt entities. While driven by social outcomes, nonprofits function in dynamic, competitive markets and must adopt mindsets and practices that reflect this. Financial discipline, strategic agility, and resource efficiency are as vital here as in any other sector.
  3. Capacity-building is not a luxury, it’s the structural foundation of organizational health. Investments in leadership development, systems, infrastructure, and collaborative learning are essential to sustainable impact. Rather than being deprioritized in lean times, capacity building should be viewed as non-negotiable.
  4. Intermediary organizations must be better equipped to defend and represent the sector. As political headwinds intensify, many nonprofits are finding themselves underprotected at the federal level. There’s a growing need for advocacy networks to modernize their tactics, elevate member voices, and build political literacy across the sector.
  5. Strategic partnerships and nonprofit mergers are underutilized tools for sustainability and scale. Unlike in the private sector, where mergers signal strength, consolidation among nonprofits is rare and often stigmatized. Encouraging more open exploration of mergers, acquisitions, and shared services could improve outcomes and reduce inefficiencies.
  6. Continuous learning and intentional unlearning are prerequisites for innovation. To be truly innovative, organizations must embed learning practices into their culture — not just as a response to funder evaluation, but as a tool for reflection, iteration, and growth. This includes letting go of legacy practices that no longer serve mission or community.
  7. Building comfort with ambiguity is essential to adaptive leadership. Social impact work exists in complex, evolving ecosystems. Strengthening a team or organization’s capacity to navigate the unknown, rather than seek false certainty, can improve decision-making, creativity, and long-term resilience.

Five Minutes with… Bonterra

Posted on by Brianna Provenzano

Amidst stagnating rates of charitable giving and volunteering in the U.S., Bonterra — a software company focused on helping nonprofits, foundations, corporations, and beyond scale their impact — has a mission to boost giving and volunteerism to 3% of U.S. GDP by 2033. So, they took a fresh approach to Bonterra’s annual impact report. Developed in partnership with NationSwell, the 2025 Impact Report gives Bonterra’s customers actionable insights on how to empower the “Generosity Generation”: a cross-generational community empowered by technology to unlock time and dollars, in order to increase giving and drive the impact they want to see in the world.

For this installment of Five Minutes With, NationSwell spoke with three key Bonterra leaders to unpack the report’s insights: Ben Miller, SVP of data science and analytics; Kimberly O’Donnell, chief fundraising officer; and Sara Kleinsmith, principal strategist for thought leadership and corporate messaging.

“Collaborating with Bonterra to create their new Impact Report was an inspiring challenge,” said Amy Lee, Chief Strategy Officer at NationSwell. “We worked very closely with Ben, Sara and their team to push beyond standard insights. Bonterra has a wealth of smart insights from its products and relationships, and we wanted to make sure that whatever we included was data-driven, forward-looking and on target for the goal to catalyse a new Generosity Generation.”

We asked the Bonterra team how they blended proprietary data with powerful storytelling to create a tool that goes beyond standard, backward-looking reporting — serving instead as a strategic blueprint for how organizations can rethink, revamp, and re-energize their entire approach to impact with intentionality and inspiration at its core. 

Here’s what they had to say:

NationSwell: Tell us a little bit about what you set out to accomplish with this report. What were your initial goals, and how did they evolve?

Ben Miller, Bonterra: One thing we know about movements is that they aren’t a start and stop experience — they’re ongoing. So when we sat down to think about creating this report, we did it through the lens of building the “Generosity Generation” — a multi-age community of donors, volunteers, funders, and nonprofit leaders that gets activated with the help of technology to respond to crises faster; build lasting relationships; and overcome all of the barriers that have caused charitable giving and volunteering in the US to remain stuck at 2.5% of GDP for over 50 years.

In a way that mirrors what our technology is designed to do, we wanted to create a report that could deliver insights in a faster, more personalized way, and that was an important framework adjustment that served us well. We didn’t spend as much time as we had in the past focusing on the tallies and the totals (although they are still there in the report to substantiate our findings) — we wanted to dive right in. We also added an interactive tool that allows organizations to benchmark themselves against other organizations. 

NationSwell: How did Bonterra’s proprietary data play a role in shaping the report?

Ben Miller, Bonterra: One of our huge strengths is that we have a true data science team, not just data marketing folks. Logan, our chief marketing data analyst, constantly pushed back, saying “there’s nothing here” or “this isn’t strong enough,” and as a result we discarded a lot of findings. You might not see it at first glance, but the analysis was thorough. We only included insights that were statistically sound and actionable. A lot of reports don’t go that deep, but our team basically operates like scientists.

