Paving a New Philanthropic Path
Chicago non-profit, Lever for Change, is making charitable giving bigger and better - and it means some new nonprofits you've never heard of are getting a chance to actually change the world for the better. Their new framework is working: LFC hit a major and rare milestone, reaching its goal of facilitating $1 billion dollars in philanthropic grants in just four years (2019-2023) - ahead of schedule.
An affiliate of the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, LFC is a social impact accelerator aimed at shaking up the world of grant giving with epic, customized challenges to find and fund bold solutions from a wide array of creative thinkers, many of whom have been historically marginalized or underrepresented in the world of grant-giving. Lever for Change has developed and managed customized challenges on behalf of a variety of funders and their advisors—from high-profile donors including Pivotal Ventures (Melinda French Gates’ investment and incubation company) to institutional funders like the W.K. Kellogg Foundation, corporate funders such as the LEGO Foundation, and philanthropic advisors as well as new and anonymous donors.
Grants have supported and helped develop organizations solving some of the world’s biggest problems. Efforts include helping 10 million Texans gain access to mental health care, supplying 26,000 pounds of food yearly to West and South side Chicago neighborhoods, supporting 13,000+ diverse adult job seekers interested in tech careers in U.S. urban communities, helping 20,640 new entrepreneurs in Uganda and Ethiopia establish businesses, $90 million to five groups to advance racial equity worldwide, providing support to 1 million refugees in 10 different countries and much, much more.
LFC connects high net-worth donors and institutions with creative thinkers, facilitating large-scale grants that are far bigger than what’s typical in the world of philanthropy and dispensed to a diverse, new group of recipients at a speed that’s much faster than typical.
Contact us to speak to Lever for Change CEO Cecilia Conrad, PhD. She is the dynamic CEO behind a $1 Billion shake up of philanthropy. As one the few Black women to hold that title in the US right now - she also brings a fresh perspective to discussions about business, wealth, social impact investing and philanthropy, especially as it relates to equity, race, gender, climate change, economic development and more.