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What We Learned from Listening to People Seeking Help in America

By Courtney Kim Each year, nearly half of Americans across the nation experience material hardship—food insecurity, housing instability, or a lack of access to healthcare. Yet only a fraction of those in need ever receive help from social service agencies. What accounts for this gap? Researchers at the Northwestern Network for Social Impact (NNSI) set out to investigate by listening directly to individuals’ experiences with seeking help in America. By

Understanding How Social Impact Networks Collaborate: Three Toolkits That Light the Way

By Matilda Le Collaboration is at the heart of solving today’s most pressing social challenges – but effective collaboration doesn’t happen by accident. Here at NNSI, we are working in collaboration with researchers from the University of Illinois at Chicago to better understand how social impact networks design their activities and drive lasting impact. Social impact networks are defined as groups of organizations that come together around a shared purpose,

Letting Go to Grow: How Programmatic Asset Transfers Strengthen Nonprofit Impact

By Courtney Kim What happens when a program outgrows its original home, or when an organization’s priorities evolve, leaving successful programs in need of new champions? This is a challenge that many nonprofit leaders face, especially today as organizations navigate a turbulent funding environment and work to right-size their operations. A recent article by the Network for Nonprofit and Social Impact (NNSI) Lab in Stanford Social Innovation Review explores a

Sending a message the old-fashioned way: placing a letter into a vintage mailbox.

Future Directions for Addressing Social Determinants of Health

It’s election season, and the stakes feel higher than ever. For those of us in the social impact space, these moments could define our work. As our nation debates priorities and policies, staying informed and advocating for progress in addressing social and health issues is more critical than ever. The decisions made over the next few months will ripple through our communities for years to come, and it’s on us