Nonprofit Service Providers Ecosystem

This interactive Ecosystem Map visualizes the 2021 network of capacity builders who provide services to nonprofits in Southeast Michigan. These specialists operate in several essential capacity areas, including fundraising, strategic planning, and more.  

You can use this tool as a guide to understand the key categories of capacity building services in Southeast Michigan’s ecosystem, which are defined by the large purple dots. The large purple dots are orbited by a network of small teal dots that each represent an organization whose services align with the related capacity area. Zoom in for more detail about individual professional services offered, the organization’s core values, and their employee demographics. 

In 2019, Co.act convened the  Building a Network  partners to co-design a $1.5m capacity building fund, and by early 2020, launched the  Activate Fund . It was designed to accelerate impact in Southeast Michigan’s nonprofit community through capacity building grants, collaboration support, and the incubation of nonprofit earned revenue models. 

Through the fund, Co.act issued a public RFP for nonprofit capacity builders to provide services to grantees and received an overwhelming response. Over 260 diverse, non- and for-profit consultants, both local and national, responded seeking to work with the Southeast Michigan nonprofit community. This laid the foundation for a network of consultants and professionals that would become the capacity building ecosystem map.

While offering cohort and peer learning opportunities for nonprofit participants, the fund also provided structured opportunities for these capacity building professionals to connect and collaborate. Through these engagements, this network of consultants expressed the desire to co-develop a map of the nonprofit services ecosystem of capacity building providers in Southeast Michigan. 

In 2021, Co.act partnered with Michigan Community Resources and Data Driven Detroit to convene a co-creation session with a working group of 20-30 individuals from the  Activate Fund service provider network, and began to actualize the ecosystem map design.  

This Ecosystem Map is the manifestation of several years of co-creation with capacity builders who participated in the Activate Fund, the 2023 Consulting with Purpose series, and other intermediary partners.

With support from Data Driven Detroit to actualize this resource, we utilized the data collected from the Activate Fund to build the map. 

The goals of our efforts were to: 

1. Create a tool that helps nonprofits and service providers understand their role in the ecosystem 
2. Foster a collaborative environment between those that serve nonprofits, including the capacity to make stronger referrals
3. Build equity into every level of the nonprofit ecosystem by democratizing access to information for a diverse landscape of capacity building options 

We invite you to virtually interact with the Ecosystem Map as a new space for connection and relationship-building. Looking for something you can’t see on the map? Want to chat more about how this tool can accelerate your work? Or, are there additional features you’d like to see in the future? Feel free to share your feedback with us  here ! 

Disclaimers:

The Ecosystem Map dataset is from the initial 2020 Activate Fund capacity building services RFP. New organizations have been added through the Consulting with Purpose engagement sessions. The Ecosystem Map is not reflective of the Dovetail Directory listings, though some capacity building organizations may be listed in both.