About RISE
RISE Northwest Ohio
PILOT PROGRAM
Founded in the spring of 2025 after six months of partnership exploration with Social Current, RISE Northwest Ohio was created in response to the persistent challenges facing the social sector in building sustainable organizations and programs.
RISE Northwest Ohio is an initiative of the Center for Community Impact, launched in partnership with Social Current, a respected national convener and thought leader in the social sector. Guided by an Advisory Council of regional experts, RISE is piloting a National Social Sector Strengthening Movement – a bold, data-informed effort to test innovative strategies that make social sector-serving organizations stronger, more visible, and more impactful across Northwest Ohio.
Our work is inspired by the groundbreaking documentary Uncharitable, directed and produced by Stephen Gyllenhaal, which challenges the misconceptions that limit the effectiveness of nonprofits and argues for a reimagined approach to philanthropy, investment, and social change. The film and its national movement have become a rallying point for leaders seeking to unlock the full potential of the nonprofit sector.
Building on more than a decade of national thought leadership, RISE Northwest Ohio represents the next step in a growing national movement.
With start-up funding from the Keller Foundation, RISE is bringing this conversation home, empowering the region’s social sector to lead the way toward a more resilient, equitable, and sustainable future.
RISE VISION
We will work collaboratively to develop, incubate, refine, and scale innovative strategies that address the most pressing issues faced by the social enterprise sector serving rural communities.
Our Outcome Goals
Break the cycle of under-resourcing social impact organizations. Viable, field-tested, innovative barrier solutions ready to scale. Generate field stories of tested innovations and publish case studies and toolkits. Develop a Regional Social Impact Service Forum.
WHAT RISE Northwest Ohio IS BUILDING
Community Impact Fund
A Community Impact Fund to activate new regional giving, attract national investment, and support unrestricted capital for community-led solutions.
Community Impact Alliance
A Business-Building Boot Camp to strengthen financial strategy, infrastructure, and leadership across rural organizations.
Shared Services
A shared services ecosystem to reduce overhead, eliminate duplication, and amplify impact through collaboration.
Rural Innovation
A model of rural innovation rooted in community readiness, trust, and partnership that can be replicated in rural regions across the country.
“Five & Rising” is a national movement that was launched in September 2025.
It’s time to ditch the word “nonprofit.” The social sector powers 12.5 million jobs and contributes $1.4 trillion to the U.S. economy, yet outdated systems, myths, and funding models limit its full potential. Today, Social Current, a partner to 1,800+ human and social service organizations in the U.S., Canada, and beyond, launches Five & Rising, a bold national movement to change that.
Five & Rising is designed to unleash the sector’s full economic power and rewrite the rules for how it’s funded and valued.
“Five & Rising is here to break the limits placed on our sector and to prove what’s possible when we stop treating it as a secondary player in the economy,” said Dr. Jody Levison-Johnson, President and CEO of Social Current. “These pilot communities will demonstrate that when we invest in the real cost of impact and trust local leaders to innovate, we unlock change that ripples far beyond their borders. What they build will raise the bar for the entire nation.”
