Strategic Disruption Consulting

The 2024 Black Women’s Business Retreat in Ghana was transformative. Now, you can join us! 🇬🇭

The retreat is a sanctuary for Black women leaders in the nonprofit and social sectors—a space to pause and reconnect with your power.

🗓️ August 18-24, 2025
🔗 Learn more: strategicdisruption.com/ghana2025

"Sometimes we have to do the work even though we don’t yet see a glimmer on the horizon that it’s going to be possible."

- Angela Davis

Why Overloading Your Communications Staff Hurts Your Team—and Your Business The temptation to assign one person too many specialized communications and marketing responsibilities can seem like a cost-saving measure.

Overloading your communications staff might seem like a way to save resources, but it can seriously affect your team’s morale, brand, and overall success. Our latest blog explores why quality suffers when focus is divided.

🔗 Read now at www.strategicdisruption.com/post/why-ove...

Book a FREE consultation with our team of experts for support in preparing your LOI or grant application.

#GrantOpportunity #Grants #GrantWriting
#FebruaryGrants #GrantApplications
#NonProfitOrganizations

➡️ U.S. Venture/Schmidt Family Foundation awards grants to help the disadvantaged and improve the quality of people's lives. The Foundation will consider a broad range of requests, including specific program needs, capital, or general operating support. Applications are due April 25.

➡️ The Small Business Readiness for Resiliency Program (R4R) is a multi-year initiative that empowers small business owners to mitigate the risks posed by disasters proactively. Up to $5,000 in funding is available.

🚨 Grant Alert 🚨

➡️ The MSP Equity Accelerator, sponsored by Allianz, invests in high-growth startups founded by Black, Brown, and Women entrepreneurs. For each cohort, $100K is invested in each of the five startups during the 12-week accelerator program. Applications are due April 25.

If folks can't imagine you as human, all the policy in the world is irrelevant.⁠
—⁠
Ta-Nehisi Coates⁠
⁠⁠

#DidYouKnow— 61% of Black-led nonprofits operate with a budget under $100,000, and white-led nonprofits control nearly 30 times more revenue than Black-led organizations.

Succession planning isn’t just about filling vacancies—it’s about future-proofing your organization.

Whether it’s a sudden resignation, a long-anticipated retirement, or a well-deserved promotion, having a plan ensures your organization stays on track.⁠

If you know whence you came, there is really no limit to where you can go.

James Baldwin

#BHM2025
#BlackHistoryMonth
#BlackHistory

Pro Tip:

To secure funding, your fundraising efforts should proudly highlight your community's authentic culture, language, and dialect and your advocacy for systemic change.

Authentic representation strengthens your message and builds trust and credibility with potential supporters.

🚨 Grant Alert 🚨

➡️ The Erich and Hannah Sachs Foundation supports efforts to strengthen communities by improving the overall quality of life for economically and educationally disadvantaged families.

Applications are accepted on a rolling basis. www.sachsfamilyfoundation.org/applications

Q: When should my small business hire an HR professional?

A: A startup or small business should consider hiring a human resource professional as soon as it grows beyond a few employees. Generally, once a startup has 10-15 employees, it can benefit from having an HR professional on staff.

Five Lessons for Leaders of Nonprofits and Startups for 2025 The journey is often filled with challenges, risks, and lessons in entrepreneurship, nonprofit leadership, and startups.

We just published "5 Lessons for Leaders of Nonprofits and Startups for 2025" on the SDC blog.
⁠
Key takeaways:⁠
✔️ Prioritizing action over perfection⁠
✔️ Building collective resilience⁠
⁠
💬 What's your biggest lesson as a leader?
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Read the full blog at www.strategicdisruption.com/post/five-le...

"Our liberation is not a favor to be granted. It is our birthright."

Barbara Smith, a co-founder of the Combahee River Collective in 1974, spearheaded intersectional feminism by emphasizing the unique struggles faced by Black queer women.

What other strategies do you think could help bridge the funding gap? 👀

▶️ Leaders from Black-led organizations should be invited to serve on grant review boards and advisory councils to bring diverse perspectives to funding decisions.

▶️ More support must be directed toward collaborative funding initiatives or pooled funds that center on Black-led initiatives.

So, what needs to happen to ensure Black-led organizations have the resources to sustain and scale their impact?

▶️ Funders should prioritize multi-year, unrestricted funding for Black-led nonprofits to give the organizations with contextual experience the opportunity to scale programming over time.

#DidYouKnow— 61% of Black-led nonprofits operate with a budget under $100,000, and white-led nonprofits control nearly 30 times more revenue than (majority) Black-led organizations. This funding gap speaks volumes about inequities in philanthropy and the nonprofit ecosystem.

The Cartier Women's Initiative Awards program is designed to support early-stage businesses focused on various social, economic, and environmental development issues. The first-place business is awarded a $100,000 grant.

Applications for the 2025 cycle will open on April 18.

The EmpowHER grant from Boundless Futures Foundation supports organizations addressing poverty and hunger, sustainability and the environment, or strong communities. Grant funding is awarded up to $25,000.

Applications are accepted quarterly; the next deadline is February 15.

Santander's Cultivate Small Business program helps early-stage entrepreneurs in the food industry. Through this program, business owners participate in a 12-week virtual education curriculum and receive up to $13,000 in capital grants.

Applications are currently open until January 30.

🚨 Upcoming Grant Opportunities 🚨

Pro-Tip: A startup or small business should consider hiring a human resource professional as soon as it grows beyond a few employees. Generally, once a startup has 10-15 employees, it can benefit from having an HR professional on staff.

Focusing on impact and outcomes can create a compelling narrative that resonates with funders—less "This is what we do every day" and more "This is our theory of change, and this is how we know we're making progress." The right language can make all the difference.

#GrantWriting #Philanthropy

Rejected Grant Language:

▶️ This is what I do
▶️ This is how often I do it
▶️ This is what my program participants say they like

Winning Grant Language:

✅ This is a problem that is harming our community
✅ This is how we are addressing the problem
✅ This is how we know our interventions improve lives

Quote by Kimberle Crenshaw in white text on a green background: "True philanthropy is not just about giving money, but about giving power to those who need it most to create lasting change."

"True philanthropy is not just about giving money, but about giving power to those who need it most to create lasting change."

Three questions to prep your 2025 fundraising strategy:

1. Which 2025 fundraising campaigns will you prioritize?
2. How will you reinforce donor relationships?
3. How effective are your current fundraising channels or platforms?

More life, community, and good trouble in 2025!