Existing data tells us that only 19.4% of donors give a second gift, but our finding was that once they do, they’re far more likely to stick around. That first 90 days is absolutely critical, but there are also folks who give way later — giving up entirely will likely not serve you in the long run. We also saw that about 10% of donors give after more than a year. So even if someone doesn’t respond in that first 90 days, it doesn’t mean they’re gone; you just have to treat them differently.

Sara Kleinsmith, Bonterra: That ties into another data point: 63% of nonprofits stop after one rejected grant application, but on average it takes 1.24 tries to get funded. So many organizations are missing the chance to go back, learn, refine, and try again. Fundraising is evolving, and there’s a real opportunity in persistence and learning from the first “no.”

Ben Miller, Bonterra: Data shows that only 53% of people trust nonprofits — the lowest that trust has ever been, which is a huge issue. But our research shows that you can use digital to help restore some of the trust and humanity that’s been lost over the years. We saw it in disaster response in particular: people were ready to engage, and digital tools helped nonprofits meet that urgency. So it’s not just about maximizing each channel, it’s about using those channels to build relationships. That’s the core insight: digital doesn’t have to mean disconnected — it can actually bring people closer, if we’re intentional.

NationSwell: What were the internal conversations like on how to strike the right balance between qualitative and quantitative storytelling?

Sara Kleinsmith, Bonterra: We’ve done a lot of customer stories and case studies, so we had strong qualitative storytelling to draw from — our customers at Bonterra have incredible missions and impact. The challenge was linking those stories to the data.

One way we did that was during a recent webinar, when we matched our customers to specific data points and asked them to speak to the proof we wanted to showcase. It became a kind of matching exercise — pairing the mission, the people, and their challenges, like burnout or federal funding cuts, with the insights from Ben’s team. From there, we asked: which customers can speak to this? How is Bonterra helping solve these problems?

Ben Miller, Bonterra: Instead of starting with who we knew and pulling from what was available, we started with the data: who’s doing X really well? Then we went out to those organizations and asked if they’d share their stories. That led to fantastic case studies.

Kimberly O’Donnell, Bonterra: Most impact reports rely on examples people already know are good. What we did was different — we had enough breadth to ask: who’s doing this best, why, and what’s the “secret sauce”? What makes a fundraising campaign or grant program truly transformational?

NationSwell: What were some of the lessons you learned in putting this report together — were there any unexpected obstacles or challenges? How did NationSwell help you to meet those challenges?

Ben Miller, Bonterra: One of the toughest parts was wanting the data to tell the story while also realizing that waiting on the data meant risking not having enough time. We had to pivot together as insights emerged. We’d spot something interesting, ask, “Is there more here?” and then look for supporting organizations.

It was also challenging because we were rigorous. We reviewed the data four or five times, and sometimes had to revise earlier numbers. That could’ve created confusion or mistrust, but instead it fostered transparency and a shared commitment to getting it right.

Internally, we all understood we were working toward something meaningful, and NationSwell played a huge role — the team didn’t push us down a rigid path, they were flexible and helped us shape the right story as the right data came in.

Sara Kleinsmith, Bonterra: We kept revisiting: what comes first, the data or the narrative? At one point, we were curious about generational giving — Gen Z, millennials, boomers, Gen X — who’s giving the most, who should we be reaching? But it was hard to chart that internally. Then Ben had this great idea: instead of age, what if we looked at impact maturity — where someone is on their giving journey? Are they a first-time donor or a lifelong giver?

That shift reframed everything. Rather than focusing on age, we began thinking in terms of giving readiness. It made the concept of the “Generosity Generation” more inclusive — a multi-generational group of givers and doers, each with different motivations and maturity levels.

It felt like a win — something that came out of a shared insight between us, NationSwell, and Ben’s framing. Generational labels can be reductive, but generosity spans all ages. This unlock helped us to better meet people where they are in their giving life.

NationSwell: Based on the report’s insights, what are your call-ins for our membership community when it comes to charitable giving? What feels most important for them to take away from this report?

Kimberly O’Donnell, Bonterra: Our call to action is to digest the data — there are six key takeaways, some relevant to nonprofits, others to funders and corporate partners. Think critically about how your practices compare, and how you might adopt or adapt based on what the findings show.

Sara Kleinsmith, Bonterra: And for anyone creating thought leadership or content — especially those reaching donors, partners, or investors — we’re at a critical point in how we work with AI. Writers, marketers, and creators need to be transparent: How are you using AI? How are you using human creativity alongside it? Customers, donors, and volunteers want to understand that balance. It’s evolving fast, and being clear and thoughtful about it positions you as a leader, no matter your sector.

