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Looking Back at Four Years of Multiplying

null • Jul 27, 2022 4:33:51 AM • Written by: Bethany Maki

I love birthdays. The cake, the retrospective, the wishes for the future. The team here at Progressive Multiplier wanted to make sure that the organization got a proper party for its fourth birthday, which we celebrated earlier this month. 

There was indeed cake. 

And a retrospective.

Now we want to talk wishes.

In our fifth year, we wish for:

Scale:

Progressive multiplier needs to grow to meet the demand for independent revenue generation project funding and strategic support (Which is, of course, rooted in movement groups’ need to scale up with flexible money). We just funded 16 grants out of our general operating budget, leaving us with 6 months of reserves. a risk? definitely. The right thing to do for the movement? You bet!

The bottom line is we need to bring more unrestricted money into PM for grant making. Stay tuned for the launch of our own independent rev-gen projects.
 
Truth:
Since our first round of grant making, you’ve heard us express the return on grants made as the amount of independent revenue generated by groups from the investment. This year, we want to start to get at the bigger truth. What difference is that revenue generated making for groups and the broader progressive movement? How has independent revenue quantifiably supported efforts to achieve justice, realizing democracy, and restore the environment?

 

Thanks to a recent grant we received, we’ll be partnering with a firm to design our ongoing impact analysis. We’ll be publishing results on an ongoing basis. If you’re interested, I suggest staying connected to be the first to know.

Thriving:
Last week, I read an article in the Harvard Business Review that defines thriving as being energized and empowered to do meaningful work. As a first time Executive Director who is looking at things like benefits to offer, onboarding protocols, how to embed JEDI in everything we do, etc. I am quickly realizing how much goes into creating a culture, business systems and collaboration processes that allows people to thrive in their work roles. And, most profoundly, I’m realizing how the gender, racial, and cultural trauma we carry with us – as women, as LGBTQ+ individuals, as BIPOC – uniquely influences what we need to thrive in our work roles. Our birthday wish is for Progressive Multiplier to be a “place” where all team members will thrive in part because the organization does everything it can to energize and empower them to do meaningful work for the movement.
Bethany Maki