“Nonprofits tend to be rather risk-averse because many are dependent on grant funding,” says Jacquelyn Rose who oversees an innovation program at Connecticut Children’s Medical Center. In this role, she builds partnerships and relationships with external stakeholders who are developing or implementing innovative strategies to promote children’s optimal healthy development.
A key part of this work is often helping innovators determine whether there is a sustainable business model to power their idea. Jacquelyn has learned quickly that just because an idea is targeting children’s health doesn’t necessarily mean it will attract philanthropic support.
“Most individuals and organizations think that because they’re promoting children’s health and development, it will be more appealing to funders because they’re trying to do something for social good,” she explains, “They tend to struggle with the fact that they need to justify how their activities are going to lead to a longer term impact. So we’re really trying to help them think through defining exactly what their innovation is and what they’re offering to see if there is a market and demand.”
