Putting ambitious, high-impact philanthropy within reach of family offices
Zephyr Impact brings together donors and social change makers to think big, act boldly, and achieve lasting results for our communities.
Collaborative philanthropy offers both donors and grantees the ecosystem and knowledge they need to achieve their goals.
Our experts include leaders in philanthropy and civil society who are at the cutting edge of social change. Our network of agenda-setters guides donors through workshops and dialogues designed to identify their passion, harness their energy, and empower their philanthropy.
Our Mission
Our Process
Through our collaborative giving funds, we invest in a portfolio of nonprofits we have vetted as big bets — ready to amplify their impact through a substantial multi-year grant and ongoing support.
Our strength lies in identifying talented social entrepreneurs with bold ideas who are poised to grow.
We look for nonprofits with proven success and identify those with the highest potential to change the systems that govern our lives.
We trust our partners with flexible, patient, and unrestricted capital.
In partnership with our investors, we also surround them with an advisory council of experts who understand the landscape, share their networks, and offer strategic guidance and mentoring.
We build a portfolio of investments around an issue. And we create an ecosystem for change by surrounding our social entrepreneurs with the data and insights, technology and innovation, and advocacy and communications support they need to flourish and succeed.
We invest in big ideas to change systems — and tangible fixes to make a meaningful difference right away.
We support systems-level change by giving our grantees the funding they need to sustainably grow and serve as a model.
Our first collaborative initiative is taking on the youth mental health crisis in America through our Youth Wellbeing Project.
We begin with the Mindful Life Project, a California nonprofit introducing mindfulness in schools.
FAQs
-
Collaborative philanthropy is a new approach in which multiple donors pool together both financial and non-financial resources to support a philanthropic effort. Collective expertise, relationships, and capital around a shared goal can vastly multiply the intended impact.
Collaborative philanthropy also reduces cost through economies of scale and helps donors build confidence through collaboration.
-
We operate in the space between giant collaboratives and community giving circles. Our donors give between $1 million and $5 million into funds of about $25 million.
We work with a small group of like-minded donors on a clear investment thesis. This approach enables Zephyr Impact and our philanthropists to build true partnerships with social entrepreneurs, rather than an arms-length relationship.
We seek direct impact with an eye toward systems-level change and field-building, not individual pet projects.
-
You can join our Youth Wellbeing Project, our first collaborative giving initiative.
You can build a new collaborative philanthropy initiative with us, dedicated to your select impact area.
From beginning a conversation to sharing a vision, we welcome your interest in working with us.
Contact us.