Foundations
Keep your portfolio. Help the grantees in it agree on one shared definition of success.
Agree on the Results That Matter Most, Before the Money’s Spent.
We help regions stop guessing and start deciding together, so nobody’s exposed alone and everybody sees what they couldn’t see on their own.
DonateThe Scaling Problem
The Smartest Investment May Not Be Another Program
Workforce initiatives don’t fail for lack of solutions. They fail because employers, educators, workforce leaders, economic developers, and funders make decisions separately, then try to coordinate after resources are already committed.
Multiple grants fund separate efforts at the same perceived gap, with no shared agreement on which ones will produce results.
Workforce funding is shifting toward measurable outcomes, increasing pressure on education and workforce programs to demonstrate results rather than simply deliver training.
Retirements, automation, and changing skill requirements are converging to create a workforce challenge that traditional education and training models may struggle to meet.
Bring your grantees to one shared definition of success, so every dollar points at the same results.
The Missing Piece
Your portfolio funds programs, and it should. What's rarely funded is the moment before: getting the region to agree on what it's aiming at before programs, pathways, and priorities are locked in.
Everyone's working hard, but not from the same information, so even well-funded initiatives stall, and nobody finds out until the money's spent.
Instead of only asking 'What program are we funding?', ask: 'Do the people this program depends on agree on what success looks like?' CapacityWorks™ gets them to that answer before resources are committed.
What funders usually ask us.
Is it proven? The facilitation methodology and engagement technology behind CapacityWorks™ has been used across hundreds of engagements in corporations and large NGOs. Applying it to regional workforce decisions is new, and we say so.
How is support structured? Milestone-based: it starts with a System Snapshot™ and continues through the Regional Alignment Launch Series.
Who owns the result? The region. When the work is done, we leave.
Who are you? A woman-led 501(c)(3) (EIN 30-1015810) based in Mandeville, Louisiana, led by Gisele Larose, Executive Director, and Curt (Joseph) Corbi, COO/CFO/CIO, with Design Partner Todd Erickson of Collaboration Arts. Summary financials are available on request.
The work between the programs.
A one-year restricted grant rarely solves a ten-year workforce problem. The coordination that prevents duplication happens between organizations, not inside any single program budget. You don't have to change how you fund programs to fund that.
Separate grants aimed at the same gap produce separate results. Not for lack of vision. Because nobody agreed on the target first.
Some funders are starting to fund coordination itself. Others are exploring multi-year, milestone-based, or recoverable support. Wherever you are, start small: one region, one System Snapshot. Funders can sponsor a System Snapshot as a standalone engagement, without committing to additional phases.
What Funders Can Make Possible
What you get as a funder:
- grantees aiming at the same target
- one shared definition of success before the money's spent
- a mandate with sector-level commitments you can fund against
- a region that keeps working together after the grant ends
The result isn’t another report. It’s a shared direction, real commitments, and a stakeholder-owned plan that doesn’t dissolve when the grant ends.
Fund What Makes Other Investments Work.
Before another program launches or another grant is awarded, help the region agree on the results that matter most. Then invest knowing your grantees are aiming at the same thing.
Who Benefits From Alignment
Corporate Partners
See what local programs are producing before you commit hiring dollars or seats.
Family Foundations
Help your home region decide together, so nobody's exposed alone.
Individuals
Building Lasting Capacity
We're not building another program for you to fund forever. When the work is done, the region owns it, and we leave. Our 10-year goal: 700 engagements across 75 regions, then we sunset.
