A Candid Look at the Strategy Behind the Impact – Tahoe Truckee Community Foundation’s Portfolio Approach

Tags: Grantmaking, Impact Investing, Philanthropy

Written by Stacy Caldwell, Chief Executive Officer

At Tahoe Truckee Community Foundation (TTCF), we’ve learned something that fundamentally shapes how we approach our work: complex problems don’t have simple solutions.

That may sound obvious. But in philanthropy, it’s a lesson that often takes time—and humility—to fully embrace.

I was recently struck by a line from the article “There is No Such Thing as a Fish,” which describes systems change not as a search for a “silver bullet,” but as deploying “silver buckshot”—many coordinated efforts working together toward meaningful change.

That idea resonates deeply with how we’ve evolved at TTCF. The concept the authors are proposing is one that we have been developing and advancing here at TTCF since 2024, and one we’ve been offering to intrigued donors and foundations: Impact Portfolios. 

Moving Beyond One-Dimensional Solutions

It doesn’t take long, as a grantmaker, to see how interconnected our community’s challenges really are. In Tahoe-Truckee, housing is inseparable from workforce stability. Workforce challenges are tied to mental health and the stability and health of our families. And all of this exists alongside our ever-present awareness of the threat of wildfire and our interdependence on forest health.

These are not separate issues. They are part of a system. Systems don’t change through isolated efforts.

For years, philanthropy has often tried to address problems through distinct initiatives—programs designed to “solve” one issue at a time. But in practice, that approach can unintentionally reinforce silos, even when collaboration is the goal.

At TTCF, we’ve made a deliberate shift away from that mindset.

Building Readiness, Not Just Funding Solutions

Back in 2017, we adopted the Capital Absorption Capacity framework—an acknowledgment that funding alone doesn’t create impact. Communities must be ready to absorb and effectively use that capital.

That readiness looks like trusted partnerships, aligned strategies, empowered local leaders, and shared understanding across sectors.

Without those elements, even the best-funded solutions struggle to take hold.

This philosophy continues to guide us today. It reflects something deeply important to me personally: our role is not just to fund change but to help create the conditions in which change is possible.

Introducing the Impact Portfolio

In our 2024 strategic plan, we took this thinking further by formally adopting an Impact Portfolio approach.

The idea is simple, but powerful.

Rather than organizing our work around isolated initiatives, we structure it like an investment portfolio. Each “fund” focuses on a key area, for example, housing solutions, mental health, family strengthening, and Forest Futures. When we look at the entire portfolio, we see a way to invest, measure, and report on systemic change through clear objectives and impact metrics. 

Each area moves at its own pace, based on community readiness and opportunity. Some may be in early exploration. Others may be scaling proven solutions. All are part of a coordinated, long-term strategy.

This allows us to do something critical: balance urgency with patience.

Because real impact doesn’t follow an annual timeline. It unfolds over years, often generations.

Playing the Long Game

The Impact Portfolio approach requires discipline. It asks us to think beyond immediate outputs and focus on sustained outcomes. It challenges us to invest in relationships, data, and shared learning just as much as direct services.

It also requires us to stretch.

This work often goes beyond traditional grantmaking. It means raising additional resources, convening stakeholders, aligning partners, and continuously refining our strategies as conditions evolve.

But this is where meaningful change happens.

“Instead of relying on a single initiative to “‘solve’” a complex challenge, a portfolio approach brings together multiple, intentionally related efforts, each contributing in different ways to learning, influence, capacity, or change. These efforts may run in parallel or sequence, explore possibilities, test solutions, address bottlenecks, balance risk or reinforce one another.”

– Mark Cabaj, Brent Wellsch, and Keren Perla of the Tamarack Institute in ”There is No Such Thing as a ‘Fish.’”

Strengthening What Already Works

While we lean into long-term systems change, we remain deeply committed to our roots in community grantmaking.

Through discretionary funds, donor-advised funds, and partnerships, we continue to provide flexible, often unrestricted support to local nonprofits. This is essential.

A resilient nonprofit sector is the backbone of any thriving community. These organizations are often the first to respond to emerging challenges and the ones closest to the solutions.

Our Impact Portfolio doesn’t replace this work. It strengthens it.

Leadership for the Next Chapter

As we deepen this approach, strong leadership is essential. That’s why I’m excited to welcome Maeve Donovan as TTCF’s first Director of Impact Portfolio.

Maeve brings both analytical rigor and deep community experience, an uncommon and powerful combination. Her leadership will help ensure that our strategies are not only thoughtful, but measurable, coordinated, and responsive over time. 

Having previously overseen our Community Collaborative of Tahoe Truckee and managed grants administration for much of the Impact Portfolio, Maeve brings a unique blend of community-level facilitation and an analytical approach to impact reporting. Her leadership will be vital as we continue to refine our impact strategies and align our fundraising efforts with the evolving needs of our community. Please join me in welcoming Maeve into her new role.

Why This Matters

At the heart of all of this is a simple belief: our community deserves solutions that are as complex and dynamic as the challenges we face. That means resisting the urge to oversimplify. It means investing in collaboration, even when it’s hard. And it means committing to the long game, even when progress isn’t immediate.

This is the work of systems change.

And it’s work we care deeply about—because we live here, too.

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Further Reading:

This work requires creative solutions, strong structures and policies, and trusted partners. It requires more than grants. In April 2026, Saché Cantu, TTCF Chief Operating Officer, sat down with the team to deliver Impact Investing in Action: A Conversation with Saché Cantu. During this interview, we get to know this brilliant longtime Tahoe-lover and dig into examples of how TTCF has used this financial tool for more than a decade.