Instead of our usual process — waiting for nonprofit organizations to approach us with their needs and ask for a grant — we initiated conversations to learn from those on the ground about the challenges our neighbors face. We brought nonprofit leaders together to find ways that they could collaborate for greater impact. The leaders of these organizations innovated together, thinking beyond their own organizations’ difficulties, and focusing on how to meet the challenges at hand that are impacting people’s lives.

In the hunger relief arena, for example, it might have been natural for Hunger Solutions to ask for funding for more food shelves. Instead, we agreed on a different investment — the creation of a statewide help line that refers people to emergency food resources and screens their eligibility for food support. The addition of this new infrastructure will bring Hunger Solutions together with other hunger relief agencies to help many more people.

Pioneer Press