Partnerships

We help funders become the partners nonprofits dream of

Here to help you practice philanthropy with humility, our seasoned team has expertise with a myriad of issue areas, funders, and nonprofits. We’re aligned, adept, and have a broad set of know-how to support funders to center nonprofits and communities--especially the people who create and nurture them.

WHO WE ARE

Hi, we’re Jocelyn and Jessamyn 👋🏻👋
Our partnership has clocked thousands of hours building out our individual expertise and thousands more working together. We know our stuff, and each other, inside out. Between us, we’ve spent over 35 years working for both funding and nonprofit orgs, experiencing firsthand what helps partnerships work well, and what gets in the way.
You can learn more about Jocelyn’s experience and backgrounds here, and Jessamyn’s here.
We support people working in philanthropy. People who see their work as being directly in service of nonprofits and communities. Those who are trying to share power and create systems of repair –’unicorns’, as Vu Le referred to them.
We provide services with care. We know the unusual challenge it is to work at the crossroads of extreme wealth and poverty, foundation board meetings and ever evolving communities.
Building on the book we co-wrote and published, ‘Unicorns Unite: How Nonprofits & Foundations Can Build EPIC Partnerships’ (hat tip to co-authors Jane Leu and Vu Le), and the values we promoted through it, we approach everything we do by acknowledging the power dynamics inherent in the relationships between fundraisers and funders. We never shy away from talking about serious topics but do so in a lighter, creative, and digestible way.
We provide a cross of philanthropy insider experience and independent distance. We can say the thing that might be too risky for you to speak out loud. And all along the way we’ll support you to move from discussion to action.
Injustice and harm are abundant in the world. They can also be contributed to and exacerbated by philanthropy–the very activity that says it loves humanity. We have worked within philanthropy and understand how it upholds power and wealth disparity, mirroring unjust systems that hold down marginalized people.
We live in a world where money determines your quality of life. But we believe philanthropy has the potential to change this.
Philanthropy can be, through its primary asset of money, a ‘right’ to address ‘wrongs’ through wealth redistribution. It can be a form of repair for past and present systemic harm. Philanthropy can be a source of hope. It can be a more joyful activity for all involved.
It’s our responsibility to make it so–and we believe we can. We know many others feel similarly and are doing incredible work to change the tide.

our core services

Listening to your nonprofits

Cut through power dynamics to listen deeply to grantees and act on their feedback. Our specially designed interview protocol creates safety and trust to gather honest, deep insights of appreciation, frustration, and possibility. Insights are captured in a ‘Common Knowledge’ report, around which we facilitate ongoing action-identifying discussions between your team and grantees.

Strengthening your nonprofits

The most effective philanthropy invests not only in programs but in the overall health of the organizations holding the work. Capacity building that your nonprofit teams actually want and use strengthens their organizations while helping you achieve deeper, more sustainable outcomes. Our approach prioritizes nonprofit voices from the beginning.

And plenty more

philanthropy insider coaching

Are you a foundation executive, director, or portfolio leader advocating for change and wanting to grow, or heal, or be championed? We create a safe place where you can be completely honest, find caring support, and receive coaching to build power in your role on behalf of your grantees. As people who’ve been in your shoes, we’re here for you every step of the way in our 1:1 coaching service.

We also provide:

trust-based philanthropy design & implementation
wellbeing support design and implementation for your grantees
temporary foundation executive/senior management cover
facilitated foundation board conversations on reacting to change, crises, and an unpredictable world
curriculum and learning experience design and facilitation for foundation board members
design and facilitation of funder collaboratives
Unicorns Unite workshops for funders and/or nonprofits
one-off philanthropy-fun, imagination-boosting funder team sessions

Let us know what your challenge is and together we’ll figure out if our expertise, creativity, and unicorn joy might be useful to your team!