2011 - 2017: Scaling Our Impact
A Period of Growth and Milestones
This period marked a turning point as Project Redwood achieved important milestones and began scaling its impact, expanding its reach while building on early success.
We refined our approach, strengthening our model with greater focus, discipline, and a deeper commitment to measurable outcomes and long-term impact.
Through closer engagement with our community and grantees, we built the relationships, insights, and momentum needed to drive continued growth.
By the Numbers
This Period
61 grants
$1.4M invested
Cumulative
$1.9M total invested
Strengthening Our Ties to Stanford
Early in this period, we awarded grants to EarthEnable, MiracleFeet, and Embrace—organizations founded through Stanford’s Design for Extreme Affordability course. Over nine years, Project Redwood provided more than $100,000 in support to ventures emerging from the course and further developed through Stanford’s Social-E Lab.
EarthEnable
Miraclefeet
Embrace
Targeting High-Impact Areas
We then narrowed our focus to education, job training, job creation, and entrepreneurship—awarding a total of 61 grants during this period.
St. Paul Orphanage
Village Enterprise
CTI PepperEater
Child Aid
Self Help International
Strengthening Our Foundation
We transitioned to the Tides Foundation as our fiscal sponsor, expanding our connections to other nonprofits and social entrepreneurs.
We also strengthened our community through in-person annual meetings across the country in New York, Washington D.C., Southern California, and Stanford. We renewed our focus on strategic planning and developed a more rigorous grant review process. And, we created the Evaluation and Impact Committee to further enhance our ability to assess, learn from, and report on project outcomes.
Insights from the Field
Visits to grantee project sites in Nicaragua, Uganda, Haiti, and Burundi deepened our connections and provided firsthand insight into project outcomes.
A visit to Nicaragua
A Founder visit to Haiti
A visit to Burundi
Let’s Talk!
Curious to learn more about Project Redwood? Connect with a fellow GSBer to see how you can put your skills to work.
