Our Approach

The Butterfly Effect Fund is a not-for-profit, community-advised fund that takes a portfolio approach to social impact. We support a dynamic ecosystem of for-profit and nonprofit founders who represent our three pillars of impact: women-led enterprises, mental health and resilience, and Africa rising.

Further, all financial returns are recycled into the fund making the fund evergreen and exponential.

Unlike traditional philanthropy, we use integrated capital—a mix of grants, recoverable grants, equity, and debt—to empower organizations at every stage of growth.

Rather than $1 of contribution = $1 of impact, your $1 contribution to The Butterfly Effect has no upper limit on how much impact that can be created.

Many philanthropists—ourselves included—have found that while giving is deeply meaningful, it can also be time-consuming, isolating, and less effective than hoped. Measuring impact is hard. Vetting opportunities takes time. Staying engaged can feel overwhelming.

For these reasons, we use a portfolio approach for investments in public markets or venture capital.  So we asked ourselves: “Why not use the portfolio approach for in our philanthropic efforts?”

That why we created The Butterfly Effect Fund: To take the burden off the philanthropist. We do the heavy lifting of identifying and monitoring the organizations in the portfolio

If you're seeking more meaning, more connection, and more measurable outcomes with fellow philanthropists, we invite you to consider allocating a portion of your DAF or private foundation into The Butterfly Effect Fund.

The Butterfly Effect Fund has its origin in the The Day to Breathe Accelerator which started in December 2020. 

The focus of a Day to Breathe is to provide a day for founders step out of the day-to-day vortex of activity that Jennifer King and Timothy Fredel know well as veteran venture-backed founders.

The goal of a Day to Breathe is to help founders focus and re-focus on their purpose, align with key stakeholders, and ultimately 12X their positive impact in the world by catalyzing access to vital forms of capital — financial, knowledge (how to), social, soulful, cultural, and political.

To date over 200 leaders from 26 different countries have participated in a Day to Breathe. These leaders represent 150 organizations, both for profit and and non-profit.

From this universe of 150 organizations, The Butterfly Effect Fund has selected 40 organizations that we deemed most likely to be able to scale their positive impact.  Thus the fund has 40 pre-vetted organizations in its portfolio pipeline.

Traditional philanthropy often involves one-time grants with limited follow-up. The Butterfly Effect Fund takes a long-term, ecosystem approach.

All funds are deployed within five years of receipt and community representatives have a say in all capital deployment..

We provide integrated and patient capital that fits the stage and strategy of each organization in the portfolio — grants, recoverable grants, debt, and equity.

We offer coaching, network access, and community to amplify founder success.

We track long-term wealth-building outcomes, not just outputs.

Finally, all financial returns are reinvested in the fund as our aim to build a thriving ecosystem of change will no limit to the amount of positive impact that can be created.

Integrated capital means deploying the right kind of capital at the right time—from grants to recoverable grants, equity, or debt.

For example:

• The founder of a social impact organization creating a Black Soldier Fly composting facility might receive a recoverable grant to help fund the construction of the facility.

• A nonprofit creating trauma-informed care programs might receive a multi-year grant.

• A for-profit venture wishing to scale might received an equity investment.

This approach supports organizations without overburdening them, while allowing financial returns to flow back into the fund, creating ongoing cycles of impact.

We measure what matters: long-term wealth and well-being within communities.

Our primary metric is the collective net worth of the individuals served by our portfolio organizations. This shifts the focus from short-term outputs (e.g., jobs created) to the economic flourishing of people and communities over time.

By tracking tangible, inclusive wealth creation, we can assess how well our ecosystem is working.

Yes, but you gain partnership, community, and purpose.

While the funds are pooled to maximize collective impact, we offer multiple ways to stay engaged and informed, including:

• Participating in curated events

• Meeting founders

• Giving input on emerging opportunities

• Learning from peer philanthropists and advisors

Think of it less as giving up control and more as joining a powerful soulful collective that brings more wisdom, scale, and joy to your giving.

As John Bogle, founder of Vanguard, said:

“Don’t look for the needle in the haystack. Just buy the haystack.”

The Butterfly Effect Fund is community-advised and led by an experienced team with deep backgrounds in entrepreneurship, philanthropy, investing, and systems change.

Founders go through a curated experience called a “Day to Breathe,” followed by a selective application process. Each portfolio addition is vetted with care, values-alignment, and strategic insight.

Contributors receive regular updates and opportunities to connect.

This fund is ideal for:

• Individuals and couples with donor-advised funds or private foundations

• Families seeking to engage in intergenerational giving

• Values-aligned investors looking to support social entrepreneurs

• People who want their giving to be more connective, measurable, and joyful

Whether you’ve been giving for years or are just starting to explore, we welcome you intoThe Butterfly Effect community.