In the world of philanthropy, the mission is the priority. But the inescapable reality underpinning a nonprofit’s ability to make a meaningful impact comes down to how much funding is available to drive that impact.
Recognizing this reality is at the core of Greater Good Greenville’s mission as a nonprofit intermediary supporting innovation and capacity-building in the philanthropic community. GGG’s RevUp GVL initiative has been working with a select group of local nonprofits to achieve sustainable funding through earned-income strategies inspired by the for-profit business world.
Faltering funding
The local impact of the national trend in recent years of faltering charitable giving was brought into sharp focus in Greater Good Greenville’s Philanthropic Landscape Survey released in 2024. Among the survey’s findings were the extent to which charitable giving has not kept up with inflation, and that individual giving represents a largely untapped funding source for the area’s nonprofits.
Federal funding cuts have exacerbated the challenge in the year since the survey’s release. This has added urgency to the push among philanthropic organizations to reevaluate funding models and explore ways to generate sustainable revenue.
With the support of the Helga Marston Foundation, GGG partnered with 20 Degrees, a Washington, D.C.-based consultancy known for helping mission-driven organizations develop earned-revenue strategies, to launch RevUp GVL in June. The five competitively chosen nonprofits in the pilot group — Loaves & Fishes, Conestee Nature Preserve, TreesUpstate, CommunityWorks and BrotherBox — have gone through an extensive process evaluating their funding models and exploring ways they can implement earned-income strategies.
“I feel like the process that we’ve gone through in the past four to five months has been really helpful in crystallizing opportunities and possibilities to create revenue that won’t come from the philanthropic side of our organization,” said Taylor Culliver, founder of BrotherBox, a nonprofit dedicated to encouraging, mentoring and empowering young Black men.
Like many of the other nonprofit leaders taking part in the program, Culliver said the experience has given him a tremendous sense of optimism and confidence.
Entrepreneurial inspiration
Some of that optimism stems from the RevUp GVL training to help nonprofit leaders adopt more of an entrepreneurial mindset in thinking about how the financial balance sheet drives the organization’s ability to achieve maximum impact.
As 20 Degrees Social Finance Director Derek Nunner explained, the concept in the for-profit world of revenue as a benchmark for success has applications in the philanthropic world. For nonprofits, revenue is not the end goal but the necessary “fuel” that drives the mission.
This shift in mindset also recasts the role of philanthropic supporters from donors to investment partners who have a financial as well as philosophical stake in the organization’s success.
Adopting a new mindset about what sustainable funding looks like for nonprofits can be intimidating according to Aaron Davis, TreesUpstate executive director.
“It’s a scary thing for a nonprofit to think about an earned-revenue line,” he said.
But realizing how earned revenue can add stability that can counterbalance the ups and downs of charitable giving takes away some of that fear and opens new avenues of more effective, lasting community impact, he said. Culliver also said the stability of developing earned-revenue funding sends a powerful signal to traditional donors, investors and community partners.
“Ultimately, I think a lot of this work is about de-risking the organization,” he said. “How do we make the organizations meant to serve people more resilient?”
Part of that is tapping into the talent and resources already within the organization.
For Conestee Nature Preserve Executive Director Erin Knight, this has meant casting a new eye on the organization’s talent and assets. Like the other pilot nonprofit leaders in the RevUp GVL program, she and her team realized untapped revenue-generating potential was already present in the organization.
Power of the pitch
Awakening that realization within the nonprofits and their leadership teams has been central to what the RevUp GVL initiative is all about.
“It’s all about empowering impact,” said Paola Bonilla, 20 Degrees social finance senior manager.
In November, the program culminated in a pitch event where each of the five nonprofits unveiled their earned-revenue ventures to potential investors, donors and community partners. Each of the organizations worked with a team from NextGEN, Greenville’s preeminent entrepreneurial and startup support organization, to hone their skills in pitching to potential funders.
This collaboration between the nonprofit and entrepreneurial communities sets Greenville apart and points the way forward for philanthropic organizations all over the country to partner with and draw inspiration from the corporate world, Nunner said.
“Greenville is really an exemplar” of what can be achieved, he said.
For more information about the five RevUp GVL nonprofits and their earned-revenue ventures, visit greatergoodgreenville.org/revup-gvl-revenue-for-good
Nonprofits taking part in RevUp GVL
- Loaves & Fishes — Dedicated to combating hunger by rescuing and redistributing food that would otherwise go to waste.
- Conestee Nature Preserve — Demonstrating environmental stewardship and creating opportunities for meaningful connection, discovery and education in nature.
- TreesUpstate — Nurturing a healthy environment through planting, promoting and protecting trees in the Upstate.
- CommunityWorks — Creating a brighter future for financially underserved people and places by providing financial products and services to build wealth.
- BrotherBox — Inspiring young Black men to dream big and embrace their authentic selves by providing support, guidance and encouragement.
