Mosaic of the Sun

Community Transformation as a Mosaic

A mosaic isn't just art – it's a radical act of transformation. It happens when we stop seeing pieces as mere fragments and start seeing them as gifts and possibilities. Of course, the real magic isn't in the individual pieces, but in the audacious act of bringing them together.

Together, we create extraordinary mosaics where hidden gifts become possibilities for people and communities to thrive.

the opportunity

Our communities are pulsing with untapped potential — from people’s boundless creativity and neighborhoods deep cultural wisdom to the dedication of nonprofits and innovative spirit of businesses. Our communities also face complex challenges that no single organization can tackle. So while our strengths exist in abundance they often remain disconnected, leaving many of our thorniest, most persistent challenges unaddressed.

When we bring people together in new ways across sectors, we reveal fresh possibilities for enduring impact.

our mission

We are on a mission to improve people’s lives by running multi-sector innovation projects designed to solve systemic community challenges. We do this by convening and facilitating citizens and multi-sector partners to reveal their collective genius, discover new possibilities, and tackle challenges that keep communities up at night.

our values and approach

We convene and facilitate community, nonprofit, and business partnerships to enable citizens to transform their neighborhoods. To do this, we focus on three interconnected elements.

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Intention in what we do together

We start with a clear strategy for change. We reframe the challenge our community faces and identify partners that can design and activate change. Like selecting pieces for a mosaic, we bring together diverse gifts, perspectives and capabilities for collective action.

see What we do
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Compassion in how we work

The magic happens in how people work together. We facilitate teams to reveal their gifts and unleash their collective intelligence to see differently, imagine new possibilities, and create brilliant solutions. It's a deeply human approach that's proven to enable enduring impact.  

see How we solve
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Collaboration as we move forward

Vision becomes reality through shared commitment and disciplined action. We help move the work forward by providing 'backbone' support so that partners can focus on creating impact. This backbone role is focused on maintaining the strategic coherence of the work and providing project management, facilitation and support. We also sharing what's been learned other neighborhoods and communities can gain insights from our partnerships.

see Activating the Work
Photo by Jeremy Bishop / Unsplash

value for all partners

When partners recognize clear mutual benefit, they invest more deeply in creating innovative, sustainable solutions that serve everyone's interests. Communities contribute vital cultural wisdom and lived experience, nonprofits bring mission expertise, and businesses offer operational capabilities and resources. This balanced approach ensures communities gain self-determination, nonprofits expand their impact, and businesses strengthen their market position through authentic engagement.

Community Impact

Communities address complex challenges, enhance resilience and equity, scale impact, and promote community engagement and ownership

Address Complex Challenges: Multi-sector partnerships are crucial for tackling complex, interconnected social, economic, and health challenges. By bringing together diverse stakeholders from the private sector, non-profits, governments, and communities, these partnerships can leverage a wide range of skills, resources, and expertise to develop innovative solutions. 1 2 3

Enhance Resilience and Equity: These partnerships help build resilient and equitable communities by addressing the root causes of social ills such as poverty, discrimination, and health inequities. For instance, Accountable Communities for Health (ACHs) involve multiple sectors to address social determinants of health, ensuring equitable distribution of resources and prioritizing community needs. 3 4

Scale Impact: Cross-sector collaborations enable the scaling of impact by combining the issue-expertise, financial resources, and on-the-ground relationships of various sectors. This collective effort can lead to more sustainable and robust solutions compared to what any single sector could achieve alone. 1 4 5

Community Engagement and Ownership: Effective multi-sector partnerships emphasize the importance of community engagement and ownership. By involving community members in decision-making processes, partnerships ensure that solutions are tailored to the specific needs of the community and are more likely to be sustainable. This approach helps in building trust and addressing historical exclusions and mistrust. 1 3

Nonprofits Benefits

Mosaic partnerships offer nonprofits a way to reach a wider audience, learn more about their communities and move more quickly toward systemic change. Through facilitated collaboration, nonprofits gain access to business expertise, expanded networks, and potential funding streams while building their organization's capacity in areas like strategic planning, operational efficiency, and innovation.

Expand Reach and Audience: Partnerships allow nonprofits to reach a wider audience, including new markets for volunteers, donors, and supporters. 1 2

Increase Revenue and Resources: Collaborating with businesses can significantly boost a nonprofit's revenue through various means such as volunteer grants, workplace matching gifts programs, in-kind donations, and corporate social responsibility initiatives. 2 3

Enhance Efficiency and Scalability: Partnerships bring together diverse expertise and resources, leading to more innovative ideas, better problem-solving, and increased efficiency. This collective approach can help nonprofits scale their operations and achieve greater impact. 1 2 3

Tackle Complex Issues: Cross-sector partnerships enable nonprofits to tackle complex social issues more effectively by pooling resources, expertise, and influence. This collective impact can lead to systemic change and address issues such as healthcare, poverty, and climate change more comprehensively. 1 2 4

Business Value

Several studies and analyses have shown significant and multifaceted benefits of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) on employee engagement, retention, and company performance customer loyalty, and brand value:

Employee Engagement: When employees feel that their company is committed to social and environmental causes, it enhances their sense of purpose and engagement. This leads to a 17% increase in productivity, 21% higher profitability, and 41% lower absenteeism. 1 2

Employee Retention: Studies have shown that employees who align with their employer's CSR values are more likely to stay with the company. This alignment constitutes an important non-financial job benefit that reduces employee turnover rates. 3 4

Company Performance: CSR initiatives are linked to improved organizational performance. They promotes healthy stakeholder interactions, attracts and retains talented personnel, and supports long-term sustainability. This holistic approach to business operations can lead to better overall organizational outcomes, including financial success and enhanced brand value. 2 5

Consumer and Investor Perceptions: The general public expects companies to balance profit-making with social and environmental responsibilities. Companies that prioritize CSR initiatives can attract both customers and investors, as 77% of consumers are motivated to purchase from companies committed to social and environmental causes, and 73% of investors consider these efforts in their investment decisions. 5

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