Introducing The Resilience Hub

Across the country, nonprofit leaders are facing urgent and complex challenges as they navigate a changing economic and policy landscape, all while striving to meet critical community needs.

In our recent survey, nonprofit leaders identify challenges that are largely shared across the sector: 

• 67% cite policy uncertainty as a barrier to decision-making
• 50% reported a loss of funding, impacting their ability to plan ahead
• Leaders are seeking swift, expert guidance across fundraising, scenario planning, communications, legal consultations, and more. 

To help meet that need, Catalyst Exchange is launching the Resilience Hub: a new way for foundations to connect their grantees with responsive, real-time capacity-building support.

With $3M in initial commitments from Ballmer Group, OAK Foundation, and ECMC Foundation, the Resilience Hub provides grantees with a centralized resource for tailored, hands-on support in areas such as fundraising, scenario planning, program design, policy analysis, legal risk analysis, change management, communications and general leadership coaching. 

“The Resilience Hub is exactly the kind of innovative model for capacity building that the nonprofit sector needs right now,” said Heather Graham, Director of the Learning Differences Programme at OAK Foundation. “By connecting leaders to flexible real-time support, this approach empowers organizations to respond effectively to emerging challenges and strengthens their ability to sustain and grow their impact in the communities they serve.”

A Proven Model, Expanded

The Resilience Hub builds on a model we first piloted during the COVID-19 pandemic, when we saw how vital it was for nonprofits to have rapid and personalized access to expert support. That early pilot delivered strong results: 88% of projects met their goals, and 100% of participating school districts said they’d recommend their provider to others.

Now, we’re expanding that model into a platform designed to make high-quality capacity-building support easier to access. Through the Resilience Hub, grantees can:

• Get real-time guidance from Advisors, available during office hours to help organizations think through challenges and opportunities as they arise.
• Connect with trusted experts for more hands-on support through Catalyst’s proven matching process, pairing organizations with vetted consultants skilled in strategy, planning, and change management.
• Learn alongside peers in monthly community calls facilitated by Catalyst, focused on practical leadership during times of change.

“We had a need to take a concept from seed to fruition but didn’t have time, bandwidth or skillset to do it well on our own. The Resilience Hub filled that gap for us in a timely and effective way,” said Michelle Chaudoir, Chief of Staff and Sr. Director of Operations at Learning Heroes. “We learned a lot through the process and our Catalyst Capacity Advisor helped build our skills along the way so that we can replicate this process again on our own in the future.”

Streamlined Funding and Real-Time Insights

Projects are funded through Catalyst Wallets, an innovation that allows organizations to access philanthropic dollars for technical assistance and capacity building. Each funding partner works with Catalyst to define eligibility criteria and determine how dollars are allocated. This flexibility allows grantees to direct funds where they’ll make the biggest difference.

Funders also gain access to the Resilience Dashboard, which aggregates real-time data and insights across the network. The Dashboard helps identify emerging needs, highlight promising strategies, and surface trends in readiness and impact – giving funders a clearer picture of what’s working and where support is most needed.

Join the Effort

The Resilience Hub is available to participating foundations and their grantees, and will soon expand to allow nonprofits to access support directly.