By our President, Kelly Gauthier

Sector Reflections Blossom After the ‘Spring Conference Season’

Personally, I love the busy spring conference season, allowing us to reconnect as we come out of our winter hibernation! I begin each year in deep planning mode, looking inward to reset Rally intentions and the team agenda. The emergence from winter and that deep work, into a spring blooming with connection and external engagement is itself a reflection of nature.

Our team has had the privilege of being in many rooms in the last few months, learning alongside different communities within and adjacent to the sector. I step away from this conference season with a few thoughts about the sector that I hope help us all.

Our Collective Wisdom and Lived Experience Are Significant.

We have been doing this awhile and the experience is in the room. We are not nascent. We have experienced success and failure. We have iterated, learned and improved. We have a good idea about what works in what context. With that in mind, let’s all own our experience. Show up with curiosity and creativity but don’t reinvent the wheel. This community is generous – ask for help and learn from others so we can build upon what has come before.

We Must Focus on the Supply of Capital.

It was once true that we had more supply of impact capital than we had places to put it. This is no longer the case. At Rally we’ve seen a tremendous growth of investment opportunities, far outpacing the supply of capital. Those trying to raise capital to solve wicked problems are having a very tough time capitalizing their work. With that in mind, be bold with your capital!  We need courageous leadership from funders and investors given today’s challenges. We need to reframe the purpose of capital and the risk of inaction (financial and societal).

The Sector Exists ‘Between Twin Peaks’: the Need for Scale and the Need for Community-Driven Solutions.

The supply side wants large and familiar vehicles, while the demand in communities is fragmented and nuanced. Both are valid, and essential to address if we want to change systems. With that in mind, let’s bridge the peaks. Solutions and intermediaries that can bridge that gap and aggregate capital are key. Rally, Realize and others exist to do this!

While the spring conferences helped build powerful connections and enable much-needed dialogue, I heard (and share) the frustration regarding the slow pace of moving past talk to action. As we all spend some time this summer absorbing the learnings from the spring season, let’s focus on actionable solutions. Each of us has power in the seat we sit in. I’ll be asking myself, and encourage to ask yourself:

• What can I do to move the needle?
• What do I need?
• How can I help others?

By implementing these answers, we can create the type of world we all want to live in and leave behind.