Kimberly O’Donnell, Bonterra: That ties into how we delivered this impact report — it’s unique. If you’re advising others on their own reports, show how each takeaway connects directly to your audiences in digestible ways. It’s not just about showcasing big impact or good stories. What are the three to six insights you want readers to remember?

Ben Miller, Bonterra: Our big goal is 3% by 2033. We can’t get there alone — we’ll need everyone to contribute. If you’re part of the NationSwell community, join us. Even a 2% improvement across your network, your organization, your campaigns — it all adds up. That’s how we hit the goal: through collective action and shared best practices. That’s what the Generosity Generation is about.

How organizations structure for social good

Posted on by Brianna Provenzano

On June 11, NationSwell convened a braintrust for members to dig into some of the most important currents shaping team and role structure and some of the organizational models that can help to support and sustain impact work.

Some of the key insights from the event appear below:

Key takeaways

Structure and reporting lines vary widely based on organizational strategy and maturity. Where impact teams report can depend on the maturity and strategic goals of the program, and reporting lines may need to evolve over time. Social impact and sustainability are often separate functions, reporting into different parts of the company (e.g., COO, operations, HR, or marketing). Placement of the function (e.g., under CLO, HR, or comms) often depends on program maturity and whether the organization is people-first, compliance-driven, or brand-focused. Several leaders reflected that reporting into HR, for example, enabled more access to talent systems, while legal provided early structural rigor.

Team composition trends toward generalists with both strategic and operational skills. Many teams are small, averaging around 8 to 10 people, and rely on generalists. Leaders expect individuals to handle a full range of activities: strategy, partnerships, metrics, and implementation. There’s a strong emphasis on hiring people who are both strategic thinkers and capable of hands-on work (e.g., activating events). 

Embedding impact within business strategy strengthens staying power. Teams that align their work with core business priorities, such as talent, compliance, or innovation, are better positioned to access resources and avoid being viewed as a cost center. One leader noted aligning with workforce development helped justify programming.

Use cross-functional councils to build shared ownership. Internal councils are an effective tool for grounding impact goals across the organization. These groups are organized around key strategic pillars and bring together employees from a range of departments who touch the work in different ways. Participation is encouraged to contribute insights, share progress, and help connect the dots across business units. 

“Do more with less:” empower local champions to scale impact. Explore models that extend reach without growing headcount. Consider activating employee “ambassadors” or “champions” to lead local efforts, particularly in geographies where dedicated impact staff are not present. These roles are typically voluntary but treated as extensions of the core team. To support them, some organizations create toolkits with pre-vetted nonprofit partners, templated event ideas, and communications materials. Others align local efforts with broader impact pillars, encouraging flexibility while maintaining cohesion. 

Community-centered approaches are replacing top-down models. In terms of programming, local activation and place-based work is increasingly common, accompanying a shift from models that “swoop in with solutions” toward ones that listen to and co-create with communities. Companies often prioritize impact in communities where they operate, reinforcing brand values while allowing tailored, responsive programming. 

Metrics and measurement are growing priorities, but still a challenge. There was wide agreement that impact teams are increasingly expected to deliver meaningful metrics, not just stories. Yet many leaders indicated that capacity or clarity around measurement remains uneven.

Navigating and Adapting to a Changing Landscape

Posted on by Brianna Provenzano

Non-profit leaders are navigating mounting challenges — from funding freezes to attacks on the language they use and the communities they serve — and the need for space to regroup and strategize has never been more urgent.

On May 28, NationSwell convened a group of peer leaders for a candid discussion about how we can be nimble and effective in a swiftly evolving landscape.

Some key insights from the discussion appear below:

Key takeaways:

