Anna Taylor
Culture of Bandwidth

n our work with early-stage nonprofits, we see the same pattern again and again. Founders are committed and capable. The work is real. Progress is real, yet things feel harder than they should.

What usually isn’t missing is vision or effort. It’s bandwidth.

Bandwidth is the breathing room to make sound decisions about what matters most. Without it, organizations get stuck reacting rather than building, making growth harder to sustain.

That’s why, in 2026, we’re centering our work around what we’re calling a Culture of Bandwidth.

By that, we don’t mean self-care as a personal responsibility or productivity systems designed to squeeze more out of already overstretched leaders. We mean something more structural. A Culture of Bandwidth shows up in how work is designed and how capacity is built over time. It’s about creating conditions where mission-driven work can last.

Anna Taylor
The Power of Monthly Giving

If you're looking for the most effective way to support nonprofits, especially those just getting started, monthly giving is a game-changer. It's not just about convenience; it's about creating sustained, meaningful impact for organizations working hard to grow with limited resources.

Why Monthly Giving Matters for Nonprofits

Monthly donations provide predictable income, allowing nonprofits to plan ahead, budget wisely, and invest in programs that create real change. For early-stage nonprofits, that kind of stability can be transformational. Many of these organizations are led by passionate founders doing the work themselves, often without dedicated fundraising staff. They’re juggling service delivery, operations, and growth, so every dollar that doesn’t have to be spent on fundraising counts.

That’s where monthly donors come in.

Anna Taylor
Fueling Nonprofit Growth: Highlights from the ...

The need for bold, innovative solutions has never been greater. We’re constantly inspired by the nonprofit leaders we support—big thinkers tackling big challenges in education, healthcare, social justice, and more.

Our programs give early-stage nonprofits the funding, mentorship, and expert connections they need to grow. While pitch competitions and matching gifts make a splash, alumni gain significant strategic support from the incubator and alumni programs.

founder story, spotlight
Mindy Ong
Cultivating a Healing Movement Through ...

Heroic Gardens is a nonprofit that provides free gardening services to U.S. veterans in Philadelphia and the surrounding suburbs of Pennsylvania, Northern Delaware and South Jersey. It also operates a virtual program in 24 states, including Alaska and Hawaii. Founder Collie Turner shares her story behind its creation and the lessons learned along the way.

The seeds for Heroic Gardens were planted many years ago, somewhat unexpectedly. While caring for her grandmother, Collie discovered that her grandfather’s military death benefits had never been claimed. After a frustrating three-year journey of navigating the VA system, she met a local veteran who took time out of her regular role helping veterans secure housing, to help get her grandmother’s application reviewed and approved. This woman’s kindness sparked a question in Collie’s mind: How can I give back?

Cultivating a Healing Movement Through Horticulture
Anna Taylor
Dr. Kristin Joys on Nonprofit Internships

In her role as the Director of Social Impact & Sustainability at UF’s Warrington College of Business, Dr. Kristin Joys has connected us with MANY of Greater Sum’s most cherished interns. When we gathered to discuss internships earlier this summer, she shared some tips for successful, meaningful experiences with interns. Dr. Joys has given permission for us to share them more broadly here.

Forget Shark Tank: A Better Way to Pitch Your Nonprofit

Nonprofit founders are no strangers to the world of accelerators and pitch competitions. The appeal is clear: a chance for exposure, expert feedback, and the potential for vital funding. However, many founders quickly find that traditional pitch models—often designed with Silicon Valley startups in mind—don't always translate to the unique world of social impact.

In a typical startup competition, the focus is often on rapid scale and "exit strategies." But for a nonprofit, "scaling" is more collaborative - you can spread your methods via partnerships, curriculum, chapters, and advocacy. You shouldn't have to choose between rapid growth and your organization's core values.

That’s why The Greater Sum created a different kind of experience.

5 Things Nonprofit Founders Get Wrong

What trips up many new organizations isn’t lack of passion or vision. It’s capacity.

A nonprofit is a mission-driven organization, but it still operates within real constraints. Compliance, technology, staffing, liability, accounting, and visibility all matter alongside program delivery. When those systems are underbuilt or tackled all at once by one person, progress slows and strain builds even when the mission is strong.

Across dozens of early-stage nonprofits, we see the same areas creating pressure again and again. The difference between organizations that stabilize and those that stall often comes down to how and when these pieces are put in place.

Wrapping Up the 2025 Promising Practices Accelerator

Wrapping Up the 2025 Promising Practices Accelerator

As we wrap up the 2025 Promising Practices Accelerator, I want to pause and reflect on what this cohort accomplished and why it matters.

