Serve & Connect selected by Stand Together Foundation to become Catalyst Impact Partner
SERVE & CONNECT SELECTED BY STAND TOGETHER FOUNDATION TO BECOME CATALYST IMPACT PARTNER
Serve & Connect joins the first group of Catalyst Impact Partners, receiving management training, access to new customer-first impact measurement approach, and up to $300,000 in grants over the next three years.
Columbia, SC – Serve & Connect CEO and Founder Kassy Alia Ray is proud to announce that the Columbia, SC based non-profit has been selected to participate in Stand Together Foundation’s new Catalyst Impact Grant Program, an initiative cultivating a group of the country’s most transformative nonprofits that demonstrate a better way to transform individual lives and create lasting change.
The Catalyst Impact Grant Program awards each incoming Catalyst Impact Partner with Principle Based ManagementTM coaching and consulting, access to a new customer-first measurement approach created by Stand Together Foundation to understand and differentiate their impact and grants up to $300,000 over three years. By 2025, Stand Together Foundation’s goal is to invest in up to 100 Catalyst partners who have successfully completed the Catalyst Program, committing up to $30 million to accelerate nonprofit impact and transform how society thinks about addressing poverty and social barriers.
Serve & Connect is one of the first 25 Catalysts to have been selected to join the new Catalyst Impact Grant Program, which officially kicked off in January 2023. Nonprofits selected have the key ingredients to break the cycle of poverty. They put people at the forefront, see the unique potential in every individual, and are changing the way the country thinks about, talks about, and tackles poverty. The grant program is designed to provide resources for increased effectiveness, including management training and customer feedback tools to help nonprofits grow, scale, and replicate their success. Click here to view a full list of the first 25 Catalyst Impact Partners.
“Stand Together Foundation including Serve & Connect in their first ever Catalyst Impact Partner program is an incredible benefit to Serve & Connect, our staff, and the community that we serve,” stated Kassy Alia Ray CEO and Founder of Serve & Connect. “Stand Together Foundation and Serve & Connect share similar goals with a belief in people, seeing those closest to a problem as the source of solutions, and promoting unity. We are excited by the opportunity to learn with changemakers across the Nation and know our relationship with Stand Together Foundation will strengthen the capacity of Serve & Connect.”
Stand Together Foundation partners with the highest impact nonprofits around the nation, all committed to empowering the individuals they serve through a principled approach. This means that instead of treating people as problems to be managed with sweeping, top-down plans, these organizations help people realize their full potential through bottom-up empowerment and solutions that help individuals transform themselves and the world around them. Today, Stand Together Foundation partners with almost 300 nonprofits, across all 50 states.
Serve & Connect was selected through an extensive vetting process and accepted into the program after a rigorous evaluation focused on impact, customer surveying, reach, and principle alignment. Stand Together Foundation’s Catalyst Impact Partner Initiative represents an investment in the diversity of nonprofits, audiences, and solutions as the way to end poverty. The 25 Catalyst Impact Partners have diverse program models across the nation and are uniquely suited for rapid iteration and experimentation based on data collection and customer feedback. Each of these organizations focus on relationships with their customers and prioritize individual transformation rather than transactional services.
“Our Catalyst partners take a unique approach to helping people overcome barriers that is anchored in a strong belief in people,” said Evan Feinberg, executive director at Stand Together Foundation. “This initiative is about deepening our partnership so that Catalysts can scale their reach, better understand their impact, and ultimately transform the way society thinks about addressing social barriers. If these organizations continue to grow in their effectiveness, and everyone in the country hears about what they are doing, we can transform the entire social sector in America.”
Catalyst Impact Partners will be expected to:
Model a “customer-first” impact vision. Catalyst Impact Partners will participate in Stand Together Foundation’s pioneering measurement approach to understand impact through customer feedback.
Advance a management culture that empowers employees. Catalyst Impact Partners will focus on leveraging Principle Based Management to empower their employees to empower the people they serve.
Build the movement toward empowerment. Identify with and advocate for a culture of openness, dignity, mutual benefit, and empowerment among philanthropists, nonprofits, and the broader social sector.
Click here to learn more about Catalyst Impact Partners.
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About Serve & Connect
Serve & Connect is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization that aims to ignite positive change through police-community partnerships. Kassy Alia Ray founded the organization in memory of her late husband, Officer Gregory Alia, who was killed in the line of duty in 2015. Backed by evidence-based practices designed to fuel collaboration, Serve & Connect provides the tools, training, and technical assistance necessary for police departments, local organizations, leaders, and residents to work together to improve community outcomes.
About Stand Together Foundation
Stand Together Foundation is committed to breaking the cycle of poverty in America by driving change from within communities. We are building a community of social entrepreneurs who believe in people, work from the bottom up, and unite with anyone to do right. Since 2016, we have committed over $120 million and counting to fuel the innovation of nonprofits throughout the country to build stronger, safer communities where all people can learn, contribute, and realize their full potential. Our goal is to help nonprofit leaders maximize their impact to transform more lives out of poverty. Learn more at www.StandTogetherFoundation.org.