Empowering Nonprofits to Scale Globally: How Gratitude Network Transforms Leaders
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Devin: What is your superpower?
Lauren: What is my superpower? I think I am a mission-driven Growth catalyst.
Transforming the nonprofit sector starts with empowering its leaders. Gratitude Network, under the leadership of Executive Director Lauren Reilly, has revolutionized nonprofit growth by offering leaders of organizations serving children a robust fellowship program. This unique accelerator equips them with tools to scale their impact globally.
Gratitude Network’s fellowship program combines executive Coaching, a mini-MBA curriculum, and a global peer network. As Lauren explained in our interview, “Organizations that go through our program grow 3x on average after working with us. They grow revenue by almost 40% and, one year post-fellowship, serve an additional 2,300 children on average.”
Lauren’s passion for creating systemic change is deeply rooted in her career as an educator. Early on, she recognized the inequities in Education systems and sought innovative solutions. “I wanted to show students what it was like to be a CEO,” she recalled, describing her transition into the nonprofit sector. Gratitude Network provided her with the business acumen she needed to scale her ideas. Within five years, her nonprofit grew 26-fold, serving 21,000 children and collaborating with over 100 Fortune 500 companies.
Now, at the helm of Gratitude Network, Lauren’s vision is to amplify this impact. She aims to sustain and expand the organization’s global network, ensuring that fellows continue to benefit from support long after completing the program. “We’re fixing a broken nonprofit sector,” she said. “By supporting Gratitude, donors aren’t just helping one organization—they’re creating a leveraged social venture with outcomes year after year.”
Gratitude Network is a beacon for nonprofit leaders striving to accelerate change. With Lauren’s leadership, the ripple effect of their work promises to transform communities worldwide, one leader at a time.
tl;dr:
Gratitude Network empowers nonprofit leaders with tools like executive coaching and a scale-up curriculum.
Lauren transitioned from education to nonprofits, scaling impactful ideas into sustainable, thriving organizations.
Fellows in the Gratitude Network’s program average a 3x growth and serve 2,300 more children annually.
Success at Gratitude stems from system building, postmortems, and clear KPIs to drive measurable impact.
Lauren encourages dedicating 20% of time to strategic thinking to achieve long-term organizational growth.
How to Develop Being a Mission-Driven Growth Catalyst As a Superpower
Lauren’s superpower lies in being a “mission-driven growth catalyst.” This unique ability allows her to inspire and execute change, transforming innovative ideas into scalable, impactful ventures. She empowers changemakers to evolve into effective business leaders while amplifying their impact.
Lauren exemplified her superpower while working with Practice, a nonprofit in New York City. Recognizing the potential of using college students to mitigate summer learning loss for 1.1 million children, Lauren built systems and training programs to scale the initiative. Within five years, the organization grew to serve over 50,000 students annually, showcasing her talent for creating processes that drive large-scale change.
Tips for Developing This Superpower:
Analyze Success: Regularly reflect on what is working well. Identify the specific steps and actions that led to success and document them.
Create Systems and Processes: Design repeatable systems for achieving desired outcomes. Train team members to implement these processes at scale.
Set and Track KPIs: Develop key performance indicators aligned with organizational goals. Monitor progress monthly and adjust to meet growth targets.
Carve Out Time for Strategy: Dedicate 20 percent of your time to think about long-term growth and innovative ideas rather than just day-to-day execution.
Engage Teams in Postmortems: After every project or milestone, review outcomes—good or bad—to identify lessons and refine processes.
By following Lauren’s example and advice, you can make “mission-driven growth catalyst” a skill. With practice and effort, you could make it a superpower that enables you to do more good in the world.
Remember, however, that research into success suggests that building on your own superpowers is more important than creating new ones or overcoming weaknesses. You do you!
Guest Profile
Lauren Reilly (she/her):
Executive Director, Gratitude Network
About Gratitude Network: Founded in 2014, Gratitude Network is a leadership development non-profit that improves the lives of children and youth around the world by accelerating the community impact of social entrepreneurs. Gratitude Network offers a 12-month virtual Fellowship focused on leadership and organizational growth, featuring personalized coaching, a scaling curriculum, peer learning sessions, and networking events. Since its inception, Gratitude Network has supported over 200 Fellows across 82 countries. Post fellowship, these Fellows have increased the number of children they serve by 2.7X and boosted their revenue by an average of 38%. The program is highly competitive, with over 1,500 applicants annually vying for just 30 fellowship spots.
At Gratitude Network, we don’t just give a person a fish or teach them to fish—we help them build sustainable fishing ponds. By empowering social entrepreneurs with the tools, skills, and support to create sustainable solutions, we enable them to drive lasting change that ripples through their entire communities. This way, their impact grows, benefitting future generations.
Website: www.gratitude-network.org
Company Facebook Page: fb.com/gratitudenet/
Linkedin: linkedin.com/company/the-gratitude-network/
Other URL: www.gratitude-network.org/donate
Biographical Information: Lauren Reilly is a results-driven professional with a proven track record in growing and scaling non-profit and social impact organizations. She assumes the Executive Director role at Gratitude Network after having run SuitUp, a college and career readiness organization, for the past six years. As the first employee and inaugural Executive Director of SuitUp, she grew the organization 26x over 5 years, serving over 21,000 students and raising over $3M. Prior to this, Lauren served as a board member and Chief Learning and Program Officer at Practice Makes Perfect, where she played a key role in growing the organization 10x over 5 years. Her background includes impactful roles as a Teach for America alum and NY certified teacher, teaching high school and middle school in the Bronx and Harlem.
Lauren’s accolades include the Gratitude Network Fellowship, SOCAP Fellowship, Student Success Network Fellowship, NYU Senior Leaders Fellowship, and graduation from the Goldman Sachs 10KSB program. She was also recognized as a finalist in the NYC Imagine Awards in the Rising Star and Excellence in Leadership categories. Notably, Lauren was honored by the Obama administration as a White House Champion for Change for her pioneering work in summer learning. She was one of 17 women-led organizations to undergo Santa Clara’s GSBI incubator. Lauren holds a Master’s degree in Education from Fordham University and a Bachelor’s degree in History from Vassar College. Her contributions have been featured in publications such as Chronicles of Philanthropy, K12 Drive, Manhattan Lifestyle, News12 and more.
Personal Facebook Profile: fb.com/lauren.elizabeth.7399
Instagram Handle: @thegratitudenetwork/
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