We apply a venture capital approach to find, fund, and support early-stage nonprofits that hold great promise for impact at scale.
How We Do It
We identify “Diamonds in the Rough,” or early-stage nonprofits, with the potential for “hockey stick growth.” This means established nonprofits, with innovative models, positioned for large-scale impact in the five drivers we believe directly impact an individual’s ability to achieve Financial Freedom: Health, Education, Housing, Work, and Money.
We provide these exceptional organizations with a $300,000 unrestricted grant, delivered as $100,000 annually, during each of the three years of our formal engagement.
This funding is intended for organizations between one and ten years old, that are navigating the transition from successful startups to established changemakers. By creating a strong foundation for the future, ImpactFool (IF) Nonprofits can confidently embrace growth opportunities and realize their true potential to deliver maximum impact at scale.
We provide each organization with an IF Scaling Partner: a member of our team with deep expertise in nonprofit management and social impact. The IF Scaling Partner gets hands-on, working with the chosen nonprofit’s leadership to meet identified needs with expertise from The Motley Fool staff, members, and outside experts.
What We Look for In An ImpactFool Nonprofit
- An early-stage nonprofit, probably founder-led (but not necessarily)
- Great potential for large-scale impact
- Focused on helping individuals, who live paycheck to paycheck, take their next step toward Financial Freedom
- Deploys an innovative approach to addressing systemic challenges
Our Selection Criteria
We aim to select organizations that generally have the following qualities. We will consider all great organizations and evaluate each one independently.
The Organization
Is a US-based 501c3 nonprofit that can provide:
- Their most recent 990
- Proof of exempt status
- The last two years of audited financials
Is delivering programs specifically focused on Americans living paycheck to paycheck
- (1) health, (2) education, (3) housing, (4) work, and (5) money
- Delivers programs specifically focused on Americans living paycheck to paycheck
Has 1-10 years of operating history with:
- An annual budget of over $1M (NOTE: We will prioritize nonprofits with budgets of $1,000,000 to $3,000,000, but welcome larger organizations as well.)
- An articulated model for measuring impact
Is built on an innovative idea, which can be demonstrated by one or more of the following:
- Improves or builds upon an existing service model
- Introduces an existing model into a new context
- Challenges assumptions and tests out new approaches
Has a scalable business model proven by one or more of the following:
- Potential to expand existing offerings and/or grow to new geographies
- Potential for other organizations to adopt the model
- Potential to integrate with other organizations
The Nonprofit’s Leader
An expert on the issue who is close to the community they serve, and:
- Has a deep conviction and passion for the issue they committed to addressing.
- Is aligned with the Fool values of collaboration, innovation, competitiveness, and honesty.
- Is eager to be part of a cohort of peers to share knowledge, best practices, and lessons learned.
