Grantmakers for Southern Progress

Name

Grantmakers for Southern Progress

Legal name

Grantmakers for Southern Progress

Website

https://g4sp.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2010

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Philanthropic Network and Foundation Services

NAICS

Grantmaking and Giving Services (81321), Social Advocacy Organizations (81331)

SIC

Services-Social Services (8300)

akta.pro primary industry

Social Justice & Human Rights Grantmaking Foundations (BPAGAKAN)

Keywords

• Philanthropic network membership
• Funder convening services
• Foundation technical assistance
• Social justice research
• Nonprofit capacity building

Headquarters

HQ city

Atlanta

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Membership Dues: GSP generates revenue through annual membership fees from grantmaking organizations, with fees tiered based on the organization's total annual grantmaking budget. Individual memberships and associate memberships at elevated giving levels also contribute to revenue.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

Grantmakers for Southern Progress (GSP) is a membership-based network of over 40 philanthropic organizations (foundations and social justice funders) that advances racial, gender, and economic justice in the 14 Southern U.S. states. The organization sells tiered annual memberships and delivers programming including biennial convenings, learning tours, the Fellows for Southern Progress leadership program, the As the South Grows research report series (with NCRP), state funder tables, technical assistance, and a quarterly newsletter.

Product overview

Grantmakers for Southern Progress (GSP) is a membership-based network of over 40 philanthropic organizations dedicated to advancing equity and justice in the Southern United States. The organization's core offerings include its Membership Network with exclusive programming and technical assistance, the biennial Convening series connecting funders with grassroots movement leaders, the Fellows for Southern Progress leadership development program, the As the South Grows report series developed with NCRP, State Funder Tables for collaborative state-level organizing, Learning Tours featuring Southern organizations, and a quarterly newsletter. These products work together to build relationships between funders and frontline communities, deepen understanding of Southern political landscapes, and grow sustainable investments in organizations led by people of color advancing structural change.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Fellows for Southern Progress: Innovative leadership development program helping participants develop knowledge and skills necessary to support grassroots movements and structural change in the South.
• As the South Grows

Products and services

• GSP Membership Network A membership-based network connecting over 40 philanthropic organizations dedicated to advancing racial, gender, and economic justice in the South. Members gain access to exclusive programming, a membership portal, leadership opportunities, discounted convening rates, quarterly newsletters, and technical assistance.
• Biennial Convening Large-scale in-person gatherings (Orlando, FL in 2023 and Little Rock, AR in 2025) that connect funders, organizers, and movement partners for learning, strategy building, and relationship cultivation around structural change in the South.
• Fellows for Southern Progress An innovative leadership development program that helps participants develop knowledge and skills necessary to support grassroots movements and structural change in the South through travel, historical education, and cohort-based learning.
• As the South Grows Report Series A research and resource report series produced in partnership with NCRP that provides philanthropists with tools to partner with visionary Southern leaders. Topics include Groundwater, Propagating Power, Southern Climate Infrastructure, Healthcare Access, Economic Justice, and Solidarity & Infrastructure Building.
• State Funder Tables Collaborative working groups of community leaders and philanthropic partners who share strategies for structural change and increase investment in social justice infrastructure within specific Southern states (Georgia Justice Funders Table, Mississippi funder tables).
• Learning Tours Virtual and in-person guided tours featuring Southern community-based organizations and movement leaders, providing funders with firsthand insight into grassroots work across the region (Texas Learning Tour, Mississippi Learning Tour, Florida Learning Tour).
• Technical Assistance Individually tailored support services designed to strengthen funder strategies, align with grassroots efforts, and support collaboration rooted in equity for member foundations.

