Kristen Molyneaux is the president and co-founder of Lever for Change, a nonprofit affiliate of the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation that creates equitable access in the world of philanthropy. Kristen holds a Ph.D. in Comparative International Educational Policy Studies from University of Wisconsin-Madison, an M.S. in International Educational Policy Studies from Florida State University, and a B.S. in Elementary Education from State University of New York at Oswego.
Our world is not short on big problems or big ideas. What we lack is big, durable capital to transform those ideas into lasting change. At Lever for Change, we have spent the past six years working with global donors to fund bold solutions to the world’s biggest challenges—tackling economic opportunity, women’s health, and early childhood development, to name just a few.
To date, we’ve influenced more than US$2.6 billion in funding and supported more than 500 high-impact organisations worldwide, including Sesame Workshop (pictured above). But, as the scale and urgency of the problems we face continue to grow, we must ourselves ask a more fundamental question: does our giving match our ambitions?
Our recent report, Sustaining Change: Unlocking Durable Capital for Lasting Impact, explores this question in depth and issues a clear call to action. Traditional philanthropic grants—averaging $50,000 over 12 months—are not designed to help organisations grow, adapt, or survive shocks. They simply maintain the status quo.
Durable capital is different by design. It is long-term, flexible funding that allows organisations not only to operate, but to thrive. It supports strategic planning, infrastructure, evaluation, partnerships, and the kind of experimentation that is essential for large-scale impact. It gives organisations the time and space to build strong teams, invest in their systems, and pursue bold solutions without fear of an impending funding cliff. Put simply: durable capital enables durable impact.
“Durable capital gives organisations the time and space to build strong teams, invest in their systems, and pursue bold solutions without fear of an impending funding cliff.”
The need for this kind of funding has never been more urgent. Across the globe, organisations are responding to intersecting crises: climate emergencies, population displacement, public health breakdowns, and public funding disruptions. Many are led by individuals and communities who have experienced these challenges firsthand and who bring extraordinary insight and innovation to their work. Yet, all too often, they are asked to make do with small, short-term grants that limit their effectiveness and drain their resilience.
This is both a missed opportunity and a fixable problem.
In our work with donors—including partners like MacKenzie Scott’s Yield Giving, Melinda French Gates’ Pivotal Ventures, and the LEGO Foundation—we have seen what is possible when philanthropy thinks bigger. When funding is unrestricted, multi-year, and focused on growth, organisations can deepen their work, extend their reach, strengthen their infrastructure, and build the kind of partnerships that drive systemic change in the long term.
Sesame Workshop in partnership with the International Rescue Committee (IRC) has been able to impact more than 27million children across the Middle East thanks to a five-year US$100m grant for its Ahlan Simsim project.
What durable capital looks like
- Traditional scaling: funding that enables organisations to expand their existing geographic or programmatic footprint.
- Increasing durability: investments in endowments or reserves that provide lasting financial stability.
- Deepening work: support to enhance and expand services within existing community structures.
- Strengthening partners: capital that enables collaboration with public sector partners to improve service delivery and systems.
- Achieving critical mass: big bets that move organisations from promising to proven.
- Bolstering financial systems: investments in financial infrastructure and internal operations that ensure preparedness and readiness for growth.
- Experimentation and evaluation: funding that enables organisations to test, iterate, and refine their approaches.
Each of these strategies offers a potential pathway toward more sustainable and scalable impact. Together, they form a powerful blueprint for how philanthropy can rise to meet this moment.
The Resourcing Refugee Leadership Initiative is a global coalition driven by the importance of transferring power and resources to Refugee led organisations. It was a recipient of the $10m Larsen Lam ICONIQ Impact Award.
Making durable capital the norm in philanthropy requires a shift in donor mindsets—from funding projects to funding progress; from managing risk to maximising potential. It means trusting grantees as experts and equipping them with the resources they need to succeed over the long term.
For donors, this does not necessarily mean spending more. It means spending more effectively: prioritising multi-year commitments, reducing grant restrictions, and partnering with parallel networks to source and vet more high-impact opportunities.
We know this approach works. Sesame Workshop and International Rescue Committee’s Ahlan Simsim initiative—funded with a $100m grant from the MacArthur Foundation’s 100&Change competition—has now reached more than 27 million children across the Middle East and North Africa. Meanwhile, the Resourcing Refugee Leadership Initiative (RRLI), a coalition of five refugee-led organisations, received the $10m Larsen Lam ICONIQ Impact Award funded by ICONIQ Impact philanthropists including Chris Larsen, Lyna Lam, and the Sea Grape Foundation. So far, the coalition has distributed $10.5m and touched 925,000 lives around the world.
We believe that any donor—regardless of their capacity, staffing, or experience—can be a durable capital investor. At Lever for Change, we help philanthropists do just that. Whether it’s through open calls, curated funding opportunities, or our vetted network, we provide the tools and expertise to help donors discover and support bold solutions with confidence.
This is not just a model—it’s a movement. That is why we’re sharing what we have learned and inviting others to join us.
We are living in turbulent times that demand urgency, ambition, and long-term thinking. Durable capital is a powerful lever for change—and it’s time we used it more fully. Together, let’s help the most promising solutions reach the scale they deserve, and we need.
For more about Lever for Change’s report, Sustaining Change: Unlocking Durable Capital for Lasting Impact, click here.
