Investing in Future Impact

Since 2009 we have vetted more than a thousand local nonprofits and funded the top 3%, providing millions of dollars and tens of thousands of consulting hours to a select group of exceptional organizations.

  • 75%

    of grantees propelled to meet or exceed standards for outcomes-focused culture within 3 years

  • >100k

    individual children and families provided with deep support by AR grantees

  • 67%

    of grantee graduates have gone on to secure one or more $1M+ funding wins

Philosophy

  • Grantmakers can and should take pride in supporting effective organizations - we certainly do.

    But the credit for our portfolio’s impact accrues to the grantees themselves (after all, we didn’t teach that young lady to code – our grantee did.) Like the fulcrum pictured at right, AR’s case for impact rests on our ability to help grantees better perform the heavy lift necessary for social change.

     

  • We measure our success by the degree to which the systems we build together serve as leverage, empowering our portfolio to serve more young people, more efficiently, all with less risk of burning out.

    In this way, our impact propagates like a chain reaction: from the investments we make in grantees, through the improvements in their management, to the differentiated outcomes they are able to achieve with program participants.

     

Arbor Rising Impact

  • So how do we know if we've been successful in our efforts to empower our grantees?

    Our tailored, high-dosage, capacity-building support is designed to help grantee leadership adopt management systems and cultivate a laser-focus on outcomes. Progress is measured on a detailed scorecard which targets tight programming, prudent resource allocation, and aligned stakeholders. As shown here, we have consistently helped propel our portfolio organizations through this crucial phase of development.

     

  • Evaluating the impact of capacity-building intermediaries like us is a tricky proposition.

    The best assessment of our consulting support would be objective, timely, and mission-centered. As no single yardstick features all these qualities, beyond the aforementioned scorecard we also work with our board to gauge our broader effectiveness by triangulating among a handful of metrics.

     

Portfolio Impact

Our grantees invest deeply in human potential. From early childhood development, to school enrichment and interventions, to job training programs, we support organizations which can be the difference-maker in the life of a young person from a low-income background.

Map of Impact

Our grantees and alumni serve communities across the tri-state area.

See for yourself the exceptional entrepreneurs we support and the change they are making in our community.

Meet our Grantees