Think Differently to
Orchestrate New Solutions!

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Some funders are doing great work and are not seeking to orchestrate new solutions. That’s perfectly fine. However, others find themselves wondering if there is a better and different way to achieve a highly leveraged impact. They may be asking:

Have we exhausted what’s possible within our current approach?

Is it possible to achieve a meaningful impact we can feel good about and strengthen the social sector at the same time?

Could thinking differently lead to orchestrating new solutions?

If these questions resonate with you, we’d like to share what we’ve learned—and introduce the A Million Dominoes model for identifying, vetting, and sharing high-leverage opportunities.

Two Dimensions to Progress
Today, philanthropy runs almost entirely on a vertical axis — one cause, one nonprofit, one community, one theory of change. That model has real value. But for some, it also has a ceiling on how far a single grant can reach.

Funders focused on the horizontal axis might ask, could a single grant reach hundreds—or even thousands—of organizations at the same time?

Our experience, combined with case examples on this site, suggests that horizontal funding can achieve this reach. In some instances, even small to modest grants create a far-reaching domino effect that impacts far more people, locations, nonprofits, causes, and communities than is typically possible through vertical funding models.

Providing Funders With Vetted Opportunities
A Million Dominoes brings together a team of seasoned philanthropists to identify and vet proposals with the potential to create the far-reaching impact we’ve described. By applying a consistent set of criteria, we provide a framework for assessing opportunities and orchestrating solutions beyond a single cause. We freely share a written analysis of each proposal we vet.

But even when opportunities are well-vetted and widely seen as having exceptional promise, they still might not get funded.

Why?

Consider what happened to Bob.

Bob is an experienced program officer — respected and deeply committed to impact. He comes across a proposal that stops him cold. Costs are low. Risks are minimal. Outcomes are measurable. Potential reach? Extensive.

He brings it to his board. All agree: This proposal stands out.

And then they set it aside.

Not because of the proposal’s potential. Because it doesn’t meet their predetermined funding priorities.

Bob’s situation isn’t rare. It happens frequently for private funders and foundations of every size. Too often, a domino that could have triggered a needed, far-reaching impact goes unfunded. Today’s philanthropic system is not designed to capture high-leverage opportunities that sit outside predefined focus areas.

Taking Small Steps Toward Thinking Differently
What if you set aside a small to modest discretionary fund — not to replace what you already do, but to position yourself? Then, when you come across an exceptional opportunity — one with the potential to create a far-reaching domino effect beyond your usual focus — you can capture it.

The logic is straightforward: if the opportunity is compelling and unusually substantial, you can choose to think differently and act. Otherwise, you leave it alone.

Who We Are
Propel Philanthropy: A movement founded five years ago by Peter Brach. Peter is also a funder with a track record of reaching exceptionally far by providing strategic capacity support to social sector infrastructure organizations (SSIOs). Propel has collaborated with Alliance Magazine and WINGS to publish two sets of articles about SSIOs and currently partners with Catalyst Now and others to make the A Million Dominoes approach better known in the sector.

Catalyst Now (formerly Catalyst 2030): A global movement launched at the World Economic Forum in Davos in 2020 and co-founded by members of Ashoka, Echoing Green, the Schwab Foundation, and the Skoll Foundation. Catalyst Now has built an exceptionally engaged community of over 6,000 social innovators representing more than 4,250 organizations across 156 countries. What sets them apart is their democratic, member-led model — one that has achieved remarkable collaboration and cooperation among its members, driving systemic change across sectors and borders.

Other Partners: We are building a team of seasoned philanthropists who collaborate to make the A Million Dominoes model widely known and embraced by those seeking to orchestrate new, meaningful solutions.

To explore what we do further, we’ve outlined how A Million Dominoes works in practice — how opportunities are identified and vetted for funders seeking to extend their impact. We’d like to show you more.

Take a Closer Look →

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