New Profit Invests in Five Organizations Expanding Access and Opportunity
DAWI, Fair Count, Interfaith America, The Workers Lab, and Village of Wisdom join New Profit’s Build portfolio.
New Profit is excited to welcome five organizations to our Build portfolio that are expanding access and opportunity in America through education, democracy, and economic mobility. Each organization will receive $1.5M in unrestricted funding, along with strategic advisory support over a four-year term.
New Profit’s education investments support organizations and practices that are reshaping the American education system to better serve all students and educators. These organizations are led by entrepreneurs who have experience working in and with all levels of school systems in communities across the country.
Our democracy work supports organizations that envision what is possible when we build a thriving multicultural, multiracial, intergenerational democracy through strategies including narrative change, repair work, and bridge-building. We also aim to cultivate deeper civic capabilities and daily practices of democracy through strategies including building the capacity of communities and public servants, national service, youth engagement, and participatory budgeting.
Through our economic mobility portfolio, we invest in organizations with transformative strategies that advance pathways to income generation and financial health, and tackle the social drivers of economic opportunity. We invest in leaders with deep connections to the people they serve, who use human-centered approaches that appreciate the intersections of the various systems that drive economic mobility, and who seek to influence and reimagine those systems through their work.
Meet the organizations
Democracy at Work Institute (DAWI)
Democracy at Work Institute (DAWI) expands worker ownership to communities historically excluded from business ownership—particularly BIPOC individuals, recent immigrants, and low-wage workers—by advancing worker cooperatives as a pathway to wealth building, family-sustaining wages, and economic mobility.
DAWI believes that expanding access to worker ownership can transform economic outcomes for underserved workers. By addressing capital gaps, training practitioners, and embedding cooperative models in public policy and economic development systems, DAWI strengthens the national infrastructure for cooperative development and catalyzes systemic change.
DAWI is the only nationally recognized intermediary focused on building the field of worker cooperatives through a unique combination of direct support, systems change, and infrastructure development. Their trusted leadership, proximate governance structure, and growing influence in policy and capital access align with New Profit’s economic mobility strategy to scale inclusive wealth-building opportunities.
Founded in 2013 by the U.S. Federation of Worker Cooperatives, DAWI is headquartered in San Diego, CA, and New York City and operates nationally, with active programs in cities including Chicago, Durham, Atlanta, and Los Angeles.
Co-Executive Directors Vanessa Bransburg and Julian McKinley bring complementary strengths in program strategy, field-building, and communications. Together, they embody DAWI’s commitment to power-sharing and proximate leadership, supported by a staff- and practitioner-led Board structure.
Impact Highlights:
- In 2024, DAWI helped invest $16M in employee-owned businesses, with 89% of new employee-owners identifying as workers of color and 92% as low- to moderate-income.
- DAWI’s Rapid Response Cooperative model has supported 15 new worker co-ops in the past 7 years, and their policy efforts influenced a $15M investment by the City of Chicago and $2M in worker cooperative investment by the State of California within 2 years.
Fair Count
Fair Count builds long-term power in rural communities of color across the South by increasing participation in the census and voting, and ensuring fair representation through equitable redistricting. Fair Count seeks to dismantle systemic underrepresentation and secure equitable access to political power and public resources.
Fair Count believes the best way to address the inequities in our democracy is by overwhelming the system with participation. Through culturally relevant, non-extractive organizing and strategic coalition building, Fair Count activates historically undercounted rural communities of color to participate fully in civic processes and secure critical resources and representation.
Fair Count’s unique focus on rural Southern communities and long-term civic engagement, and its long-term strategy integrating census participation, voter engagement, and redistricting advocacy, distinguishes it in the field. The organization’s data-driven approach, deep community trust, and commitment to nonpartisan, culturally competent organizing aligns with New Profit’s Democracy strategy to shift systemic barriers to representation.
Founded in 2019 and headquartered in Columbus, GA, Fair Count operates across rural Georgia and Mississippi.
