Field Building in Action: 2025 Highlights

As students of history, we know none of us can shift systems alone. Throughout the year, we leaned into fortifying, actionable conversations to cultivate hope and a way forward together. We’re proud to share highlights from these field building efforts, where we amplified the power of cross-sector collaboration and the collaborative networks that make real change possible.

• In February, we gathered 70 philanthropic leaders for a roundtable with an urgent goal: to identify opportunities for greater alignment and coordination in the philanthropic sector during a moment of rapid change. The discussion focused on adaptive leadership and elevated real-time learnings from grantees in the field.
• We gathered with Governors from nearly every state at the National Governors Association Winter Meeting to discuss major policy issues. AI emerged as the top priority, with conversations centered on its implications for education, workforce development, and data privacy. For New Profit, we emerged with clear opportunities to explore more deeply—particularly around STEM education, workforce upskilling, and partnerships that connect philanthropy and state innovation efforts.
• At SXSW EDU, New Profit and the Gates Foundation brought funders and nonprofits together to encourage and enable the adoption of proximate practices in service of greater impact. At SXSW, New Profit co-hosted a curated gathering with communications agency McPherson Strategies to bring together social impact leaders. Tulaine also participated in The Antidote to a Divided America, calling on sector leaders to make meaningful connections across lines of difference.
• As part of the Social Innovation Summit, New Profit hosted the inaugural Well Ripple in partnership with Landmark Ventures. The event welcomed 40+ guests, including New Profit grantees and members of the philanthropic community, and explored the power and promise of cross-sector leadership in an evolving America. 
• In May, Tulaine headlined this year’s DonorsChoose Partner Summit, joining Jinan O’Connor, Vice President, Brand Partnerships and Engagement at DonorsChoose for a fireside chat on “Cultivating Capacity for Audacity.”
• Tulaine delivered a TEDxBoston talk in August inviting leaders to consider America’s complex history as we approach 250 years, and calling on them to lead boldly toward a future rooted in shared opportunity. She highlighted the power of community-driven innovation and urged participants to reimagine systems through trust, proximity, radical imagination, and coalition-building.
• Our Democracy team attended the Democracy Funders Network Strategy Summit, which hosted active strategy discussions, deep learning, and relationship building. The summit focused on ensuring democracy delivers discernible value for people rather than remaining an abstract concept. Our team engaged funders on how to safeguard democracy in the short term while also improving its effectiveness and responsiveness over the long-term.
• At New York’s Advertising Week, Tulaine led a discussion with actor and philanthropist Kevin Bacon and Stacy Huston, Executive Director of SixDegrees.org, on their recent effort to amplify the reach and impact of six nonprofits through cross-sector partnerships with leading advertising agencies. 
• New Profit’s Education team and Adeeb Barqawi, Founder & CEO of ProUnitas Inc. and Catalyze Mental Health Equity alumnus, presented at the Grantmakers for Education 2025 Annual Conference. Their session, “Minding the Gap: Funding Youth Mental Health,” explored how evidence-based, data-informed investments can move beyond short-term fixes, and reframe youth mental health as essential to economic opportunity and the future of education.
• In November, New Profit joined musician and activist John Legend and Jobs for the Future to co-host a convening of funders and social innovators to explore how social entrepreneurship can expand opportunity for justice-impacted individuals and communities. The day-long event amplified the work of New Profit’s Unlocked Futures—a program launched in partnership with Legend’s FREEAMERICA—and provided a chance to engage with the broader ecosystem on timely issues and opportunities in the space. 

This year brought complexity and change, but also paved a path for progress and possibility. We’re proud of what we achieved together and are energized to keep building toward lasting impact.