About this collection: This Content Collection offers resources and case studies on how to transform your small gift into big impact.
The great American writer Vernor Vinge once said, “Even the largest avalanche is triggered by small things.” What Vernor is saying is that even the smallest things can be hugely impactful. There are so many colloquialisms for this truth in the English lexicon: ripple, domino, snowball, chain reaction, the parable of the mustard seed, etc. As a grantmaker, no matter how small your assets are, you wield the power to make a change. How effective that change is depends on your strategy.
This Content Collection offers resources and case studies on how to transform your small gift into big impact. We found inspiration for this collection in our sponsor and Leadership Circle member, The Leighty Foundation. Started in 1985 by Ike Leighty and his children, The Leighty Foundation has mastered the art of leverage.
One recent $5,000 Leighty Foundation grant exemplifies this fact: Operation Rainbow is a small nonprofit outfit that provides life-changing orthopedic surgeries to impoverished children. While $5,000 may not seem like a lot of money, especially when considering the cost of a minor orthopedic surgery in this country, Operation Rainbow is able to leverage those funds to bring volunteer medical professionals to developing countries and provide 16x the value of the gift in services to impoverished children. Because of this partnership, The Leighty Foundation’s gift will provide 10 surgeries to children in need!
Peruse these resources to learn more about how to leverage your foundation’s grants for major impact. Have your own awesome impact story? NCFP wants to hear it! Share it with us here.
