Our Approach

Third Plateau is built on a simple premise: creating lasting social good requires more than good intentions.

Society’s most complex challenges are deeply rooted, interconnected, and resistant to quick fixes. Philanthropists, foundations, and nonprofit leaders know this and are up for the challenge, bringing their passions and ambitions day in and day out. To realize that potential, they’re looking for a partner who brings the experience to design great strategies and the capacity to see them through. Third Plateau was built exactly for this work.

At the heart of our approach:

  • Communities are experts in their lived experiences, needs, and opportunities;
  • Social change leaders build with communities to design effective, innovative solutions that actually matter;
  • Philanthropists and funders bring the partnership, resources, and networks to fuel these efforts and help bring ideas to life and at scale; and,
  • Third Plateau builds and supports the systems, strategies, and solutions that enable all three of these groups to imagine a profoundly better path forward and make it possible.

Generating profound, lasting impact requires informed optimism, visionary leadership, and a collaborative mindset. These non-negotiables are the foundation of our work in Transformative Philanthropy and Impactful Organizations.

What guides our approach?

Learn more about the principles that shape our work and make social change possible.

At Third Plateau, we lead with informed optimism, a conviction that balances realism with hope. It acknowledges the complexity and seriousness of social challenges while focusing on opportunities for bold progress and solutions.

Everything we do is:

  • Grounded in Reality: Recognizes challenges without getting stuck in them, guided by evidence and community.
  • Bold by Design: Focuses on courageous paths forward that challenge the status quo.
  • Action-Driven: Translates big ideas into concrete next steps, so momentum builds and impact compounds over time.

This approach helps our clients dream big and act with confidence to advance lasting social good.

We believe every philanthropist and leader who works with Third Plateau should grow in their ability to drive lasting change. Cultivating purpose, clarity, and foresight in our clients is a hallmark of our approach.

We guide leaders to become more:

  • Purposeful: Aligns actions with values and long-term impact through self-awareness.
  • Resilient: Builds adaptability and a learning mindset that enables our clients to innovate and lead with greater confidence. 
  • Bold: Drives meaningful change that builds toward a profoundly better world.

This approach ensures that those we work with leave better equipped to lead change, achieve lasting results, and carry these foundational skills.

Complex social challenges cannot be solved alone. We bring together individuals and organizations as partners to generate solutions through trust, shared purpose, and aligned action.

We foster collaborations that: 

  • Build Trust and Relationships: Establishes deep, authentic connections as the foundation of collaboration.
  • Leverage Shared Purpose: Aligns participants around common goals to amplify impact.
  • Embrace Complexity: Draws on diverse perspectives to enable effective responses to evolving challenges.

When done well, collaboration builds a momentum that delivers results that no single organization, leader, or philanthropist could achieve alone.

What does this look like in practice?

Here are just a few ways we build the infrastructure of change:

  • Guiding families to build foundations and grantmaking strategies that strengthen communities for generations to come
  • Equipping nonprofits and social innovators with their roadmap to figure out what’s next — the strategies and plans needed to adapt, sustain, and scale
  • Conducting research and evaluation that shows leaders what they need to know to make change
  • Designing leadership programs and peer learning communities where the best ideas and talent emerge
  • Providing foundation finance and administration that frees philanthropists to focus on impact, not paperwork
  • Building funder collaboratives and networks that turn individual efforts into collective power