TSI Impact for Nonprofits: Morgridge Foundation

A recent article from the Morgridge Foundation, Nonprofits can benefit from a tri-sector mindset, highlights what happens when nonprofits stop relying on a single sector to solve complex problems. offers a clear, real-world look at what happens when nonprofits stop relying on a single sector to solve complex problems. Using examples from across Colorado, it shows how working intentionally across public, private, and social systems can unlock resources, credibility, and scale that wouldn’t be possible otherwise.

One example is Colorado Mountain College’s oral health clinic and dental training lab, built through a mix of federal funding, philanthropy, healthcare partnerships, and academic infrastructure. Students gain experience, families receive care, and the community benefits from a solution designed to work across systems.

These stories reflect a tri-sector mindset—one that looks beyond fundraising to ask what resources already exist and how they can be combined.

This is tri-sector innovation in practice: aligning public authority, private capital, and social-sector mission to stretch limited dollars and scale what works