Meaningful and lasting impact comes from more than capital alone. Whether we invest in early-stage companies or support nonprofit organizations, we pair financial support with strategic leadership, operational expertise, and access to trusted partners who help organizations grow stronger and deliver greater impact. That commitment is central to our mission of improving health and wellbeing through innovation, collaboration, and long-term partnership.
One example is Community 43, a nonprofit organization that provides a healing community for individuals living with serious mental illness. Community 43 helps members build healthier, more independent lives by providing meaningful work opportunities, social connection, crisis support, education, and pathways to employment—addressing the isolation that so often accompanies serious mental illness. Supporting organizations like Community 43 reflects our longstanding commitment to advancing mental health as an essential component of overall health and wellbeing.
As Community 43 has grown, so has the need to demonstrate its impact—not only through powerful member stories, but through measurable outcomes that strengthen decision-making and support future growth.
That’s where our support extended beyond grant funding.
Through Stead Impact Ventures, Community 43 partnered with Open Horizon Analytics to develop a scalable outcomes measurement strategy the organization could use every day—not just during grant reporting.
Brad Cunningham, founder of Open Horizon Analytics, worked closely with the Community 43 leadership team to translate day-to-day member care into a practical framework for measuring and improving outcomes.
The engagement began by standardizing how staff document member visits. From there, the team introduced AI-assisted note summarization to identify meaningful trends and developed an Outcomes Intelligence Dashboard that transforms routine interactions into actionable insights about member progress.
The objective was straightforward: answer an important question with evidence rather than anecdote. Is Community 43’s model helping members build healthier, more independent lives?
The first year of measurement suggests it is.
Members are finding and maintaining employment, building greater independence, and increasing social engagement across more than 900 members. Across all documented member visits, the organization observed approximately nine indicators of improvement for every one indicator of decline.
These insights will help Community 43 strengthen grant applications, engage new donors, and provide existing supporters with clear evidence that their investments are creating measurable outcomes.
Equally important, the data helps frontline staff deliver better care. Rather than spending time reconstructing member histories, teams can more quickly identify individuals who may need additional support, recognize which interventions are most effective, and make more informed decisions based on real-time information.
The work also establishes the operational foundation Community 43 will need as it expands into additional communities, ensuring growth is supported by consistent measurement and continuous learning.
This project reflects what we believe distinguishes the Stead approach. We don’t simply provide capital—we connect our portfolio organizations with experienced leaders, specialized expertise, and strategic resources to strengthen operations and amplify their impact. Helping Community 43 build a culture of measurement is one example of how we work alongside our partners to accelerate both organizational excellence and meaningful outcomes for the people they serve.