Show up, do not advise from a distance
Board seats and hands on the system. Contributed time, not billed opinions.
12 years
Twelve years keeping engines running.
Socially United was built on a simple observation. The organizations that improve people's lives rarely fail on mission. They fail on machinery.
For more than twelve years our people have worked inside and alongside the institutions that set the global agenda: the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund, the United Nations, the World Health Organization, the Pan-American Health Organization, the International Finance Corporation, and the International Development Association, together with national, state and city governments and the implementing organizations that carry the work to the ground.
That vantage point taught us where good work actually breaks. It breaks when a board is decorative instead of active. It breaks when the operation depends on one person's memory. It breaks when a functioning organization pays retail for everything it buys, and then runs out of money in month nine of a twelve month year.
So we built a firm that fixes all three, and built it on sustainable resources deliberately. We are paid for the work we do. Not to get rich on it, but to be good enough at it to still be here in ten years. Being paid is what lets us keep senior people on the work, hold board seats through the difficult years, and give strategy away without asking anyone for a favour.
We are a one-stop shop by design. Strategy, operations and software, and finance, from one relationship. That is the whole idea. Keep the engine running.
12Years of work
3Ways we engage
12Institutions served
1Standard: run at 100%
Motto
Keep the engine running.
Your One-Stop Shop.
How we work
Four rules we do not bend.
Build what a busy person can use
If a control needs a paragraph of explanation, it is the wrong control.
Say no clearly and early
A fast honest no is worth more to an operating organization than a slow maybe.
Complement, do not colonise
The people doing the work know the work. We bring what is missing and nothing else.
Questions
The things people ask first.
Is Socially United a non-profit?
No. Socially United runs on sustainable resources: we are paid for the work we do. That is deliberate. It lets us fund pro bono strategy work, hold board seats without a grant cycle dictating our attention, and keep supporting organizations through the years when funding is thin.
What does Socially United actually do?
Three things. Strategy: our people serve as active board members and contribute expertise pro bono. Operations and Software Development: we build automations, CRMs and communications systems. Finances: we open non-profit affiliate discounts on key resources such as food, raw materials and human capital, and we fund well-run non-profits that need capital to operate at full strength.
Does Socially United get paid for this work?
Yes, and deliberately. We are paid for operations, software, production and subscriptions. Not to get rich, but to hold a standard that unpaid work cannot hold and to still be here in year three. Being paid is what keeps senior people on the work and what lets us give board service and strategy away for free.
Who can apply for funding?
Non-profit organizations apply, and we qualify them. We support and complement operations that are already well run and need money to keep the lights on and run at 100%. We are looking for operating discipline and delivered impact, not a perfect grant application.
What is the Organization Directory?
A free, worldwide register of organizations that are actually run well, organised by region, country and sector. Anyone can nominate an organization, including their own. We review each nomination against governance, delivery, finances and continuity before it is listed, and we re-check listings over time.
What is the Talent Network?
A register of volunteers and experts who have told us what they are good at and how much time they have. We qualify every submission, then make that expertise available to the organizations we support and to subscribing organizations. Contact details are never shown to organizations, and introductions are always made through us.
What kinds of organizations does Socially United work with?
We concentrate on indispensable retail, non-profit organizations, educational platforms, and sustainable health education. Beyond that, the qualification is social impact, not sector or tax status.
Does Socially United charge for strategy work?
Board service and strategic expertise are contributed pro bono. Operations, software development, production and subscriptions are paid engagements, and that revenue is what makes the pro bono work possible.
Where does Socially United work?
Worldwide. We have supported development finance institutions, United Nations agencies, global health organizations, and national, state and city governments, alongside local organizations serving a single community.
What languages does Socially United work in?
This site is published in English, Spanish and French. Our work spans regions well beyond those three languages, and we bring translation capability from the Talent Network when a program needs it.
What does keep the engine running mean?
It is the standard we hold. Most organizations do not fail because the mission was wrong. They fail because the engine stopped: the systems broke, the board went quiet, or the operating money ran out. We keep the engine running.
Why one-stop shop?
Because strategy, operations and money are the same problem wearing three coats. An organization should not have to assemble a board advisor, a software vendor, a procurement consultant and a funder, and then translate between them. That is one relationship here.
Keep the engine running.
That is the whole idea, and it is the standard we hold.