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The Convening
to reimagine how the non-profit sector is financed beyond grants
April 14, 2026 - 1:30 to 4:30 PM
followed by a networking reception
InterAction HQ, Washington, DC Area
The event — officially titled The Money Problem: Is Development in Need of a New Business Model? — is a half-day, invitation-only working session, capped at 25-30 senior practitioners, including NGO and INGO executives, impact investors, foundation directors, corporate partnership leads, international organizations experts, and practitioners from development finance institutions.
The timing is deliberate: April 14 is the opening day of IMF/World Bank Spring Meetings week, before the official programming begins. This is a first-mover advantage.
The format is structured around two things that most development-sector events never produce: honest conversation (Chatham House Rule) and concrete output.
The afternoon opens with a series of provocations/lightning talks.
From there, the room breaks into three working groups — each tackling a different pathway beyond grant dependency:
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NGO-Corporate Partnerships — what genuine profit-purpose alignment looks like, beyond CSR theater
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Earned Revenue Mechanisms — social enterprises, fee-for-service models, product sales
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Blended Finance Structures — catalytic capital, guarantees, and instruments that mix grant money with investment capital
The groups don't just discuss, they build. Each produces a draft framework that feeds directly into a co-authored white paper, to be distributed through InterAction's network to 100+ member organizations and sector publications. Attendees won't leave with a summary of what was said. You'll leave having helped produce something the sector can actually use.
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