Giving Compass' Take:
- This Exponent Philanthropy article explores how funders can help foster connection to combat the crisis of loneliness facing about half of American adults.
- What can the nonprofit sector do to help address the root causes of the loneliness crisis?
- Search for a nonprofit focused on fostering human connection to fight loneliness.
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The pandemic reminded us of something we already knew; there’s no substitute for being in the same room. But the hunger to connect runs deeper than COVID. The U.S. Surgeon General declared loneliness a public health epidemic in 2023, and noted that approximately half of American adults were already experiencing loneliness before the pandemic even began. Nearly three quarters of Americans point to technology as a contributing factor; a reminder that more screens haven’t meant more connection. For the nonprofit sector, which runs on relationships, trust, and shared purpose, that backdrop matters, and makes it important to discuss philanthropy's role in fostering connection.
For funders, it’s also an opportunity. Convening is one of philanthropy’s most powerful tools, and one of its most underused. Leanly staffed foundations are especially well-positioned to lead here. With the independence, credibility, and flexibility that larger institutions often lack, lean funders can move quickly to unite grantees, community leaders, fellow donors, and policymakers around a shared purpose, and spark the kind of collaboration that no grant check alone can create.
If you’ve ever organized a board meeting or a community dinner, you already have the foundational skills. Here’s how to put them to work.
Philanthropy's Role in Fostering Connection: The Case for Convening
In a sector hungry for connection, convening can serve a wide range of strategic goals:
Build Relationships and Expand Networks
- Connect with donors, funders, and grantees working in your community or issue area
- Exchange insights, best practices, and emerging solutions
- Give grantees a space to recharge, reconnect, and support one another, rebuilding the peer relationships that isolation eroded
Listen, Learn, and Stay Informed
- Surface pressing challenges and deepen your knowledge of a topic area or emerging sector
- Step in when no one else is filling the convening role — your community may be waiting for exactly that
Solve Problems Collaboratively
- Help nonprofits, funders, and partners identify common challenges, opening doors to joint capacity building, shared staffing, or pooled services
- Create space for stakeholders to brainstorm, build consensus, and move toward solutions
Read the full article about fostering connection at Exponent Philanthropy.