Seed Sower: Building Recovery Ecosystems

James “Jay” Phillips, CEO of Seed Sower, Inc., explores practical approaches for moving nonprofits beyond grant dependency toward long-term financial sustainability. Using Seed Sower’s recovery ecosystem as a case study, Phillips demonstrates how organizations can combine grants, public reimbursements, billable services, partnerships, and program-generated revenue into a braided funding model that supports mission-critical services. Attendees learn strategies for identifying revenue opportunities, leveraging grants as startup capital rather than operating support, collecting meaningful outcome data, and building resilient, community-focused organizations that can sustain recovery housing, workforce development, transportation, and behavioral health services over time.