New Profit is hoping to bring our community together again at SXSW and SXSW EDU in March 2025, with three sessions up for consideration in this year’s PanelPicker.

Please help us make sure these conversations happen in Austin next year by up-voting these sessions in PanelPicker. To vote, click the links below and select “Vote Up.” You need to create an account to vote, but it takes less than a minute. The last day to vote is August 18.

Getting Closer: Social Entrepreneur and Funder Mixer 

For the past three years, New Profit and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation have hosted a meetup for funders to discuss how they are ‘practicing proximity’ in their work. Join us to explore how funders and social entrepreneurs can co-design solutions, influence policy, shift resources, and advance a new era of trust, shared power, and innovation in education. This meetup is for anyone who understands that breakthrough solutions most often come from leaders grounded in the communities they serve. 

Speakers: 

• Molly O’Donnell, New Profit, Managing Partner 
• Maurice McCaulley, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Program Officer

Funding Youth Mental Health: A Cross-Sector Approach

Mental health, education, economic mobility, the future of democracy — these issue areas are intricately intertwined. Making an impact on young people’s well-being requires a cross-cutting, cross-sector approach. After a deep dive into the landscape of youth mental health and interconnected issue areas, we will explore how funders can build an ecosystem for impact at scale, and drive research and development, innovative cross-sector solutions, and policy change in this complex landscape. Join us to learn about comprehensive and collaborative strategies to invest in youth well-being.

Speakers:

• Shruti Sehra, New Profit, Managing Partner  (moderator) 
• Ashanti Branch, Ever Forward Club, Founder & Executive Director 
• Nicole Kelm, Deloitte, Health Equity Institute Leader 
• Kelsey Noonan, Pivotal Ventures, Program Strategy Director

The Antidote to a Divided America

Some polls tell us America is divided, others find that we agree on more than we think. Regardless of which polls you believe, the pervasive narrative of political polarization has had a deep impact on civic and social life and work. Let’s break the hold this narrative has on us with insights from leaders who prioritize connection as a radical path to social change and culture shifts. Hear fresh perspectives on making meaningful connections across lines of difference and the role each of us can play in healing America’s divides from a storyteller, a movement-builder, and a social entrepreneur.

Speakers:

• Susan McPherson, McPherson Strategies, CEO and Founder
• Shannon Watts, Founder Emeritus, Moms Demand Action
• Tulaine Montgomery, CEO, New Profit
• Baratunde Thurston, Host, How to Citizen Podcast, and America Outdoors on PBS