Play to Stay: How to Play the Infinite Game of Making Social Impact

Social impact isn’t a solo sprint. It was always an infinite game - a relay race of many players without a clear finish line.

If you are a funder or practitioner who believes in making social impact via

✅ Greater Wins Over Quick Wins
Sustaining both the work and the workers for the long haul vs. burning through people & resources with short-term fixes 

✅ Adaptation Over Stagnation
Learning and experimenting with doing Good better vs. “just do what’s always been done”

✅ Collaboration Over Competition
Inviting others to play alongside you vs. “beating” competitors 

✅ Ecosystem Over Ego
Passing the baton of impact to new players vs. gate-keeping for our glory

… PLAY TO STAY is an online masterclass series for you. 

In this online series of 4 masterclasses, you will get a Starter Pack of basic principles and practices
for approaching social impact for the long haul.

🎯 Practitioners who want to last longer and go further with others in their social impact work.

🎯 Funders who want to support practitioners to play the long game - together.

🎯 Steward Practitioners & Backbone Support Teams who are overseeing multi-year collective impact initiatives on behalf of a group of practitioners or funders

Part 1: 7 Aug, Thurs, 7pm - 9pm
GET IN THE GAME: HOW TO START MAKING IMPACT

In this session, you’ll learn how to:

1. Consider your (Re)Starting Point: What’s small enough for me to act on, big enough to matter?

2. Consider your current Theory of Change: How do I imagine making an impact?

3. Consider the Intersections of Interests: Whose interests, values and priorities must I work with?

4. Consider other Voices of Change: Who else can help me make an impact?

Part 2: 14 Aug, Thurs, 7pm - 9pm
EYES ON THE PRIZE: HOW TO MEASURE IMPACT

In this session, you’ll learn how to:

1. Measure what matters to you: What do I value and prize as a practitioner

2. Measure what matters to your stakeholders: Who has impact and influence on what I measure? What do they value and prize

3. Measure what matters to the field: What kind of data is worth collecting and measuring? What does the sector prize

4. Measure what’s a “RIGHT-FIT” measurement for you to Cart around: How can I collect and track data reasonably and sustainably?

Part 3: 21 Aug, Thurs, 7pm - 9pm
STAY IN PLAY: HOW TO SUSTAIN IMPACT

In this session, you’ll learn how to:

1. Take Care of Expectations: Why does impact work feel so long & tough?

2. Take Care of Stakeholder Dilemmas & Trilemmas: What are common painful dilemmas and trilemmas in impact work that I must learn to navigate with others?

3. Take Care of Scope of Work: How can I have a more realistic and sustainable scope of my work?

4. Take Care of Cost of Work: How can I get a better sense of the true costs/value of my work?

Part 4: 28 Aug, Thurs, 7pm - 9pm
GROW THE GAME: HOW TO SCALE IMPACT

In this session, you’ll learn how to:

1. Revisit the Collective Game: What if I change the way I see the game and its players?

2. Revisit your Collaborative Approach: What if I just change the way I approach stakeholders?

3. Revisit your Scale Strategy: What if I just change the way I approach scale & impact?

You may choose to attend one session or come for all four. For a more comprehensive learning experience, you are highly encouraged to join us for all sessions as each part builds upon the learning from the previous parts.