  • Adopt short-term pragmatism while planning for long-term resilience. Rather than framing strategy around long-term organizational sustainability, several leaders are focusing on short-term adaptability, emphasizing nimble pivots, warm lead cultivation, and realistic budgeting. 
  • Bridge the gap between funder caution and nonprofit urgency. A disconnect persists between what nonprofits need (e.g. more capital, more flexibility) and what funders are offering (e.g. deliberate, slower-moving strategies). Bridging this chasm requires coordinated field-wide messaging, funder education, and intermediaries that can facilitate solution-oriented discussion. 
  • Prioritize transparency and grounded leadership. Executives emphasized the importance of open, honest communication, both within leadership circles and with staff. Being clear about what is known and unknown, while modeling vulnerability, has helped maintain trust, particularly in moments of organizational or funding instability.
  • Normalize nonprofit consolidations and shared infrastructure. In a financially constrained and uncertain landscape, nonprofit leaders are proactively exploring mergers, acquisitions, and structural partnerships. This moment presents an opportunity for funders to support responsible consolidation efforts and shared services that streamline operations and extend impact. 
  • Rethink donor engagement strategies. Leaders are seeing success with listening tours, reframing proposals in response to donor constraints, and rebalancing toward more place-based, community-anchored approaches. These methods help preserve key relationships and open doors for new partnerships.
  • Invest in leadership development as a resilience mechanism. The field is confronting a dual crisis: external funding threats and leadership fatigue. Now is a critical time to support succession planning and mentorship across generations, particularly for rising leaders managing back-to-back shocks early in their careers.
  • Use values alignment as a stabilizing force. Organizations are returning to their core values to navigate ambiguity, realign priorities, and avoid mission drift. Reaffirming organizational identity, especially when facing funding restrictions on identity-centered language, anchors staff morale.
  • Recognize and respond to the emotional toll of continuous crisis. Nonprofit leaders likened the current environment to the early pandemic, marked by confusion, fatigue, and emotional overload. Strategies like all-staff transparency briefings, mental health weeks, and permission to “tap out” reflect an emerging ethos: institutional survival depends on tending to human needs

Creating Shared Value and a Better Business Case for Impact

Posted on by Brianna Provenzano

The business case for social impact has traditionally leaned on external data and proof points to advance prioritization and resourcing.  But in today’s climate, executive leaders need more than generalized ROI studies — they need impact strategies that directly address their most pressing challenges. How can impact leaders shift the conversation from justification to integration, proving shared value in ways that truly move the business forward?

On May 15th, NationSwell convened leaders for a virtual Leader Roundtable on Creating Shared Value and a Better Business Case for Impact. Some of the most salient takeaways from the discussion appear below.

Takeaways:

Leverage your organization’s core assets to create impact. Programs that deliver both business and social returns often draw on unique corporate capabilities—such as expertise, data, technology, or logistics—to create value in the marketplace while also addressing societal needs. These asset-driven approaches tend to be more durable and scalable than philanthropic giving alone.Taking an asset-driven approach creates an important and inherent link between your impact and enterprise goals.

Speak the language of the business In making the case for your impact programs to key stakeholders and executives, it can be helpful to show how they do double duty in addressing the key challenges your business is seeking to address. Pivoting the language you use when addressing these stakeholders to include more of the metrics and terms they use in their day-to-day — (ie. how programs are creating volume growth, etc.) can also be helpful in making the business case for impact.

Don’t underestimate storytelling when seeking buy-in or equipping leaders to convey your impact. One leader shared that using a mix of ROI metrics and storytelling has been most effective in conveying impact to key stakeholders. Stories can help to personalize the work in a way that makes it easier to understand than the raw data, and also helps to provide executives with anecdotes that they can feel proud of and easily convey in forums or at speaking engagements with other leaders.

Hardwire your strategy and goals so they can “outlast the CEO”. In designing with legacy and longevity in mind, ensure that programs have shared ownership and accountability baked in so that no one leader or executive can “take the work with them.” Ensuring that your impact work is well-integrated with larger business goals from the beginning also helps to ensure that it will continue for the long term.

Co-create with the business, not for the business. Successful impact teams work closely with internal business units to design and execute programs. This involves building strong cross-functional relationships, adopting the same performance discipline as the core business, and ensuring shared ownership of outcomes and accountability.

Invest in strategies to engage middle management. Middle managers often control the day-to-day levers that enable or block employee engagement and program execution. Their buy-in is essential, yet frequently overlooked. Unlocking this layer can accelerate adoption and boost program credibility across the organization.

Don’t let perfection stand in the way of progress. Waiting for the ideal set of metrics or a fully formed theory of change can stall good ideas from taking hold. Leaders emphasized the importance of launching early, testing often, and using results to build momentum and iterate.

Anticipate how executives are thinking. Beyond ensuring credibility and demonstrating partnership, regularly engaging with and shadowing business leaders can help you to understand how they’re thinking in ways that allow you to be more intentional about the ways you design and measure your impact programs. Using the same discipline the business is using around operations reviews, setting long-term goals that are business-aligned, and understanding risk tolerance can all help to make the work more resilient. 

Embed your programs in your people strategy. Taking a personal approach to design that’s based on your team’s needs can help to drive employee engagement and create a sense of shared value and purpose. Creating more intentional upskilling or engagement opportunities can help to curb attrition rates, cultivate buy-in, and drive community impact.