Arizona Tribune - The Philanthropy Network Partners With the Altruist Impact Accelerator to Provide Leadership, Management, and Fundraising Guidance to its Members

CUMBERLAND, ME AND SEATTLE, WA / ACCESS Newswire / February 4, 2025 / The Philanthropy Network (philanthropy.network), a LinkedIn-based nonprofit fundraising community with over 115,000 members, announced today a new partnership with the Altruist Impact Accelerator (altruistaccelerator.org) to deliver leadership, management, and fundraising guidance to its members to enable them to dramatically increase their revenue and social impact.

"Many small to midsize nonprofits are doing incredible work, but the reality is that many are struggling just to keep the lights on and make payroll, let alone grow their impact," says Brad Smith, Ed.M., Founder of the Philanthropy Network. "When we talk to our members, we hear the same concern again and again-they're stretched thin, facing constant hurdles, and looking for more than just one-off advice. They're looking for practical, proven ways to grow and advance their mission."

"After years of searching, we believe we've found a solution: the Altruist Impact Accelerator-a program that's proven its ability to transform organizations into scalable agents of change. Together, we aim to reach 25,000 nonprofits over the next five years through their accessible, affordable platform. It could not come at a better time, and if we do this right, we will make a transformative impact and unleash a wave of social progress."

The Altruist Impact Accelerator, a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization founded in 2022, is a low-cost, open-access learning community that provides nonprofit executives, staff, and board members a clear, step-by-step pathway for planning, financing, and executing ambitious social change efforts, regardless of mission or location.

"We've been working with hundreds of nonprofits around the world over the past 15 years to develop this integrated learning curriculum," says Donald Summers, Altruist Accelerator Founder and Executive Director. "Until now, nonprofit leaders have had to piece together disconnected advice on governance, program evaluation, fundraising, hiring, team building, and other key management areas. What we've done is integrate everything into a step-by-step process that any organization can follow to dramatically increase their performance and service delivery. The Accelerator includes tools, templates, real-world examples and a supportive community of experts to help with implementation. This is what the social sector needs: a self-paced, low-cost solution to scaling impact."

"We used the Altruist process to create levels of educational success for foster youth that were considered impossible," says Janis Avery, former Executive Director of Treehouse and Vice Chair of the Altruist Accelerator Board of Directors, whose story is featured in the book "Scaling Altruism: A Proven Pathway for Accelerating Nonprofit Growth and Impact"(Wiley, 2024). "We worked for years with many different experts to improve the stubbornly low rates of high school graduation among foster youth. It wasn't until we applied the practices detailed in 'Scaling Altruism' that we not just moved the needle, but closed the graduation gap almost entirely. We hope other nonprofit leaders take advantage of this proven approach."

"I encourage those who react with skepticism to the Accelerator's bold promise of nonprofit transformation to consider the program's track record," says Akhtar Badshah, Distinguished Professor of Social Impact at the University of Washington and Board Chair of the Altruist Accelerator. "This methodology has been painstakingly developed over two decades of practice. It delivers a median annual increase of revenue and program impact of 25%. It's not easy, and it is only for tenacious nonprofit leaders ready to learn a new set of entrepreneurial practices. But it works. This is a toolkit for nonprofit growth and impact."

The Accelerator's self-paced training is provided in an online community where nonprofit staff, leaders and board members follow a carefully sequenced series of organizational development and growth practices and apply them to their unique organizational contexts. They develop business plans, financial models, pitch decks, program evaluation dashboards, and other tools that are taught in leading business schools and for-profit accelerators, all adapted for use in the nonprofit sector.

"Combine all the rigor of a Harvard MBA with a self-paced, supportive process tailored for busy executives at small nonprofits, and you have an idea of what we are doing," Summers says. "There is nothing like it. The more nonprofits that follow this program, the more social problems we will solve."

Suited for organizations ranging in size from start-ups to about $25 million in annual funding, the Accelerator is now open to any nonprofit employee, executive or board member. A description of the training program and a direct link to a free 7-day trial may be found at altruistaccelerator.org.

About: Brad Smith is the Founder of the Philanthropy Network, (https://philanthropy.network/), a community of 115,000 nonprofit professionals providing guidance, wisdom and connection for its members. Brad is also the founder and CEO of Rootstock Philanthropy, a nonprofit advisory firm delivering world-class advice to clients around fundraising and strategic initiatives. In his previous professional roles, Brad served in senior fundraising and leadership positions at Colby College, Tulane Law School, the American Technion Society and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where he led the development of MIT's first Talent Management Program for the Office of Leadership Giving, and where he then served as Director of Strategic Initiatives for MIT.nano, the largest research project in MIT's history. Brad is a graduate of Colby College and lives outside Portland, Maine with his wife, Peg, and two daughters, Elle and Eve.

About: Donald Summers, is the Founder and CEO of Altruist Partners LLC, a pioneering social impact advisory firm dedicated to helping mission-driven organizations achieve their most ambitious goals. He has a Master's Degree in Leadership & Policy from Harvard. Through Altruist Partners, Summers has assisted hundreds of nonprofits and mission-driven organizations globally, overcoming strategic, fundraising, and organizational challenges to amplify their social impact. Summers is also the founder and executive director of the Altruist Accelerator, the firm's nonprofit arm, which delivers the Altruist Growth and Impact Methodology to ambitious nonprofits and NGOs of all sizes and stages. His work has generated hundreds of millions in new revenue and capital; strengthened boards, staff, and volunteer teams; and advanced some of today's most crucial social change efforts. An accomplished author, Summers recently released his book, "Scaling Altruism: A Proven Pathway for Accelerating Nonprofit Growth and Impact," which became the #1 New Nonprofit Release on Amazon. His research and essays have been featured in the Stanford Social Innovation Review, the Chronicle of Higher Education, and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. Learn more at altruistaccelerator.org.

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Online press kit: donaldsummers.onlinepresskit247.com

For more information or interview requests, contact Executive Publicist Michelle Tennant Nicholson at [email protected] or 828-749-3200.

SOURCE: Philanthropy Network & Altruist Partners

View the original press release on ACCESS Newswire

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