ANNOUNCING: Earnest Impact Lab 2026!
Nonprofits- we want to tell your story!
Hello everyone! Today’s note is a departure from our usual programming, but for a very good reason.
I’m excited to announce a new partnership for Granite Goodness. I’ll be working alongside my friend Tim Smith-Gerding, founder of Blackbird Collective, to launch something we’ve been thinking hard about for a while.
Between the two of us, we talk to a lot of people in the nonprofit world. And there’s a phrase we’ve both been hearing again and again lately: “The ground is shifting beneath our feet.”
Funding sources are changing. Long-standing assumptions are being questioned. And many organizations doing deeply important work are feeling real uncertainty about what comes next.
Rather than wringing our hands, Tim and I asked a simple question: What would actually help nonprofits not just weather this moment, but come out stronger on the other side?
Our answer?
Details below. If you know nonprofit leaders who might benefit from this, please consider sharing. Let us help tell your story!
We also covered the Earnest Impact Lab on Tim’s Granite Goodness podcast episode:
Earnest Impact Lab 2026
Call for Applications & Overview
We are now accepting participants for the inaugural Earnest Impact Lab for NH-based nonprofits and fiscally sponsored projects. This ten-week program will help impact leaders reclaim balance, refresh their strategies, and tell their stories in a more compelling manner, all leading up to NH Gives and other future opportunities.
Granite Goodness and Blackbird Collective are here to provide space, support, and resources so you can effectively tell your stories and rally communities at a very important moment in time.
All nonprofits have access to participate in NH Gives and other campaigns. However, organizations with smaller operating budgets and limited communications capacity struggle to maximize this opportunity; they are often left disappointed with outcomes. While these campaigns inspire giving and awareness, they mostly benefit organizations with more capacity. Organizations serving diverse stakeholders are especially challenged.
We have designed this program with capacity-constrained nonprofits in mind. For this pilot program, we are accepting up to ten (10) nonprofits. The program will start the first week in April, allowing participating organizations to leverage their produced videos for NH Gives (and many other future opportunities).
Please submit your application by March 27, 2026. Application link:
Earnest Impact Lab Application (Granite Goodness & Blackbird Collective) - Google Forms
About Tim and Andy
Tim Smith-Gerding and Andy DeMeo will co-facilitate the program.
Tim is President of Blackbird Collective, empowering impact leaders and teams with the resources to thrive. His social impact work has been featured in the Chronicle of Philanthropy, Boston Globe (Social Impact ChangeMaker), San Francisco Business Times, and Stanford Social Innovation Review. Tim has extensive experience in both Funder and Executive Director roles. He has helped raise 7-figure major gifts for various organizations and causes.
Andy is an award-winning solutions journalist and the creator and host of Granite Goodness, a New England–focused media platform sharing optimistic, nonpartisan stories of progress through newsletters, podcasts, events, and digital and print media. Recognized as New Hampshire’s 2025 Young Person of the Year by Stay Work Play New Hampshire, he brings over a decade of experience working with mission-driven organizations across climate policy, sustainability, higher education, local food systems, beekeeping, and impact investing.
Program Options
There are two options for participating in this program:
Earnest Impact Lab (Option A)
Participating Organizations Receive:
Leadership Development
10 Weeks of Executive Coaching with Blackbird Collective; for the Executive Director or a designated team member
Topics can include strategy and planning, external relations and fundraising, board relations, organizational development, funder pitches, and more.
Some sessions may be used for joint ED/Board Chair coaching and support.
Video Production for NH Gives and Other Events
A produced 2-3 minute video from Granite Goodness to elevate your organization’s stories and vision in a compelling way.
Videos will be filmed at your space / in your community.
Effective Messaging & Network Development
Two group sessions with Andy DeMeo of Granite Goodness on effective messaging and network development, for up to two people per organization.
Refreshed Positioning & Pitch Deck for Funders
A refreshed organizational pitch deck to use for transformative funding pitches.
Earnest Impact Lab Light (Option B)
Video Production for NH Gives and Other Events
A produced 2-3 minute video from Granite Goodness to elevate your organization’s stories and vision in a compelling way.
Videos will be filmed at your space / in your community.
Refreshed Positioning & Pitch Deck for Funders
A refreshed organizational pitch deck to use for transformative funding pitches.
We will host a watch event to unveil the final products and share reflections on the program.
Cost
We want this program to be accessible to nonprofits and projects that may lack significant capacity. We are offering a sliding scale based on your annual operating budget. Blackbird Collective will administer all contracts.
50% of your program fee will be due by April 15, 2026, with the remaining 50% due prior to video production
Option A: Earnest Impact Lab
$300,000+ Operating Budget: $6,500
Under 300,000 Operating Budget: $4,500
Option B: Earnest Impact Lab Light
$300,000+ Operating Budget: $4,000
Under Operating Budget: $3,250
Funder Underwriting
We welcome sponsorship/underwriting from the funding community through expenditure responsibility or direct support. Please contact Tim Smith-Gerding (email below) if sponsorship/underwriting is of interest to your organization.
Consider supporting some of your grantees to participate in the Earnest Impact Lab
Sponsor the program to increase your visibility as an engaged leader in the ecosystem
Support sector capacity building in a leveraged manner
Please use the application form to indicate your intention to participate. We will offer another cohort this fall if we are over-committed.
Email tim@blkbrd.org with any clarifying questions.
-Tim & Andy
Granite Goodness will return next week with more good news and podcasts! If you missed our newsletter this week, here it is.
Don’t miss our live show Friday 3/27, and mark your calendar for a Granite Goodness community meetup Tues, March 17.
: )
As the former chair of two NH non-profits, this looks like a much needed program. Many not for profit leaders are afraid to ask people to donate, which is a tremendous problem as grants dry up.