Quantifiable outcome

• GSP has grown to include 40+ member organizations representing over 80 foundations
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers9 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Nine partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Georgia Justice Funders TablecoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2023GSP partnered with United Way of Greater Atlanta, Public Welfare Foundation, and The Kendeda Fund to understand opportunities and barriers to supporting criminal justice reform in Georgia. Phase 1 landscape mapping documented invested funders and community partner organizations.
• Solidaire NetworkcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2023GSP partnered with Solidaire Network on the All By April campaign, signing onto an open letter urging philanthropy to move money early for free, fair, and representative elections. Joint advocacy for democracy and election funding.
• Four Freedoms FundminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2022GSP has worked with Four Freedoms Fund on the Black Migrant Power Fund initiative, which raised nearly $4 million for Black migrant organizations responding to Border Patrol attacks on Haitian migrants in Del Rio, TX.
• National Committee for Responsive Philanthropy (NCRP)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2017GSP partnered with NCRP to create the groundbreaking 'As the South Grows' report series. This participatory research process aimed to increase funding from local, regional Southern funders and national funders, producing five reports highlighting Southern practitioners and funders with best practice recommendations for structural change work.
• Southern Education FoundationcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2017In 2017, GSP transitioned fiscal sponsors from Neighborhood Funders Group to the Southern Education Foundation to become fully rooted in the South, strengthening their regional identity and alignment with Southern education and equity work.
• Southeastern Council of FoundationsminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2017GSP collaborates with regional philanthropy infrastructure organizations including SECF on shared goals of increasing investment in Southern social justice.
• Southern Power FundcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerA collaborative fund organized to move money to frontline communities in the South. GSP promotes this intermediary funding mechanism as an example of collaborative funding that can help facilitate investment for organizations that may not fit traditional foundation criteria.
• Southern Vision AllianceminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerGSP references Southern Vision Alliance as a community-based philanthropy intermediary that can help facilitate funding for Southern organizations, particularly those that may not have 501(c)3 status.
• Contigo FundminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerGSP references Contigo Fund as an intermediary supporting projects that uplift and heal communities affected by the Pulse Massacre in Orlando, Florida. Contigo represents community-based philanthropy that GSP promotes as a funding pathway.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Southern Education Foundation: Regional education-focused foundation and GSP's current fiscal sponsor. Operates as a complementary Southern-focused equity funder with overlapping geography and partner foundation relationships.
• ABFE (Association of Black Foundation Executives): Membership association of Black foundation professionals and grantmakers advancing effective and responsive philanthropy in Black communities. Highly comparable mission alignment around racial equity within philanthropy, though national rather than Southern-focused.
• Southern Vision Alliance: Southern-focused community-based philanthropic intermediary referenced by GSP. Directly comparable in geography and equity agenda, operating as a regranting/capacity-building intermediary for Southern movement organizations.
• Solidaire Network: Network of progressive donors and movement leaders mobilizing resources for social movements. GSP has formally partnered with Solidaire (e.g., All By April campaign), and both organize funders around racial and economic justice.
• Neighborhood Funders Group (NFG): National network of place-based and national funders advancing equity through place-based, community-driven grantmaking. NFG was GSP's original fiscal sponsor before 2017 and operates a near-identical model of organizing funders around progressive place-based agendas.
• Southeastern Council of Foundations (SECF): Regional membership association serving foundations in the Southeastern US. Shares GSP's geographic anchor and membership-of-founders model, though its scope is broader (all foundation types, all issues) versus GSP's equity/justice focus.
• National Committee for Responsive Philanthropy (NCRP): National nonprofit advocating for a more responsive and equitable philanthropic sector. NCRP is GSP's research partner on the 'As the South Grows' series and shares the same mission of mobilizing funders around equity and justice, making it the most directly comparable peer.

Broad incumbents

• Council on Foundations: National nonprofit membership association serving the entire US foundation field. Far larger and broader than GSP but competes for the same foundation membership wallet and serves overlapping functions (peer learning, advocacy, resources).
• National Center for Family Philanthropy: National membership network serving family philanthropies. Comparable membership-association model targeting foundations, though broader scope and not specifically Southern or social-justice focused.

Emerging players

• Aspen Institute Forum for Community Solutions: Cross-sector initiative advancing economic mobility and community change with funder engagement components. Adjacent in approach — mobilizing funders and cross-sector partners around equity outcomes — though broader scope than GSP's Southern focus.

Market position

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/southerngrants
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/grantmakers-for-southern-progress
• Instagraminstagram.com/southerngrants

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Grantmakers for Southern Progress