Refining World Connect’s Strategic Approach to Grant-Making

World Connect is a nonprofit that gives micro-grants to empower grassroots community organizations to improve health, environment, and employment opportunities for women and youth. World Connect is at a critical juncture in its development, seeking funds from larger institutional donors to scale impact. The organization requested a Capstone team to evaluate their current grant-making process and priorities. First, field visits to Costa Rica and Peru were conducted to gain a better understanding of World Connect’s partnership with the Peace Corps and local community partners. Staff, Peace Corps Volunteers, local project leaders, community leaders, and project beneficiaries were then interviewed to form a clearer picture of World Connect’s current strategy. This information was compared to industry leaders within different sub-sets of the international development market, resulting in various recommended paths World Connect could take as it shifts current fundraising and communications strategies to target a wider range of donors.