Our Community Funding Model
Together, we can support bigger, more ambitious projects than any one of us alone. By streamlining the application process for community partners, our model brings efficiencies on both sides.
Constellation Philanthropy aspires to identify, evaluate and support bold new ideas that could dramatically improve early childhood development in our state. Our founding members sought to create a space to educate themselves and their peers about early childhood issues, and find opportunities to make informed investments together. Early childhood is a complex field, and Constellation Philanthropy provides an on-ramp for individuals to learn more while identifying where their investments could make the biggest impact in improving the lives of children.
Members learn about issues affecting early childhood in Colorado, discover organizations creating change, and explore opportunities to co-invest.
Our collaborative funding model allows members to invest in new approaches without carrying the risk alone. However, members retain complete control of their philanthropic dollars. There are no pooled funds.
With the added value of staff support and by sharing analysis with each other we are able to perform deeper due diligence, shifting the burden of research and data collection from each individual member.
Organizations that work with the pre-natal to age five population in Colorado can submit an idea tied to a funding request to Constellation Philanthropy, either through our staff, members, or our broader network. After significant due diligence and research conducted by members and staff, a few organizations are asked to present their ideas to the Constellation Philanthropy members and guests at an Investment Forum. This allows members the opportunity to ask questions of the leader and then decide whether to offer their support, and at what level. Meaningful, streamlined reporting from funded organizations and across the full portfolio allows members to track outcomes over time, creating a shared sense of purpose and return on investment, instead of the transactional giving that many individuals fall into.
Our model streamlines the process by which social-purpose organizations pitch and report to individual donors, providing efficiencies to both our members and the organizations we support.
Members each bring their own expertise and unique perspective. The interactions that members have with each other, questioning and challenging, learning from diverse perspectives, is one of the most valuable features of the model, differentiating Constellation Philanthropy from other groups of donors.
By helping investors navigate the early childhood landscape in Colorado, this model removes barriers for members who are new to giving or new to early childhood development. Investors of all experience levels can make informed decisions that ensure their dollars are having the greatest impact.