Multiplier provides fiscal sponsorship, grants, loans, and comprehensive nonprofit management services to left-of-center environmentalist and social-policy projects lacking organizational infrastructure. Projects must further the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. ¹ Multiplier’s aim is to increase the number and impact of such groups worldwide. ²

Background

Multiplier was founded in 2002. Previously known as the Trust for Conservation Innovation, it was renamed Multiplier in 2019. According to Multiplier’s 2022 Audited Financial Statements, Trust for Conservation Innovation sought “to transform public and private enterprises into sustainable operations that conserve and protect the environment for the benefit of the public.” ³

The name Multiplier reflects application to the environmental sector of a model derived from a paper by two economic historians, Louis Galambos of Johns Hopkins and Franco Amatori of Italy’s Bocconi University. The authors contend that multipliers of entrepreneurialism work through “incentivizing or forcing investments in innovation.” ⁴

In theory, developing the viability of multiple start-up actors will lead to exponential growth in the targeted arena. For the founding organization, it results in expansion of the founder’s sphere of influence. ⁵

Multiplier’s core investment areas are: Healthy Planet and People; Secure Natural Resources; Resilient Communities; and Sustainable, Equitable Economies. ⁶ Its website states that it strives to go beyond environmental conservation to encompass “public health, environmental education, economic development, clean energy, climate resilience, sustainable food systems, energy efficiency, social and environmental equity, and more.” ⁷

These concerns are united by Multiplier’s core focus on tribes and communities of color. For example, it has prioritized helping small community-of-color businesses to become employee-owned. ⁸ Its 17 goals all seek to elevate tribes and communities of color to positions of power in global environmental policymaking. ⁷

Project Selection and Services

Groups applying to become a Multiplier project are vetted through an online application process and must demonstrate previous leadership and program management experience and potential for regional, national, or international impact. Each group must be working in one or more of Multiplier’s core investment areas. ⁶

Those selected are offered cash grants, fiscal sponsorship, financial, accounting, personnel management services, payroll management, fundraising development, marketing, and strategic planning services by Multiplier. ⁹ In 2022, 28 cash grants awarded to projects amounted to $4,335,055. ¹⁰

Multiplier’s projects are large consortia. An example is the Conservation Finance Network which describes itself as “a trusted community of practice, we help practitioners develop and scale conservation finance approaches that increase their access to capital and environmental markets.” Conservation Finance Network recommends impact investing and blended finance. ¹¹

Form and Funding

Multiplier is itself a blended financial and management-services organization. It awards grants, confers fiscal sponsorship, receives grants and government contracts, makes interest-bearing loans, holds investment capital, and offers nonprofit management services. ³

It receives support from left-of-center foundation grants which in 2022 amounted to $10,336,262 and has investment holdings valued at $47,350,218. ³ Other group funders have included the David and Lucile Packard Foundation ($500,000 in 2024), ¹² John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation ($200,000 in 2022), ¹³ and the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation ($1,500,000 in 2023). ¹⁴

Multiplier charges management fees to projects calculated as a percentage of each project’s revenue, ⁹ and executes receivable and related promissory notes for portfolio projects from which it receives principal and interest payments. ³

Leadership

Prior to becoming Executive Director, Laura Deaton headed a management consulting firm. She was executive director of Big Brothers Big Sisters of East Bay, director of client services for Community Gatepath, director of corporate communications for a Silicon Valley tech company, vice president of corporate communications for an e-commerce company, and director of communications and outreach for the Glaucoma Research Foundation. Deaton holds a law degree from Duke University. ¹⁵

1.  “Transforming Our World: The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development | Department of Economic and Social Affairs.” Accessed November 20, 2024. https://sdgs.un.org/2030agenda
2. Multiplier. “Multiplier: People. Planet. Possibilities.” Accessed November 20, 2024. https://multiplier.org/
3. Roberts, Andrea Suozzo, Alec Glassford, Ash Ngu, Brandon. “Nonprofit Explorer.” ProPublica, May 9, 2013. Accessed November 20, 2024.  https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/display_audit/23407920221
4. Galambos, Louis, and Franco Amatori. “The entrepreneurial multiplier effect.” Enterprise & Society 17, no. 4 (2016): 763-808. Accessed November 20, 2024. https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/enterprise-and-society/article/abs/entrepreneurial-multiplier-effect/34FB926327CCBCD7A6AFE9CF97D1F14C
5. Endeavor. “What Is the Multiplier Effect?” Endeavor, April 26, 2023. Accessed November 20, 2024. https://endeavor.org/stories/what-is-the-multiplier-effect/
6. Multiplier. “Our Projects.” Accessed November 21, 2024. https://multiplier.org/projects/
7. Multiplier. “Who We Are.” Accessed November 21, 2024. https://multiplier.org/about/
8. Jones, Benjamin. “Case Study: Project Equity.” P Cubed (blog), November 2, 2022. Accessed November 21, 2024. https://medium.com/pcubed/project-equity-893c09bfb0a1
9. Multiplier. “Become a Project.” Accessed November 21, 2024. https://multiplier.org/become-a-project/
10. “2022 Form 990 for Multiplier | Cause IQ.” Accessed November 21, 2024. https://www.causeiq.com/organizations/view_990/912166435/2113400dfea4ab3ea413a583554037b4
11. “The Conservation Finance Network | Conservation Finance Network,” March 21, 2023. Accessed November 22, 2024. https://www.conservationfinancenetwork.org/
12. The David and Lucile Packard Foundation. “Multiplier • The David and Lucile Packard Foundation.” Accessed November 22, 2024. https://www.packard.org/grantee/multiplier/
13. “Multiplier – MacArthur Foundation.” Accessed November 22, 2024. https://www.macfound.org/grantee/multiplier-46419/
14. Hewlett Foundation. “Multiplier – for the Clean Grid Initiative.” Accessed November 22, 2024. https://hewlett.org/grants/multiplier-for-the-clean-grid-initiative/
15. LinkedIn. “Laura Deaton.” Accessed November 23, 2024. https://www.linkedin.com/in/lauradeaton/details/experience/