Arlington, Va. (January 16, 2025) — Today, Stand Together Foundation, a philanthropic organization committed to empowering individuals to make a difference through community-driven change, announced the addition of 15 nonprofits to its highly selective Catalyst Impact Grant Program to accelerate their impact and transform how society thinks about solving the greatest problems we face.
Program participants will receive access to Customer First Measurement™, a results-driven approach to measurement that enables community organizations across the country to better understand the people they serve and make the biggest difference in their lives. They will also receive a grant for as much as $200,000 over two years and custom coaching in Principle Based Management™, the premier management framework that enables organizations to directly integrate their principles in the way they lead, make decisions, execute strategies, and deliver results.
To date, 58 Impact Partners have been identified and selected through Stand Together Foundation’s flagship Catalyst Program to take their efforts to the next level. This select group has demonstrated a commitment to bottom-up empowerment, advancing new and better approaches to addressing issues ranging from entrepreneurship to addiction to child and family well-being.
“We are excited to welcome our newest cohort of Catalyst Impact Partners who are transforming how our country approaches the greatest challenges facing our communities — from chronic unemployment to addiction to homelessness to one-size-fits-all education systems that limit people’s potential,” said Amber Fogarty, managing director for Stand Together Foundation. “We look forward to working with these leading nonprofits committed to empowering individuals to reach their full potential through community-driven change.”
Impact Partners will be expected to:
- Build the movement toward empowerment. Reject one-size-fits-all solutions and pioneer a future driven by empowerment among philanthropists and nonprofits.
- Advance a vision and management culture that empowers rather than controls. Impact Partners will focus on leveraging Principle Based Management to empower their employees to empower the people they serve. Principle Based Management provides a holistic approach to making decisions, solving problems, and creating value for individuals and society.
- Model a “customer-first” impact vision. Impact Partners will participate in Stand Together Foundation’s pioneering measurement approach to understand impact through customer feedback.
Click here to learn more about the program and view a full list of Impact Partners. Click here to learn more about Stand Together Foundation’s work to catalyze community-led change.
2024 Catalyst Impact Grant Program Recipients:
Baltimore Crisis Response, Inc. (Baltimore, MD)
Baltimore Crisis Response, Inc. (BCRI) is a nonprofit comprehensive crisis care center helping individuals overcome mental health and substance use disorders in Baltimore, Maryland. BCRI is committed to individualized treatment that serves the needs of Baltimoreans while fostering community and inspiring hope and compassion for all. By pairing licensed social workers with police officers in a co-responder's model, BCRI is improving safety outcomes for both officers and civilians.
Break a Difference (Baltimore, MD)
Break a Difference is rebuilding a culture of civic engagement by connecting youth with high-impact volunteer opportunities. While volunteerism is declining nationwide, Break a Difference shows young people how helping others shapes communities and offers a clear path to meaning and fulfillment.
Every Mother’s Advocate (Pompano Beach, FL)
Every Mother’s Advocate equips communities to end family separation by advocating for mothers in crisis. Recognizing that most children enter foster care due to preventable causes in their home, Every Mother’s Advocate ensures that at-risk mothers receive the comprehensive support they deserve. By empowering mothers to raise their children in a stable environment, Every Mother’s Advocate effectively reduces the strain on an already overburdened foster care system.
Family Promise (Summit, NJ)
Family Promise uses a community-based response to help families that are at risk of or experiencing homelessness achieve sustainable independence. Family Promise mobilizes a national network of volunteers within communities across the country to provide social capital, relational support, and resources to end family homelessness for good.
Festa (Columbus, OH)
Festa removes language barriers that keep new Americans from escaping poverty. By offering three-generation family English as a Second Language program, Festa gives foreign-born families the opportunity to improve their economic mobility while becoming more connected with their neighbors and their community.
