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  • March 2020 (Revised June 2022)
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GreenLight Fund

By: Brian Trelstad, Julia Kelley and Mel Martin
  • Format:Print
  • | Language:English
  • | Pages:29
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Abstract

As Tara Noland, the Executive Director (ED) of GreenLight Cincinnati, reflected on her first few years on the job. Noland had delivered on what she had been hired to do in the city: work with leading philanthropists and nonprofit executives to use data and evidence to assess and understand the most pressing community needs; conduct due diligence on leading organizations nationally that were interested in replicating evidence-based programs in Cincinnati; and provide multi-year unrestricted funding and on-the-ground support for the selected programs as they launched in the community. Now, looking to raise the second fund, Noland thought about her future. GreenLight Fund is an innovative venture philanthropy fund that raises regional funds to help replicate evidence-based social service programs. The case explores the launch of their Cincinnati site and outlines some of the questions in how GreenLight balances national and local decision-making, creates career pathways for staff, how it helps organizations replicate, and how it manages its own replication and scale.

Keywords

Philanthropy; Venture Philanthropy; Replication; Philanthropy and Charitable Giving; Venture Capital; Social Issues; Decision Making; Analytics and Data Science; Cincinnati

Citation

Trelstad, Brian, Julia Kelley, and Mel Martin. "GreenLight Fund." Harvard Business School Case 320-053, March 2020. (Revised June 2022.)
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About The Author

Brian L. Trelstad

General Management
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Related Work

    • June 2022
    • Faculty Research

    GreenLight Fund

    By: Brian Trelstad and Mel Martin
    • March 2020 (Revised June 2022)
    • Faculty Research

    GreenLight Fund

    By: Brian Trelstad, Julia Kelley and Mel Martin
Related Work
  • GreenLight Fund By: Brian Trelstad and Mel Martin
  • GreenLight Fund By: Brian Trelstad, Julia Kelley and Mel Martin
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