Resource library · free toolkits, templates and guides
The practical library for people who build nonprofits
211 really practical toolkits, templates and guides for nonprofit and NGO leaders, and the consultants and funders who support them. A mix of the classics and newer methods.
Suggestions are welcome211 resources · 15 topics · 137 publishers · 197 free to use
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8 resources found
- Search: scaling impact
- 2.5C204
Pathways to Social Impact
A 14-page working paper from Duke's Center for the Advancement of Social Entrepreneurship, later revised for Stanford Social Innovation Review as "Scaling Social Impact". It asks what you are spreading (a programme, an organisation or a set of principles) and how: dissemination, loose to tight affiliation, or branching. Each option is tested against five R's: readiness, receptivity, resources, risk and return. Leaders and funders use its questions to pick a scaling path, including the option to wait.
ClassicShort readFree - 2.5C209
Scaling Pathways: Pivoting to Impact
The opening report in the free Scaling Pathways series. It follows three organisations, Imazon, Evidence Action and VisionSpring, through their scaling journeys: the unit they scaled, the pathways they chose and how they changed course. It then names five common roadblocks, such as scaling without the right people and systems or without metrics and trip wires, with advice for leaders and funders. Teams use it to prepare for scale and expect pivots.
CurrentCase study or exampleFree - 2.5C208
Scaling Out, Scaling Up, Scaling Deep
A free report prepared for the McConnell Foundation and Tamarack Institute, drawn from a decade of the foundation's Applied Dissemination grants and peer learning group. It sets out three ways to spread a social innovation: scaling out to more people and places, scaling up into policy and law, and scaling deep into culture, values and relationships. It shares lessons and strategies from grantees, plus what made the peer learning process work. Teams use it to plan beyond simple replication.
ClassicKey manual or guideFree - 15.1C221
Lean Impact
Ann Mei Chang, former chief innovation officer at USAID and Mercy Corps, adapts lean startup methods to the social sector. The book shows how to test value, growth and impact with small experiments, how to find a model that can reach many more people, and how funders can back this kind of learning. It's full of examples from nonprofits, social enterprises and aid agencies.
ClassicKey manual or guideBook - 2.5C205
Three Questions for Nonprofits That Want to Solve Social Problems at Scale
A free Bridgespan article for nonprofit and NGO leaders who want impact at scale without building an ever larger organisation. Drawing on advisory work and interviews with 11 organisations, it poses three questions: what is the highest-impact role your organisation can play, what capabilities and structures that role needs, and how you will learn and adapt as conditions change. Teams use it to frame a scaling strategy before choosing tactics.
Start hereCurrentShort readFree - 2.5C206
A New Look at Strategic Pathways for Solving Social Problems at Scale
The research companion to Bridgespan's "Three Questions" article. The team reviewed the strategies of about 80 organisations in the US, Asia and Africa and interviewed leaders of 11, then grouped what they found into eight main pathways to impact at scale, from expanding direct services to shifting policy and practice. Leaders and funders use it to see which routes exist and which fit their model. It updates Bridgespan's 2014 work with new cases.
CurrentResearch and evidenceFree with sign-up - 2.5C207
Big Enough. Simple Enough. Cheap Enough.
A short article by Kevin Starr of the Mulago Foundation on how to judge whether a solution can scale. Real scale usually depends on a "doer" and a "payer" other than the founding organisation, often government. Starr tests each model three ways: is the market big enough, is it simple enough for the doer to deliver, and is it cheap enough for the payer, benchmarked against what payers already spend. Founders use it to redesign models before scaling.
CurrentShort readFree - 15.1C222
Social Entrepreneurship 101
A free 5-week online course from Acumen Academy for people new to social entrepreneurship. It covers 5 areas: what social entrepreneurship is, finding your problem and mission, theory of change and impact measurement, building a financially sustainable model, and scaling. It uses videos with founders such as Charles Best of DonorsChoose.org, reading and workshop guides and a case study. Acumen Academy also has a free course on business models for social enterprise.
Start hereCurrentKey online resourceFree
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