Hello Neighbor (Pittsburgh, PA)
Hello Neighbor supports recently resettled refugee and immigrant families by connecting them with local community members who provide housing, food, employment services, and educational support. Focused on long-term solutions, Hello Neighbor helps families build stable lives and integrate into their new communities. In addition to their work in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Hello Neighbor leads a national network of nonprofits, sharing resources and best practices to serve refugees and immigrants across the country.
Hope House Colorado (Arvada, CO)
Hope House Colorado offers wraparound services, including residential, high school GED, and college and career programs, designed to empower teenage moms and help them achieve personal and economic self-sufficiency. Additional supportive services include parenting and healthy relationships classes, an Early Learning Program, health and wellness, financial literacy, personal growth classes, and certified counseling — all designed to prepare moms for long-term independence.
Level (National)
Level creates and distributes job training and educational content to people in prison across the country, improving their chances of success after release. Level tailors resources specifically for the needs of people in prison to convert the otherwise wasted years of incarceration into an opportunity for a brighter future.
PEARLS for Teen Girls (Milwaukee, WI)
PEARLS for Teen Girls supports girls in grades 5–12 in developing key values such as personal responsibility, empathy, and leadership through peer groups and social-emotional learning. Co-facilitated by adult coordinators and junior staff, the program offers a nurturing space for discussions on self-esteem, personal growth, goal setting, and leadership. These sessions empower girls to build confidence, form meaningful relationships, and become leaders capable of overcoming life’s challenges.
Positive Tomorrows (Oklahoma City, OK)
Positive Tomorrows is an elementary school specifically for children experiencing homelessness, providing stability and quality education while supporting their families in building a better life. With all students facing similar challenges, the school fosters an environment of understanding and shared experience that traditional public schools cannot. By addressing both educational and social-emotional needs, Positive Tomorrows helps students thrive and break the cycle of poverty.
Rocky Mountain MicroFinance Institute (Denver, CO)
Rocky Mountain MicroFinance Institute empowers creative-minded, motivated individuals with business and entrepreneurship training and education to realize their unique potential. Rocky Mountain MicroFinance Institute focuses on the “whole entrepreneur,” offering free or low-cost support for all phases of entrepreneurship — from ideation to launch to growth. Participants, who come from under-resourced and underestimated backgrounds, build generational wealth and healthy, resilient communities.
SeekHealing (Asheville, NC)
SeekHealing exists to improve social health and address the loneliness epidemic in America. Unlike prevailing mental health and addiction treatment models, which focus on biological and psychological factors, SeekHealing looks at relationships and social divisions to more effectively address the root causes of addiction and suicide.
Skills for Chicagoland’s Future (Chicago, IL)
Skills for Chicagoland’s Future flips the traditional workforce model on its head, bridging the gap between employers and job-seekers by starting with the job first. The Skills team works deeply within communities to help companies successfully hire people who are unemployed, underemployed, or have nontraditional backgrounds, and remove barriers to meaningful work opportunities for qualified candidates. While Skills sources, vets, and prepares talent to match companies’ specific hiring needs, candidates get coaching and resources that help them to achieve long-term professional success.
Think Tank, Inc. (National)
Challenging top-down approaches to poverty, Think Tank, Inc. works to amplify human stories and empower local change agents. Through poverty simulations and content guided by leaders with lived experience, Think Tank equips groups to rethink poverty and partner with those most affected to create lasting change.
Utah Youth Village (Salt Lake City, UT)
Utah Youth Village helps families resolve their own problems and navigate challenging life circumstances. Traditional child welfare services prioritize downstream services for families that are already separated. Utah Youth Village is prioritizing therapeutic support, mentoring, guidance, and parenting resources to keep families from being separated in the first place and break cycles of trauma before they begin.
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About Stand Together Foundation
Stand Together Foundation is dedicated to empowering individuals to reach their full potential through community-driven change. We are building a movement of social entrepreneurs who believe in people, work with individuals closest to the problem, and unite with anyone to do right. Through innovations that inspire Americans to help each other, they are building stronger, safer communities where all people can learn, contribute, and live lives of meaning. Learn more at StandTogetherFoundation.org.