Together, participating organizations raised $22,770 in individual donations, unlocking $18,600 in matching funds. Some organizations met the full $5,000 match, some exceeded it, and others landed below it. All of them strengthened their fundraising practice, which is the real point of this work.

Culture of Bandwidth

n our work with early-stage nonprofits, we see the same pattern again and again. Founders are committed and capable. The work is real. Progress is real, yet things feel harder than they should.

What usually isn’t missing is vision or effort. It’s bandwidth.

Bandwidth is the breathing room to make sound decisions about what matters most. Without it, organizations get stuck reacting rather than building, making growth harder to sustain.

That’s why, in 2026, we’re centering our work around what we’re calling a Culture of Bandwidth.

By that, we don’t mean self-care as a personal responsibility or productivity systems designed to squeeze more out of already overstretched leaders. We mean something more structural. A Culture of Bandwidth shows up in how work is designed and how capacity is built over time. It’s about creating conditions where mission-driven work can last.

The Overhead Myth Exposed: How to Give Smarter

As we enter giving season, let’s put to rest one of the most toxic myths plaguing the nonprofit sector. For years, donors have been told to watch how much a nonprofit “spends on overhead” as if that one number tells the whole story. It doesn’t. In fact, this idea has done real damage to the sector. Nonprofits need more than good intentions; they need strong systems, fair pay, and room to grow. That takes overhead.

At Greater Sum, we work with early-stage nonprofits that are building toward long-term impact. And we see it all the time: the most thoughtful, scrappy organizations get penalized for investing in infrastructure, even though that’s exactly what they need to thrive.

Starting and Pitching Your Nonprofit: Two Courses on Weave’s New Learning Center

If you’ve ever thought about starting a nonprofit or wondered how to pitch your nonprofit to funders and supporters, The Greater Sum Foundation has two practical courses available on the new Weave Learning Center for community builders and changemakers across the country.

The Starting a Nonprofit course covers what founders wish they had known before getting started: how to move from vision to structure and how to make decisions that set your organization up for long-term success. It’s designed for people who are already taking action in their communities and want to build something lasting.

The Pitching Your Nonprofit course draws on The Greater Sum’s expertise helping early-stage organizations tell their story with clarity and confidence. You’ll learn how to craft a concise, compelling message that resonates with funders, donors, and partners, whether you’re applying for a grant, presenting at a community event, or making your first fundraising ask.

“We appreciate the opportunity to share these courses with a wider audience of weavers,” said Anna Taylor, Executive Director of The Greater Sum Foundation. “Our hope is to meet people earlier in their nonprofit founder journey—when ideas are forming, energy is high, and a little practical guidance can make a big difference.”

The courses are hosted in the Weaving Us community, a national network of “weavers” who are strengthening the fabric of trust where they live. Inside the Learning Center, you’ll find resources created by practitioners, opportunities to learn alongside peers, and upcoming live workshops where you can earn badges for your progress.

Join us in the Weaving Us community to access the courses and connect with others who are building nonprofits and strengthening their communities

Build Your Fundraising Dream Team (Part 2)

In Part 1 , we outlined where volunteers can make a meaningful contribution to your fundraising efforts:prospecting, messaging, making the ask, stewardship, and more. Now let’s talk about how to bring them in, equip them, and keep them energized along the way.

Because volunteers aren’t just looking for a task; they’re looking for purpose. Recruiting fundraising volunteers is much like inviting donors to give: you're asking them to invest their time and skills to help unlock the organization’s next level of impact. When people understand how their contribution fuels the mission, they’re far more likely to say yes… and stay engaged.

Build Your Fundraising Dream Team (Part 1)

Fundraising works best when it isn’t a solo job. One person trying to handle everything from prospecting and outreach to events and stewardship can only carry it so far. Building a volunteer fundraising team helps spread the workload, expand your reach, and bring new energy and ownership to your mission.

This two-part series walks through how to build that team. In Part 1, we’ll break down the key roles volunteers can play across your fundraising efforts. In Part 2, we’ll share how to recruit the right people, match them to roles, and keep them engaged along the way.

Greater Sum’s Virtual Incubator for Nonprofits

why our virtual incubator focuses on money and storytelling

At The Greater Sum, we’ve learned that two skills matter most in the early years of running a nonprofit: financial strategy and storytelling. Why? Because your key task as a start-up nonprofit is getting other people on board. You need them to understand what it takes to do the work. And you need them excited enough to commit to supporting it.

That’s why our virtual incubator for nonprofits focuses on fundraising strategy and nonprofit storytelling. You’ve got to be comfortable and confident talking about money—how much you have, how much you need, and what you’ll do with it. And you need to tell your story clearly so potential funders, partners, and volunteers see the value of investing in your mission.

