(November 4, 2021 presentation) Nonprofit organizations, funders, and the communities they support, must build capacity to work in relationship with each other, set clear goals, share stories of successes and barriers, find common ground, and establish clear and consistent communications pathways – as prerequisites for any collaborative venture to affect real and lasting change. Funders typically determine whether the nonprofits they support are “ready” to grow, strengthen, or scale, when they should be questioning their own readiness to engage collaboratively in ecosystem innovation. Grantee-Funder power dynamics often inhibit trust building that is crucial to the staying power of many local nonprofit organizations. This session will explore “readiness” barriers that prevent funders, nonprofits, and ultimately their community ecosystems from thriving.