Our Approach
Elevating Community Brilliance + Expertise
Strategic Goals
This strategy focuses on elevating and supporting the vision, work, and voices of leaders, community members, and smaller early-stage nonprofits that are most aware of and immersed in the current and future needs of children and their families.
Elevate
Voices
Build
Capacity
Strengthen Impact
Diversify Our Approach
P
Supportive Funds + Initiatives
Early-Stage Operations + Planning Fund
The Early-Stage Operations and Planning Fund provides multi-year investments and technical support for emerging 501(c)(3) nonprofits that are vision and mission aligned to the Steelcase Foundation and are focused on driving social change through place-based programming or services. Through a competitive application process, grants of $150,000 over three years are awarded to support strategic and operational planning and to build the infrastructure of their organization. Organizations commit to providing the deliverables identified by the Foundation by the end of the three-year grant period. Since 2022, the Steelcase Foundation has supported two early-stage cohorts, supporting eight nonprofits.
Photo courtesy of our friends at Boys + Girls Club of North Alabama
Early-Stage Operations + Planning Fund
The Early-Stage Operations and Planning Fund provides multi-year investments and technical support for new and emerging nonprofit 501(c)(3) organizations that are vision and mission aligned with the Steelcase Foundation and are focused on driving social change through place-based programming or services. Through a competitive application process, applicants are invited to request grants of up to $150,000 over three years to support strategic and operational planning and to build the infrastructure of their organization. Organizations commit to providing the deliverables identified by the Foundation by the end of the three-year grant period.
Brilliant Leaders Fellowship
Brilliant Leaders invests in the professional development and social and emotional growth of local community nonprofit leaders to elevate their voices, power, and impact, and to support the mutual goals of navigating and transforming systems. This initiative addresses the need for emerging nonprofit leaders to have time and structured opportunities to learn outside of their day-to-day work environments, build supportive relationships with systems and community leaders, reflect on their work and purpose, and re-energize from the emotionally heavy work they do. The inaugural cohort of the Brilliant Leaders Fellowship launched in fall of 2023 and a second cohort will launch in spring of 2025.
