Stepping up to the M.I.C.TM

Despite the almost hourly stories of fragmentation, a growing body of research—including our Shared America efforts outlined in this report—shows that the number of people who are seeking deeper connection, who are eager to expand opportunity, and who are committed to a multiracial democracy is far larger than the number of people opposed to such things. I know this to be true because I see evidence of it every day in the New Profit community.

Whether I’m working with you directly, hearing stories of impact from communities across the country, or speaking with funders, social entrepreneurs, and business leaders doing their best to make things better, I see the abundance of people, organizations, networks, and communities that are persistent, focused, and coming together with like-hearted partners to accomplish worthy goals. This collaborative community is the reason that I know, without any doubt, hesitation, or reservation, that the aspirations we are working towards are well within our reach.

The impact of this unified purpose—not to be confused with a uniform perspective—is clear to see. We accelerated and expanded our support for social entrepreneurs who are reimagining America’s systems of opportunity, investing $31.4M in 38 organizations operating across the country. In November, we gathered 450 leaders at The Well in Baltimore to sense-make, explore the issues and viewpoints, and create space for restoration and wellbeing. We partnered with several international foundations to co-found the Centre for Exponential Change, a collective of systems-level funders driving change around the globe, to help strengthen our ability to identify and support the most effective strategies for innovation and impact. And, to that end, we leveraged human-centered design to develop new methods to remove biases from the sourcing process and expand our pipeline of eligible grantee partners by 25x.

In the content that follows, you’ll meet:

The brilliant entrepreneurs who center the expertise of their constituents, their community members, and their own lived experiences to reshape our education, economic, and democratic systems;
The dedicated partners co-designing and collaborating to generate impact at the scale and depth that matches our ambitions for this country; and,
The investors and supporters who continue to demonstrate an unshakeable faith in our ability to work towards the promise of America.

Though the complexity we faced in 2024 will not recede anytime soon, I am confident in our ability to expand access and opportunity for all to thrive. What’s still needed of us in social impact is also what’s still needed in America: accelerating trust between unlikely allies, practicing curiosity over conviction in our relationships, and opening space for the often overlooked abundance and talent that has always existed in this country.

As I look ahead to 2025, I am grateful to each of you who make this work possible, plentiful, and powerful. I know that wherever we’re going to get to as a nation, we’re going to get there together.