Movement Research Project
Mapping Nonprofit Intelligence Across Our Region
Thrive Alliance and Swordhouse, in partnership with Stanford’s Graduate School of Education, are conducting a first-of-its-kind Movement Research Project to understand how nonprofits in our region work, collaborate, and drive impact. For years, organizations have been asked to deliver more—often without the systems, data, or technology designed for the realities of community-centered work. This project gathers the lived experiences of nonprofits across San Mateo and Santa Clara Counties to illuminate the patterns, pressures, strengths, and innovations shaping our sector.
By interviewing over 200 organizations, we aim to build the first regional map of nonprofit capacity, collaboration, and movement identity. This research will inform a new logic framework—an intelligent foundation that can support future tools, strategies, and shared infrastructure for our region. Our goal is not to extract data, but to reflect and elevate the expertise nonprofits already carry, ensuring that any future systems are rooted in what practitioners actually need.
Hopeful Outcomes
A clearer, shared understanding of the challenges nonprofits face and the strengths they bring.
A regional map of collaboration patterns and movement dynamics across issue areas.
Insights that help funders, policymakers, and nonprofits make more aligned, strategic decisions.
The development of a nonprofit-informed logic framework that will guide next-generation tools and support systems for the sector.
A stronger, more connected ecosystem where organizations can work more efficiently, sustainably, and with greater collective power.
This project is an invitation—to honestly share what’s working, what isn’t, and what the sector truly needs to thrive. The future of nonprofit infrastructure should be built with nonprofits, not for them. This research ensures that begins here.