Page 1 Page 2 Page 3 Page 4 Page 5 Page 6 Page 7 Page 8 Page 9 Page 10 Page 11 Page 12 Page 13 Page 14 Page 15 Page 16What many people don’t appreciate about the nonprofit sector (who don’t also work in the nonprofit sector) is this: we exist, we compete, and we live or die, in the marketplace of ideas. We’re no different from the for-profit sector in this regard. We seek to garner resources—capital—to accomplish something. It’s just that we have a societal goal of some sort (alleviating poverty, creating safe neighborhoods, saving species) instead of a profit-making goal. We define “profit” in a fundamentally different way. But we need resources just the same. Like the for-profit sector, the demand for capital far outstrips the supply. Competition is the logical and inescapable result. And I’ll be the first to say that competition feels good. My best ideas have come when I’ve been competing for a very limited pool of money. But until the supply of capital exceeds the demand for capital to make the world a better place (not likely anytime soon), we compete. Nonprofits good at raising capital, survive and thrive. Those not good, don’t. It’s a survival-of-the-fittest world. The problem is this: the big societal issues we face, such as restoring an entire marine ecosystem, or “solving” climate change—issues of enormous social and economic and environmental consequence—can’t be solved only through competition—the model we all know. The big issues require collaboration. The major problems of the 21st century are simply too big for any one organization to solve alone. So how do we, nonprofits, work together when we must compete to survive—when two of our major sources of capital (foundations and government grants) are structured to support competition? Some foundations are testing a new model. The Elmina B. Sewall Foundation (a Maine-based foundation) and the Downeast Fisheries Partnership, a group of nonprofits in Maine (see article in this issue), have been informally exploring a new approach, requiring both the funder and its nonprofit grantees to trust each other in a way not customary in the philanthropy sector. This informal model is not derived from academic books on complex problem solving. It’s founded on trust—a confidence that the nonprofits involved have a real, credible plan for how to solve the enormous challenge of putting a whole ecosystem back together so it can support rural coastal communities. The Sewall Foundation understands that a preoccupation with annual performance metrics impedes our ability to maximize the value of their investment. Sewall understands that opportunities will arise within the partnership in any given year that can advance the vision—opportunities that could not have been foreseen. Sewall and the grantees want the same outcome, healthy coastal Maine communities that can fish forever. Trust, and mutual respect between funder and grantees, accelerates our progress toward this goal. Honesty and patience and trust form the basis of a new day for solving big problems. It’s a rare alignment—the Sewall Foundation and the Downeast Fisheries Partnership. It’s courageous because there are no guarantees of success. But restoring an ecosystem, and the communities that depend on it, is entirely possible with this approach to philanthropy. It’s not the philanthropy model we’ve relied on for half a century. Maybe that’s why we (funders and grantees) haven’t made more progress than we have on the most pressing issues of our time. Sincerely, John M. Hagan, Ph.D. Soaring Solutions. Grounded Science. Partnerships for Sustainability is published by Manomet, Inc.  Correspondence may be sent to: Cheryl Botieri Director of Communications P.O. Box 1770, Manomet, MA 02345 508-224-6521 www.manomet.org ©2016 Manomet, Inc. All rights reserved. Printed in USA using soy-based inks on SFI-certified recycled paper containing post-consumer fiber. A letter from the president OFFICERS Dean H. Steeger, Chair David Bryan, Vice Chair Michael Taubenberger, Treasurer Nancy B. Soulette, Secretary John M. Hagan, Ph.D., President Constance de Brun, COO/CFO TRUSTEES Peter C. Bennett David Bryan Richard S. Chute The Rev. Louise Conant Molly N. Cornell Samuel F. Davenport Dwight H. DeMay Nancy E. Dempze Anne C. Gamble Walter J. Gamble, M.D. Susanna C. Hinds Weston Howland III Barbara McMillan W. Andrew Mims William C. Osborn Jeffrey F. Peters J. Michael Reed, Ph.D. Daniel G. Sarles Lawrence Selzer Mildred Z. Solomon Nancy B. Soulette Dean H. Steeger Michael Taubenberger Emily V. Wade Daniel Zibinskas 3 Nature-Based Infrastructure Manomet’s Sustainability Efforts 7 Solving Wicked Problems 15 Banding by the Numbers C O N T E N T S 12 2 | Manomet Partnerships for Sustainability