How is the $300k grant structured and when do grant funds get distributed?  

The grant is structured as unrestricted capital, disbursed in $100k increments over three years. We’ll issue a three-year grant agreement, but payments will be contingent upon successful completion of the program expectations at each year mark. 

Is the grant program open to all Catalysts? 

Yes! The grant program is open to all Catalysts, however, consideration for the program is contingent on completion of the Catalyst Program.

What is the application process for the grant and when will application decisions be relayed?  

Interested Catalysts will complete the Commit to Empowerment form. Due to the amazing response from our Catalysts, our capacity for interviews for our first cohort is full, and we will begin interviews for our second cohort in late 2023. Once interviews are open again, you will receive an email with a link to register for your 90-minute interview. The application process and subsequent cohorts will occur on a rolling basis.

What if I have already interviewed for the Catalyst Impact Grant Program and was deferred?

Catalysts that have already interviewed will likely will not have to interview again, however, it could be beneficial for us to have another connection point to learn together how things have changed during our first cohort, or since our initial interview. Your Catalyst Success Manager is the best source of knowledge and your best point of contact to understand how this will look. The timing of this will mirror, or follow, the timing of interviews opening back up in late 2023 for our second cohort. If you were declined, that decision still stands.

How does Stand Together Foundation’s survey differ from other evaluation surveys?  

STF’s survey consists of questions that ask customers about transformation and empowerment, getting to the heart of whether your clients have been meaningfully impacted by your programs and services. After testing these questions with over 40,000+ individuals, we have robust insights on which questions offer the strongest insights from participants. Additionally, when all Impact Partners commit to asking the same questions, we can more confidently learn about the transformative effect of the Catalyst Community. 

We don’t have a data scientist/analyst on staff – do we still qualify for the grant program? 

Absolutely! Our measurement team will help you and your organization approach data-informed decision making with simple tools and frameworks. We have developed all measurement tools and frameworks with an eye towards ease of use and organizational improvement.  

How often will I need to survey my customers? 

Four times per year. We strongly believe that regular collection of (and action on) your customer feedback is how you transform your organization to continually meet your clients’ needs. Since organizations have vastly different operating contexts, how you decide to survey 4x/year is up to you –you might choose to survey a different program each quarter or survey the same group of people multiple times in a year. We will work with you to ensure that the survey deployment is as seamless as possible for your customers.

Is Stand Together Foundation open to, and accepting of a management approach that is different than Principle Based Management™? 

While we believe Principle Based Management™ (PBM) achieves superior results within an organization, PBM is a way of thinking about management – not merely a set of methods and practices. We will be encouraged when we see partners learning from PPBM’s underlying principles while also discovering new and better ways to empower their employees and the people they serve.  

What is involved in the annual review of the organization’s vision and talent position? 

We envision an opportunity for your organization’s leadership team to meet once a year with a team from STF (including your Catalyst Success Manager), to review progress towards vision development, and identify potential updates to the direction of the organization. Additionally, since finding and retaining talent is critical to advancing an organization’s vision, we believe it’s worthwhile to regularly assess the current level of talent and ensure all employees are in roles that fit their comparative advantage, and potentially identify talent gaps. 

What resources (training, materials, webinars, facilitators, etc.) are available to help us execute our plan and educate staff on Principle Based Management™? 

Rather than view this as a program or cohort approach with strict deadlines and identical pathways between orgs, we see it as flexible and specific to each group’s situation. The journey will be supported by Catalyst Success Managers first and foremost, alongside PBM coaches, program team, and subject matter experts from Stand Together and the Catalyst Community. Catalysts can expect to spend less time in a classroom environment and more time applying principles inside their organization through tools and frameworks. 

What is the Empowerment Paradigm? 

The Empowerment Paradigm is a way to think about progress—for individuals, groups, and societies—to cultivate the conditions in which every person can contribute their unique talents to solve problems they care about.  

By conditions we mean that there are factors—internal mindset factors and external social, political, and economic factors—that shape our ability to tap into our talents to contribute toward the betterment of others and the fulfillment of our potential. 

Unfortunately, the prevailing paradigms – particularly in social sector work — are of top-down control. Even with good intentions, individuals and leaders seek power over processes and other people to achieve their goals. The presumption is that “me and my group” must gain power over “you and your group” to achieve success. We see it in both organizations and society. 

But the Stand Together Foundation Catalyst Community knows better. When we believe in and empower people to realize their full potential, we inspire personal and societal transformation.  

What is the relationship between the Empowerment Paradigm and Principle Based Management™?  Are they the same thing? 

The Empowerment Paradigm is the name of the set of ideas (the Principles of Human Progress and a deep belief in people) that constitute our philosophy and can be applied to all social interactions (personal, organizational, societal); Principle Based Management™ is the most effective way we know for how to apply that theory within organizations to get better results. 

Will Stand Together Foundation equip me with tools and language I can use to speak to the Empowerment Paradigm as it relates to my work? 

Yes, STF will equip you with assets to tell your stories through a customer-first lens, and will partner with you on op-eds, press releases, and other external communications.