In this video, you’ll hear from Executive Director Anna Taylor how our virtual incubator program helps leaders strengthen those skills and build real capacity for growth:

The Greater Sum’s virtual incubator is free, fully online, and designed for start-up nonprofits that are already doing the work and ready to grow. You can find the 2026 program dates on our Incubator page.

The Grant Scorecard Your Nonprofit Can Actually Use

When resources are limited, the smartest move isn’t chasing every grant; it’s focusing on where you’re most likely to succeed. A grant scorecard helps you make those choices with intention, ensuring that the time and energy you invest are aimed at the best opportunities for your mission.

Rather than relying on gut instinct, a scorecard gives you a practical way to weigh which grants are a strong fit and which ones may not justify the effort. It helps you stay strategic, not scattered.

Building a Grants Pipeline from Scratch

Grants can be an important ingredient in your nonprofit’s funding mix, but sustainable funding takes more than throwing spaghetti at the wall and hoping something sticks. Submitting a few applications here and there might land you a win once in a while, but real, long-term success comes from building a system: a grant pipeline.

A strong pipeline helps you plan ahead, pace your workload, and stay focused on the funders most likely to support your work. It keeps your opportunities simmering at different stages, so you’re not constantly starting from scratch or rushing to meet a deadline at the last minute.

The Power of Monthly Giving

If you're looking for the most effective way to support nonprofits, especially those just getting started, monthly giving is a game-changer. It's not just about convenience; it's about creating sustained, meaningful impact for organizations working hard to grow with limited resources.

Why Monthly Giving Matters for Nonprofits

Monthly donations provide predictable income, allowing nonprofits to plan ahead, budget wisely, and invest in programs that create real change. For early-stage nonprofits, that kind of stability can be transformational. Many of these organizations are led by passionate founders doing the work themselves, often without dedicated fundraising staff. They’re juggling service delivery, operations, and growth, so every dollar that doesn’t have to be spent on fundraising counts.

That’s where monthly donors come in.

Which Grant Is Actually Worth Your Time?

Grants can be transformational for nonprofits, but only if they're the right fit. With so many options out there, it’s easy to fall into the trap of chasing every opportunity you hear about. The truth is: not every grant is a good use of your limited time.

At The Greater Sum, we help early-stage nonprofits sort through the noise. Here’s a practical framework for deciding which grants are worth pursuing and which ones you can safely set aside.

Nonprofit Jargon Cheat Sheet

If you’re new to grant writing, the language can feel like learning a whole new dialect. Acronyms show up everywhere. Terms get tossed around like everyone already knows what they mean. And honestly? Sometimes even people who've been at this a while still have to double-check.

At The Greater Sum, we believe language shouldn’t be a barrier to funding. So here’s a simple, grant-seeker-friendly guide to the most common terms you’ll run into, roughly in the order you’ll likely meet them.

Fueling Nonprofit Growth: Highlights from the 2024 Annual Report

The need for bold, innovative solutions has never been greater. We’re constantly inspired by the nonprofit leaders we support—big thinkers tackling big challenges in education, healthcare, social justice, and more.

Our programs give early-stage nonprofits the funding, mentorship, and expert connections they need to grow. While pitch competitions and matching gifts make a splash, alumni gain significant strategic support from the incubator and alumni programs.

,

Cultivating a Healing Movement Through Horticulture

,
Cultivating a Healing Movement Through Horticulture

Heroic Gardens is a nonprofit that provides free gardening services to U.S. veterans in Philadelphia and the surrounding suburbs of Pennsylvania, Northern Delaware and South Jersey. It also operates a virtual program in 24 states, including Alaska and Hawaii. Founder Collie Turner shares her story behind its creation and the lessons learned along the way.

The seeds for Heroic Gardens were planted many years ago, somewhat unexpectedly. While caring for her grandmother, Collie discovered that her grandfather’s military death benefits had never been claimed. After a frustrating three-year journey of navigating the VA system, she met a local veteran who took time out of her regular role helping veterans secure housing, to help get her grandmother’s application reviewed and approved. This woman’s kindness sparked a question in Collie’s mind: How can I give back?

Alumni Spotlight: FreeFrom

The Greater Sum supports innovative nonprofits across our focus areas of community, health, education and environment in hopes that these nonprofits will expand and scale. 2020 Alumni organization FreeFrom is changing the conversation about gender-based violence and financial abuse.

Founder Sonya Passi visited Greater Sum’s January board meeting to give an update on how the organization has grown since receiving Greater Sum funding in 2020.

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