The International Social Impact Institute
Leveling the playing field for change makers and social impact-driven leaders from historically marginalized communities.
“It always seems impossible, until it's done.”
Nelson Mandela
OUR VALUES: Elizabeth (Liz) Ngonzi, CFRE founded The International Social Impact Institute based on her belief in the principles of Ubuntu – an African term referring to the importance of recognizing our interconnectedness and lifting others up as we rise – and a commitment to social justice, environmental stewardship, integrity and excellence, which have driven her life and career over the last nearly two decades. Consistent with those principles, The Institute seeks to “level the playing field” for social impact leaders and organizations from and/or serving communities of color and other historically underserved and marginalized communities across the United States, and around the world, by providing access to the resources, knowledge and networks that will enable those leaders and organizations to thrive despite the various obstacles they have so often encountered.
Our Priority Areas
Activating stakeholders through effective storytelling
Identifying diversified and sustainable revenue sources
Employing digital platforms to fund services and reach new audiences
Fostering inclusive collaborations among organizations and leaders that will transcend the various kinds of barriers that they face
Redefining the relationship between funder and recipient to become a genuinely collaborative one
Developing relationships and platforms to facilitate innovation
How We Help
Discover how our training and consulting services and our courses can help your nonprofit, social enterprise or grantee partner organization to activate its stakeholders.
Team
Meet our outstanding team of experts from around the world who draw on their experience from a range of disciplines to advise and train historically marginalized nonprofit organizations, activists and social enterprises.
Programs
Explore our (and our CEO’s) upcoming courses and events and those we have previously delivered around the world.
Thought Leadership
View a collection of insights that our CEO has shared to help purpose-led organizations and professionals more effectively and innovatively raise funds and deliver services.
"The capacitation programme with The International Social Impact Institute is important to us to help position our university…The best contribution we can make as Mandela University is to marshal ourselves to be the scholarly articulation of his social and political contribution to the improvement of humanity; to put together institutional arrangements to expand our national, continental and global footprint of scholarly outputs promoting social justice and equality.”
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WEBINAR: PREPARING FOR #GIVINGTUESDAY2021
Last-Minute Tips for Inspiring More Giving This Year
November 23rd, 2021 – #GivingTuesday is on November 30th, 2021 and we hope you’re just as excited about it as we are! Over the past decade, Giving Tuesday has inspired millions of people worldwide with the vision of a global culture of giving that transcends generic monetary donations and encourages simple acts of kindness and generosity capable of putting smiles on people’s faces. Liz Ngonzi and Kathleen Murphy Toms host an interactive live session providing essential information and useful tips for nonprofits, companies, and other organizations on how to activate and inspire supporters, customers and other stakeholders on #GivingTuesday and #GivingEveryTuesday.
Cornell University Summit on Entrepreneurship and Equity & Sustainability and Social Justice
Workshop: The Role of Entrepreneurs and Businesses in Strengthening Communities
September 10th, 2021 – Businesses and entrepreneurs of all kinds are investors in the communities in which they operate, serve and/or employ. Their investments are not mere acts of charity; rather, they generate both a positive financial ROI and a social ROI – in the form of future businesses and ultimately contributions to social development. In this webinar, we discuss the ways in which entrepreneurs and businesspeople play a role, through their investment decisions, in fostering stable and vibrant communities.
Access Resources Provided by the Speakers (LINK)
Wilmington Trust Endowment and Foundation Update
Key 2021 Trends for the Endowment, Foundation, and Nonprofit Marketplace
July 2021 – Our founder and CEO, Elizabeth Ngonzi who led an educational session for Wilmington Trust on June 30, 2021, commented in its July 2021 Endowment and Foundation Update that: “ Despite severe budget cuts due to the global COVID pandemic, according to Blackbaud, online giving grew an incredible 21%, as compared to a 2% increase in overall giving in 2020. These extraordinary results coupled with the shift of many of our professional interactions to a virtual format, indicate that the organizations that will be in the best position to rebound from the pandemic are those that understand how to differentiate themselves through effective digital storytelling and fundraising that align with donors’ priorities.
Read the whole article to learn about Key 2021 trends Wilmington Trust has identified for the endowment, foundation, and nonprofit marketplace.
The NonProfit Times Article
Digital Storytelling: Five Best Practices to Activate Supporters on LinkedIn
June 2021 – During the last year much of the world embraced hybrid or fully virtual professional interactions. Although certain features of pre-COVID professional life have begun to show signs of revival, hybrid and virtual professional interaction remains the norm, and nonprofit organizations seeking effective ways to attract, engage and activate supporters must continue to invest significant resources toward improving their digital storytelling.
While your organization’s website is a critical component to your digital storytelling ecosystem, its LinkedIn presence (e.g., company page, posts, stories, event invitations, livestreams, ads and employee connections) can greatly improve its discoverability by opinion leaders, new donors, and volunteers, from a user base of whom 44% earn over $75,000 per year.
The African Resource Mobilisation Webinar Series
Presented by the King Baudouin Foundation United States (KBFUS), in close collaboration with The International Social Impact Institute.
March – April 2021 – The five-part series included five virtual conversations on the Art & Science of Fundraising curated for nonprofits / NGOs. Moderated by our founder, Elizabeth Ngonzi, the series provided organisations with practical strategies and tools for fundraising, in exclusive conversation with philanthropists, top African-led NGOs, and U.S. corporations and foundations.
The series was presented in partnership with Candid; CIVICUS; Equity Group Holdings (EGHL); the Issroff Family Foundation (IFF); Kenya Association of Fundraising Professionals (KAFP); Nigeria Network of NGOs (NNNGO); and the Tristate Area Africa Funders Network.
Click on the link to access the playlist containing the five video recordings.
In Conversation with Tom Higley
Solving the World’s Wicked Problems with Serial Entrepreneurs
March 22, 2021 – Liz Ngonzi hosted Tom Higley for a conversation co-sponsored by The International Social Impact Institute and The Resource Alliance titled “Solving the World’s Wicked Problems with Serial Entrepreneurs.” Tom brings a fresh and unfamiliar perspective to the challenges faced by the sector as it confronts society’s complex problems.
The ‘wicked problems’ that he focuses on include healthcare, education, infrastructure, energy, climate and water . . . the same issues for which many of us in the charity sector are working to find solutions. Tom and his team just have a radically different methodology for finding those solutions: They use the entrepreneurial mindset to explore possibilities and opportunities for a new world.
Click on the link to watch the interview.
