There’s been a sobering trend in recent years for philanthropic organizations across the country — giving is down and has generally not kept pace with inflation.

Nonprofits in the Upstate are facing the same challenges, but an innovative initiative by Greater Good Greenville is guiding a pilot group in identifying new funding models inspired by the for-profit side of business.

Mission-driven revenue

Greater Good Greenville, a nonprofit intermediary supporting innovation and capacity-building, has partnered with 20 Degrees, a Washington, D.C.-based consultancy known for helping mission-driven organizations develop earned-revenue strategies, to develop RevUpGVL as an intensive earned revenue studio to work with five competitively chosen nonprofits.

According to GGG Executive Director Katy Smith, the program was partially inspired by the findings of her organization’s Philanthropic Landscape Study released in 2024, which highlighted a number of the funding challenges that nonprofits face.

The idea behind the program is not to turn the organizations into for-profit businesses but to help them generate revenue sufficient to cover operational costs and make further investments that will expand their impact.

By the end of the RevUpGVL program, the participating organizations will have:

A fully developed, mission-aligned earned-revenue business plan that includes, among other things, a testing strategy, pitch decks and value proposition

Clear revenue projections and cost assumptions

Increased confidence in leading amid financial uncertainty

The inaugural studio was June 10 and involved leaders from Loaves & Fishes, Conestee Nature Preserve, TreesUpstate, CommunityWorks and BrotherBox. The program will run over the next several months and culminate this fall when the participating nonprofits will share what they’ve learned with the wider community.

Nonprofits taking part in RevUpGVL: