NextBillion - An Initiative of the William Davidson Institute at the University of Michigan

By Abby Schultz

Laurie Michaels, a clinical psychologist and philanthropist in Aspen, Colo., founded Open Road Alliance eight years ago to help nonprofits and social enterprises working in any sector, or any nation, get through unforseen roadblocks to funding.

“We sometimes refer to our work as the everyday emergency room of impact—our borrowers are coming to us during a time of crisis when something outside their control has gone wrong,” says Maya Winkelstein, chief executive officer of Open Road Alliance, a philanthropic initiative based in New York.

With Covid-19 spreading across the globe, “our emergency room is full,” Winkelstein says.