Lever for Change

Lever for Change (Lever) seeks to unlock new philanthropic capital to tackle important social challenges. For example, the $229 billion held in donor-advised funds represent a vast pool pre-committed for charitable purposes, which can be activated with the right opportunities presented in the right way for donors to understand and engage. Lever seeks to unlock a meaningful proportion of these funds by: operating a platform that enables philanthropists to make awards or grants for charitable projects identified either through sponsorship of customized charitable competitions or through a match with projects in a curated database; educating charitable organizations and other qualified applicants on best practices and how to deploy large amounts of philanthropic capital to support charitable projects; and engaging in research and learning that make such knowledge publicly available. This award enables Lever to underwrite customized competitions and donor-advisory services, and to sustain and disseminate a public database of opportunities for high-impact social change.

Inspired by MacArthur’s successful 100&Change initiative,  a new organization, Lever for Change, seeks to unlock new philanthropic capital to tackle important social challenges. Lever for Change's activities include developing a platform that enables philanthropists to make awards or grants for charitable projects  identified either through sponsorship of customized charitable competitions or through a match with projects in a curated database; educating charitable organizations and other qualified applicants on best practices and how to deploy large amounts of philanthropic capital to support charitable projects; and engaging in research and learning that makes such knowledge publicly available to the field. This award enables Lever for Change to underwrite customized competitions and donor advisory services during the first experimental pilot year after which these services will be provided at a fee. In addition, during all  four years of the pilot phase, the award, and resources from other investors, enables Lever for Change to provide capacity strengthening support for high performing organizations and develop and sustain a public database of opportunities for high impact social change.