Our Framework
At Umano, our mission is to support initiatives that foster holistic empathy for humans, animals and the environment, with a vision of an empathic and compassionate world for all.
One of the ways we support initiatives is through mentorship and training for nonprofit leaders and social entrepreneurs around the world who share the mission of building holistic empathy. Our mentorship and training strategy uses the RISE Model, a framework we developed to help empathy-building changemakers run initiatives that are financially resilient and impactful.
What is RISE?
R
Reach
The primary way that Umano promotes holistic empathy is through our partners and collaborators. Helping nonprofits and social enterprises to expand their reach means that more people will learn about holistic empathy and consider the impact of their decisions on humans, animals, and the environment.
Increasing reach for a nonprofit or social enterprise includes scaling the number of people reached, expanding programs into other regions, or sharing best practices so that others can adapt the program in another location.
I
Impact
Nonprofits and social enterprises exist because their founders want to make a difference in the world. As such, they should be able to clearly define what impact they want to have, and they should be able to measure their impact through quantifiable metrics.
While an initiative may primarily seek to solely benefit humans, animals, and or the environment, we are interested in the impact that programs have on all three. One of Umano’s Guiding Principles is that initiatives we support must do no harm to humans, animals and the environment
S
Sustainability
We recognize how challenging it is for nonprofits to continually have to seek donations and grants to sustain their programs. Umano encourages nonprofits to become more financially resilient by diversifying their revenue streams and/or creating a related social enterprise.
Some of our collaborators have created amazing enterprises that have provided them with a steady stream of income to fund their important nonprofit programs.
E
Empathy for Humans, Animals, and the Environment
The most important letter of our RISE framework! The well-being of humans, animals, and the environment are interconnected, and we believe that empathy for all is an essential solution to eliminating suffering in the world.
While nonprofits and social enterprises often seek to tackle issues facing humans, animals, or the environment, Umano enthusiastically challenges them to consider all three in the good work that they do. We provide tools, activities and resources to help initiatives incorporate holistic empathy-building into the work they do.
Learn more:
Mentorship Program
Our volunteer mentors help initiatives develop a plan for RISE.
Umano Impact Fund
We give grants and loans to initiatives who are achieving RISE.
Toolbox
We offer guides, templates and other tools to help initiatives develop a plan for RISE.
