We bring people together to increase success

 

On the surface, it’s simple.

People can achieve goals more easily, and we are stronger, smarter and more innovative when we work together. So why is it so hard? We bring people together for learning and collaborative work by developing the skills to embrace an entirely new model of working. We facilitate learning groups to develop their own rules of engagement, and set their unique structures and behaviors.

Connecting the knowledge of learning cohorts to funders’ strategic goals

Our work goes far beyond curriculum development and delivery. We design and facilitate a process, led by the desired outcomes and goals of our clients and centered in what the learning group’s members need to meet those goals. We nudge, cajole and press when we need to, and we step back when we need to. We help people reflect and examine their experience and voice what they know and believe. We help them build confidence and trust in themselves and each other. We keep them connected to objectives and goals.

Our services

Each project is unique and tailored to our clients’ needs. We help a wide range of funders engage with their grantees in new ways. We’d love to design something to help you.

  • Full-service grantmaking support: We understand the grantmaking process from beginning to end. We offer customized support for your grantmaking, from strategy to engaging grantees, to reporting and sharing what you learn.
  • Custom funding initiatives: We can help you develop and implement a full-featured funding initiative to meet your goals, from RFP to grantee selection to program administration
  • Collaborative learning groups: We create collaborative learning communities to help you get more from your investment and to help your grantees succeed
contact us

It all starts with a conversation. Let’s connect.

Contact us

We’d love to talk. Let’s connect.

Contact Us

 

Please prove you are human, and not a spammy bot.

Diana Doyle

Director

Diana leads Socius Group in designing, facilitating and managing collaborative communities and grantmaking programs on behalf of our clients. She is a choreographer of strategy, people and content. She is inspired and driven by the transformation she has seen in the effectiveness of people and organizations when they shift into collaborative modes of learning and working.  

Diana’s experiences as a consultant to funders, a community foundation program officer, and founder and executive director of nonprofit organizations ground her work in the needs of both funders and nonprofit practitioners. She holds a master’s degree in interpersonal and organizational communication from Purdue University and a master of fine arts in dance from Florida State University.

James Gillis

senior consultant

James is an engagement leader, strategist, detail wrangler and coach, helping Socius Group clients maximize their investments and impact by bringing collaborative learning networks to their programming. He is motivated by the power of collaboration and knowledge, and is a passionate advocate and guide for organizations making this profound transition.

James draws on more than 15 years of experience in nonprofit consulting, programming, evaluation and learning for a wide variety of community-based organizations from Boston to San Francisco. He earned a bachelor of science degree in kinesiology (the study of human movement) from San Francisco State University.

Caron Castagnetta

operations manager

Caron is the go-to organizer and logistics whiz, smoothing the way for Socius Group clients and projects. She runs the day-to-day operations of Socius Group and supports project logistics, keeping all the moving parts in working order, on time, and in the right place.

Caron draws on her experiences managing logistics and operations for a number of collaboration-oriented projects and organizations. Her steady hand and organization make the convenings, events, contracting, and management of all those details look easy. Her skill, talent and dedication are fundamental to taking a learning group plan from concept to reality. Caron holds a bachelor’s degree in economics from the University of California, Berkeley.