Seedling to Stalwart Key #1: Fill a Critical Gap
May 1, 2025 | By David M. Wagner
How do you activate support, even when many other organizations serve the same mission area as you?
For New Hampshire (NH) Hunger Solutions, the key was identifying and filling a critical gap left by their peers.
Just four years ago, NH Hunger Solutions had a part-time director and very limited capacity, working to increase school breakfast for kids at a few schools.
Now the organization has 9 employees, a large, engaged board, and is making a sizeable difference for NH residents facing food insecurity.
Shifting Focus to Meet a Critical Need
Executive Director Laura Milliken spearheaded that transformation.
She credits the organization’s rapid growth to filling a role that was sorely needed and that could complement the work of other nonprofits.
“We found that there were lots and lots of organizations who were directly feeding people – soup kitchens, food pantries, groups doing great work,” according to Milliken. “But nobody was looking upstream to figure out, how do we keep people from being hungry? How do we lift people out of hunger for the long-term?”
She shifted NH Hunger Solutions’ focus from solely school breakfast programs to state-wide education and advocacy for systemic change. The move paid off – funders were eager to support the organization’s new mission to address a gap in efforts to address food insecurity.
“There was really nobody doing advocacy to end hunger in the NH legislature,” Milliken shared. “It was not hard to go to funders and say, ‘this is something that’s needed, and here’s why.’”
Impact through Partnership
As you might imagine, they could not do that advocacy work alone. Filling the gap meant working closely with peer organizations already working in the same mission space.
“We prioritized building relationships with existing organizations and building awareness of the need for advocacy,” reflected Milliken.
NH Hunger Solutions took a broad view to coalition-building. They were “strategic about who we brought in” – not just traditional hunger organizations, but also health organizations, because “public health outcomes are related to food insecurity.”
As a result, the impact of their work speaks volumes:
Forming state-wide coalitions to address hunger policy
Bringing greater awareness to hunger issues in the Granite State, including low SNAP enrollment rates
Mobilizing NH voters to take a stand on legislation about food assistance programs
Finding Your Way
There are lessons here for nonprofits struggling to find the support they need to thrive. If that describes your organization, ask:
Have we identified a narrow mission focus that addresses an unmet need?
How might we adjust our mission to fill a gap that we are uniquely well-suited to serve?
Who is working in adjacent mission areas that would make great (or even necessary) partners?
In the early stages of formation or transformation, Milliken has additional advice: “Don’t reinvent the wheel. Find other people whose experience you can draw on. When I started out, I wish I had tapped into resources like the NH Center for Nonprofits.”
This post is the first in a series of case studies highlighting the steps established nonprofits have taken to develop from seedlings to stalwarts. Set a time to chat with me if you could use some guidance through your organization’s growing pains.