From prescriptive programs to ecosystem builder
Learn how the Elmina B. Sewall Foundation orchestrated a statewide capacity building transformation, moving from isolated vendor relationships to a coordinated ecosystem of support providers that serves 300+ Maine nonprofits while catalyzing sector-wide infrastructure for shared services and peer learning.
The Sewall Foundation supports over 300 nonprofit partners who are working toward environmental, social, and economic justice, for a just, healthy, and sustainable Maine.
01
About
The Sewall Foundation had offered capacity building support for years, but primarily through a one-size-fits-all approach using a single vendor and occasional grantee convenings.
A comprehensive assessment in 2023 uncovered that their diverse portfolio of 300+ grantees needed radically different types of support. The assessment revealed clear priorities: fundraising and grant writing resources, board governance support, leadership development, and opportunities to connect with peers facing similar challenges.
Armed with this knowledge and a commitment to trust-based philanthropy, the Sewall launched an ambitious pilot in June 2024 to reimagine their "Beyond the Grant" support.
This transformation wasn't just about adding more options—it was about fundamentally shifting from prescriptive programming to responsive partnership, letting grantees choose what they actually need rather than what the foundation thought they should have.
KRISTINA KALOLO
Director of Programs
"I'm really careful about thinking I know the answers to problems that are not my problems.
My job is to just listen and support how I can."
02
Challenges
When the Sewall Foundation evaluated their capacity building approach, they confronted systemic challenges that reflected both the complexity of their portfolio and the limitations of traditional foundation support models.
Key Challenges
One-Size Doesn’t Fit All
After years with a single vendor approach, they discovered their grantees had wildly different needs. Some grantees were tiny grassroots groups needing basic templates, while others were more established nonprofits with different operations.
The Capacity Paradox
The organizations who needing the most support, were often least able to access it. Single-person nonprofits couldn't attend mandatory workshops, new platforms felt overwhelming, and power dynamics meant grantees felt they had to said yes.
Learning in Isolation
Despite having tremendous wisdom within their grantee community, there was no infrastructure for peer learning. Nonprofits were solving similar problems in isolation, unable to share solutions or support each other through common challenges.
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How Resilia Supported Growth
Resilia became one of the core offerings that the Sewall Foundation provides to all their grantees. Creating a foundation for comprehensive capacity building that grantees can access on their own terms.
Values-aligned partnership
Resilia's focus on grassroots organizations matched their portfolio perfectly, with digestible templates and tools designed for people already juggling multiple roles rather than lengthy reports that sit unread.
Multiple engagement pathways
Whether through templates, Academy courses, peer learning circles, or one-on-one coaching, grantees could choose how to engage based on their available time and immediate needs, which was critical for organizations where one person handles five jobs.
Peer connection infrastructure
Community features addressed the isolation many leaders felt, creating spaces for executive directors to problem-solve together and share the expertise that already existed within Maine's nonprofit sector.
Scalable specialized support
Three grantee organizations received one-on-one coaching pilots, providing intensive support that would typically cost $15,000 per consultant engagement, now accessible without lengthy RFPs or procurement processes.
"The categories and topic areas Resilia focuses on almost track to exactly with what we heard from our grantee partners.
There's a lot of confidence knowing there's fundraising resources, board governance support, leadership development—all the things we heard they needed."
KRISTINA KALOLO
Director of Programs
04
Results
The Sewall Foundation has established a more responsive capacity building model that honors both grantee autonomy and the foundation's learning journey.
Immediate Adoption Wins After Implementation
Multiple organizations quickly downloaded templates from Resilia's Academy and put them to work immediately—from creating first-time annual reports to restructuring board governance documents. Kristina's own nonprofit board actively uses the platform's tools, finding them more practical and digestible than lengthy consultant reports that typically gather dust.
Transformative 1:1 Coaching Impact
One under-resourced organization with only a working board used Resilia's 1:1 coaching to diagnose and address critical operational issues. Instead of spending months finding and vetting an expensive consultant, they received expert guidance immediately, creating what Kristina describes as "transformative" change in their organizational capacity.
Breaking Down Isolation Barriers
Executive directors who previously worked in isolation are now connecting through Resilia's community features, sharing solutions to common challenges. The platform revealed unexpected engagement patterns—organizations Sewall didn't expect to embrace peer learning became regular participants, building the collaborative problem-solving culture that assessment data showed grantees desperately wanted.
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Impact
The Sewall Foundation seeks to create a healthier and more equitable Maine, where all people, animals, and environment thrive. They build relationships based on trust that span diverse groups of people and places across the state and connect organizations with the resources they need.
Animal Welfare
The Sewall Foundation’s support for animal well-being is rooted in the interests of its founder and our recognition that the health and well-being of animals, people and environment are inextricably linked.
Food Systems
They are committed to working with grantees and philanthropic partners to co-create a thriving, healthy, and just food system where local communities are guiding decisions about, and have abundant access to, the resources needed for collective well-being and the foods that remind us we belong.
Keystone
The Sewall Foundation’s Keystone program prioritizes grassroots and community-led efforts to address environmental and racial justice, as a key strategy for equitable social change and community well-being
Nature Based
They support collaborative and organizational initiatives that advance the field, build strong networks that change systems and policy, include and elevate diverse voices and leadership, and result in equitable outcomes for all Mainers.
Rural Partnerships
The Sewall Foundation works with their partners to create a thriving, healthy, and resilient rural Maine where communities envision and guide their future.
Wabanaki
They seek to be a good partner to Wabanaki Tribes and Wabanaki-led and -serving community organizations by supporting work on community priorities through grants, capacity-building and technical assistance, convening, shared learning, and impact investment.