Mind the gap! Connect the dots.
A 5 - 10 minute read written by Luisana Zambrano + Joan M. Godoy.
What occurs when you pause to assess the impact of your work? That was us back in 2024, when our adventure toward connecting Neighborhood Heroes started. Last year, right when we were ready to plan for our 6th Leadership Lab cohort, and were having a hard time fundraising for it, we stopped and asked ourselves: is this what our social impact ecosystem currently needs? In the midst of social, local, and national changes, we decided to not invest in more leaders but to invest more in the ones who were already part of our network (and struggling to keep the lights on).
We went back to our Rad Alumni Network and asked them: What do you really need support on right now? How can we build or strengthen your capacity to impact more lives in Miami and beyond? This process quickly evolved to involve different actors, which then led us to publish a set of recommendations through a “Roadmap to strengthen South Florida’s Social Impact Ecosystem”.
Our biggest takeaways:
Radical Partners’, and other’s, Capacity Building programs are a catalyst for leaders, both influencing their professional and organizational growth.
At the time, leaders surfaced evolving needs to support their continued development. Some of the key themes include: 1) Funding and Financial Stability, 2) Staffing and Human Capacity, 3) Organizational Growth and Scale, 4) Support to better navigate sociopolitical and economic shifts.
And across those needs, some of the avenues that leaders want to receive that support by are: 1) Access to Expert Consultants, 2) 1:1 Coaching Support, 3) Administrative Support, 4) Mastermind Sessions with Peers, and 5) Workshops and Trainings.
When mapping and exploring possibilities on how to better serve them, we thought transcendental to better define and leverage the roles that different actors can have when building and strengthening capacity:
Capacity Seekers: Those for-impact leaders who need and want support to strengthen their organization and accelerate their missions.
Capacity Boosters: Those who believe in the impact of Capacity Building and have invested in leadership development programs, aside from donating directly to the organizations.
Capacity Builders: Those, like our amazing network of coaches and consultants, who provide resources, services, and opportunities that build the capacity of leaders and their organizations.
So we then turned to Capacity Builders and Capacity Boosters to understand their perspectives as well. When we consider similarities, gaps, and challenges identified by all Seekers, Builders, and Boosters, we offer the urgency of investing in 5 particular capacities that all for-impact organizations will need to focus on in order to survive and thrive in 2026 and beyond:
Funding Models: Unlocking diverse and new ways to generate revenue and fuel impact—so organizations aren’t just surviving, but thriving.
Business Operations: Building strong teams, smart systems, and nimble processes that turn vision into action.
Collaboration: Creating meaningful partnerships and networks that multiply impact and drive shared success.
Impact Strategies: Crafting bold, values-driven theories of change that guide decisions and deliver real-world results.
Inner Strength: Empowering leaders to sustain their energy, strength, focus, and well-being so they can lead with clarity and courage.
The above already requires the work of many. As we build and strengthen capacity that way, there’s a few Bolder, Smarter, and Kinder solutions that can get us there faster.
Shared Services and Spaces: A centralized approach to delegate common functions or services like Human Resources (HR), Information Technology (IT), Finance, Legal, or Communications to experts in the field, paid by a pool of funders, organizations, and/or leaders. This can also apply to sharing office space with one or more organizations.
More Collective Impact Models: A proven, research-based approach to collaboration across sectors bringing together different stakeholders to work toward a shared goal using a common framework.
Tech Infrastructure: Investment in the acquisition and usage of technological platforms and systems that would optimize coordination and operation among the ecosystem
Culture Shifts: Reimagining the way we view and talk about the Social Impact ecosystem, understanding that the Changemaking Sector is a critical professional field chosen by brilliant minds who dedicate their time and efforts to build thriving and inclusive communities.
Through the months, collaborations have evolved and we are proud to have continued the conversations around strengthening our social impact ecosystem and accelerating our collective impact. We hope you know that:
RiseWorks has produced our Rad Solutions Lab podcast, a mini-series where we talk about each of these solutions and tap into the expertise of some of our partners in impact who are already great at it. Go watch Sandra Bermudez, Alix Lebec, Alejandra Winter, and Drew Payne here.
We are in continuous conversations with our partners at The Miami Foundation, Philanthropy Miami and the Nonprofit Executive Alliance on how we can better offer free and affordable services to the thousands of for-impact organizations in Miami, Florida. Make sure you follow their work here, here, and here.
We are looking forward to continuing building and strengthening our ecosystem by uniting the community for the 10th iteration of the 10 Days of Connection; led by hundreds of empowered hosts. Through our connection work, we aim to keep consolidating efforts through shared spaces and technological infrastructure.
This 1-year journey has reminded us that real transformation begins when we pause to listen to the current needs and decide to act together. Sustaining and strengthening our ecosystem requires all of us, Seekers, Builders, and Boosters, to invest not only in ideas, but in shared infrastructure and care for those leading the change.
We’ve made it this far thanks to the support of our partners in impact at JP Morgan Chase, Gucci Changemakers, Miami DDA, and TD Bank. In 2026, we plan to advance on the implementation of our “Roadmap to strengthen South Florida’s Social Impact Ecosystem” and we invite you to stand with us. We will need expertise, time, and energy to design and implement these solutions, and your support to Radical Partners on this Give Miami Day is more crucial than ever.
You can help bring to life the solutions our community has called for, from shared services and spaces, to collective impact models, tech infrastructure, and culture shifts. Together, we can continue building the conditions for a thriving and inclusive South Florida. See you out there?