Services

01

Pilot and program design

For foundations, nonprofits, and companies with a bold idea and no roadmap. You know what you want to change. Gather Innovation builds the path: convening expert advisory councils, running design sprints, engaging the community the program will serve, and delivering a validated model with a pilot plan and launch roadmap. In practice: for a new trauma-responsive early childhood center serving children facing poverty and complex trauma, Gather Innovation led a nine-member expert council through five design sprints, delivering a validated program model, pilot plan, and launch roadmap the organization could take straight to funders.

02

Fractional innovation leadership

For organizations that need a Chief Innovation Officer, not a full-time hire. Gather Innovation embeds with your executive team for a season: owning a portfolio of strategic initiatives from design through launch, building the partnerships, business cases, and funding models, and coaching your team to run them independently. The goal is always to institutionalize the work so it doesn’t depend on the consultant. In practice: through a current embedded engagement, Gather Innovation’s founder serves as Director of Strategic Initiatives for a Colorado-based education and community development nonprofit, creating and leading three flagship programs designed to inform policy and convert seed funding into durable investment.

03

Systems and strategy redesign

For established organizations whose model no longer fits their mission. Sometimes the program isn’t broken. The system around it is. Gather Innovation rebuilds grantmaking processes, supporter journeys, and program models from the perspective of the people they exist to serve, then delivers a phased implementation plan your team can run. In practice: Gather Innovation redesigned a major private foundation’s regional grantmaking model with new principles, a five-step community-led process, and revised policies, growing annual grant impact from $2.2M to $3.6M+ across its statewide council network.