717. The Funding Landscape Is Shifting. Here's What Nonprofits Need to Know - Hala Hanna, MIT Solve
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About This Episode
"Crisis creates clarity, and philanthropic funding is the best risk capital we have." That's how Hala Hanna reads the moment we're in, and as Executive Director of MIT Solve, she has the data to back it up.
MIT Solve has spent a decade brokering the relationship between companies, funders, and the early-stage innovators closing equity gaps in health, learning, climate, and economic opportunity. Their 460 solvers are reaching 430 million lives, have mobilized $87 million in direct funding, and have collectively raised $1.4 billion. And Hala has a front-row seat to the fundamental shift happening in how money moves toward mission.
In this episode, you'll hear:
Why the most forward-thinking funders are moving from rewarding proximity to power to rewarding proximity to the problem, and what that means for your mission
What corporate partners actually need from nonprofit partnerships right now, and how to position your org to meet them there
Why pairing measurable outcomes with storytelling is the real fundraising unlock, and the one question every nonprofit leader needs to answer before walking into a funder conversation
You'll walk away with a sharper read on where philanthropy is heading and a concrete playbook for becoming the partner funders are actually looking for. 🩵
Episode Highlights:
Meet Hala Hanna (01:44)
What MIT Solve actually does — and the numbers behind it (03:13)
From proximity to power to proximity to the problem (03:37)
Why corporate donors are raising the bar (HP & Amazon) (06:59)
The full accordion: rethinking philanthropic capital (10:48)
Where nonprofits start: data, storytelling, and trust (13:30)
Fighting the "single story" of AI (17:23)
Amini: building sovereign AI in the Global South (18:02)
A moment of generosity: Carrie Morgridge (20:53)
One good thing: do today, not someday (22:42)
The Solve Effect podcast (24:31)
Where to connect (25:23)
Meet Hala: The "Recovered Economist" Building a Marketplace for Social Impact
Hala Hanna is the Executive Director of MIT Solve, an MIT initiative that operates as a marketplace for social impact innovation. The org’s mission is to find early-stage ventures using technology to close equity gaps in health, learning, climate, and economic opportunity, then connect them with the funders and partners who can help them scale.
Before MIT Solve, Hala spent more than 15 years across the public, private, and nonprofit sectors, advising governments on reform at the World Bank and the United Nations and building public-private partnerships at the World Economic Forum. A self-proclaimed "recovered economist," Hala’s childhood was shaped by her time spent in bomb shelters during Lebanon's civil war — an origin she credits for her conviction that technology should lift all the boats, not just the yachts.
Powerful Quotes
"Crisis creates clarity, and philanthropic funding is the best risk capital we have." — Hala
"We will be the glass box, not the black box." — Hala
"Give to your church, but also give outside of your comfort zone." — Hala
"Change happens at the speed of trust." — Hala
"The first check is rarely the biggest, but it's almost always the most important." — Hala
Resources Mentioned
MIT Solve: The marketplace for social impact innovation Hala leads; home base for the solver community and challenges
The Solve Effect: MIT Solve's podcast; featured guests include Carrie Morgridge and Abigail Disney
Amini: AI infrastructure for data sovereignty, founded by Kate Kallot in Nairobi; deployed micro-data centers and digitized 3 million historical documents in Barbados
LifeBank: Founded by Temie Giwa-Tubosun in Nigeria; delivers blood and oxygen to hospitals in under 45 minutes; grew via a partnership with Merck for Mothers
UPS Foundation: Funded ground trials in Cameroon for a cryogenics innovator's long-lasting vaccine cooler, turning a 2-unit prototype into a 3,000-unit government order
Merck for Mothers: Maternal-health initiative whose leadership backed LifeBank with a $5M investment-and-grant partnership
Morgridge Family Foundation: Carrie Morgridge's foundation; Hala's example of relationship-driven philanthropy
Rocket Learning — India-based early childhood education solver; grew from 300,000 children in 2021 to 5 million, now part of India's national early childhood education policy
HP & Amazon: Corporate partners cited for measurable social/climate targets driving their work with MIT Solve
"The Danger of a Single Story": The Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie TED Talk Hala references when challenging the dominant AI narrative
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