Who we are
LIFT Collaborative is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit dedicated to helping neighborhoods thrive. We don’t arrive with answers. Instead, we listen first and convene residents, local nonprofits, and business leaders to tackle complex community challenges together.
With over 20 years of experience helping corporate and social-sector teams solve tough problems, we’ve stripped away the rigid corporate playbook. Even in business, our approach ran against the grain: we focus on transforming how people solve together, not enforcing mechanical processes.
Our roots
Where we come from
For 14 years, our approach powered Procter & Gamble’s Clay Street innovation lab in Cincinnati, where teams solved complex, ambiguous challenges when standard processes failed. Teams created product, brand and organizational innovations, and community nonprofits solve tough operational challenges.
The lesson was always the same: how people work together decides whether a problem gets solved, more so than what the process dictates. That's true in a company, and it's true on a neighborhood block.
How we work
Head, Heart, Hands
Three things run through all of our work:
- Head: Intention to think critically and ask the right questions.
- Heart: Compassion to listen and see with new eyes.
- Hands: Connecting people to people, people to ideas, and ideas to practical action.
Processes have their place—and we use our own. But standardized methods often treat problem-solving like a mechanical exercise. Our practices prioritize creating the right human conditions so teams can solve complex challenges better, together. You can see them here.
The team
Steve D'Amico
Founder & Board Chair
Tiff Stevens
Partner & Research Expert
Pam D'Amico
Board Member & Alien Eyes
Michael Luh
Board member & Strategy Expert
Duncan Paul
Board member & Master Innovator
Rich Cawthray
Board Member & Design Thinking Expert
Say Hello
We promise there isn't a pitch. Do you live here? Tell us what your neighborhood needs. Run a nonprofit? Tell us what you've tried. Run a business? Tell us which neighborhoods you're interested in supporting. And if you want to argue with a part of this, we'd like that too.