Fair Count is co-led by President Dr. Jeanine Abrams McLean, a population-based researcher, and CEO Rebecca DeHart, a seasoned organizer. Their complementary expertise and co-leadership have driven Fair Count’s strategy since its founding.
Impact Highlights:
- Fair Count has reached over 2 million residents, improved 2020 Census response rates in hard-to-count areas, and secured $1.8B in federal funding for underserved communities.
- Their Commit to Vote card campaign boosted turnout by 2.9% among infrequent voters and 5% among frequent voters—double the industry average.
They’ve led major redistricting efforts in the South and are the only state-based organization serving on the national redistricting coalition CHARGE.
Interfaith America (IA)
Interfaith America (IA) inspires, equips, and connects leaders and institutions to unlock the power of interfaith cooperation, fostering pluralism and strengthening American democracy.
Interfaith America believes that embedding pluralistic values within higher education, civic, and corporate institutions can combat polarization and foster a more inclusive democracy. Through thought leadership, institutional partnerships, and leadership development, IA cultivates bridge building at scale—shaping mindsets, transforming norms, and embedding pluralism in systems to foster understanding and cooperation.
Interfaith America’s action-oriented model distinguishes it from peers by integrating cross-sector partnerships, narrative change, and leadership development to drive systemic change. The organization’s proven ability to influence institutions and shape the national discourse on pluralism aligns with New Profit’s Democracy strategy to strengthen civic capabilities and reimagine what’s possible in a diverse democracy.
Founded in 2002, Interfaith America is headquartered in Chicago and operates nationally, with partnerships at more than 500 campuses and civic institutions across the United States.
Led by Founder and President Eboo Patel, a nationally recognized voice on religious pluralism, and CEO Adam Phillips, a seasoned executive focused on organizational growth and culture, IA is guided by a strong, tenured leadership team and a strategic, engaged Board.
Impact Highlights:
- IA’s Team Up initiative has supported bridge-building projects in 60 communities and catalyzed collaboration among some of the largest national service organizations –the YMCA, Catholic Charities USA, and Habitat for Humanity.
- The organization’s Emerging Leaders Network includes over 2,300 alumni advancing interfaith cooperation in their communities.
The Workers Lab
The Workers Lab is the nation’s home for worker-centered innovation. As an intermediary investor and accelerator, it gives new ideas developed for and with workers a chance to succeed.. The Workers Lab does this by engaging with frontline workers to develop new ideas, new knowledge, and new technology to help us understand how we got here, solve today’s most pressing problems for workers, and carry us into a more modern and inclusive future for all workers. The Workers Lab serves as a vehicle for the labor movement to help it reimagine what power for workers can and should look like in the 21st century.
The Workers Lab believes that worker-centered innovation can drive systems-level change. By investing in early-stage ventures, developing worker-centered technology, and conducting participatory research, they aim to reshape labor systems and amplify worker voice to inform employers, funders, and policymakers’ practices.
The Workers Lab uniquely combines investment, innovation, and field-building to elevate the role of worker voice in economic systems. Their sector-agnostic, multi-pronged model aligns with New Profit’s Economic Mobility strategy and supports the development of scalable, inclusive solutions to improve job quality and financial security.
Founded in 2014 and headquartered in Oakland, CA, The Workers Lab operates nationally, supporting entrepreneurs and worker-centered organizations across the country.
Executive Director Adrian Haro brings deep political and public affairs experience, a strong national presence, and a commitment to proximate leadership that informs The Workers Lab’s strategy and partnerships.
Impact Highlights:
- Since 2014, The Workers Lab has invested $8M in 100 early-stage worker-driven innovations.
- The Workers Lab has launched groundbreaking tech tools such as the Income Passport and Canary Emergency Cash platforms and briefed federal policymakers and gig economy leaders on worker-informed policy.
- Their research has engaged 200+ paid worker-researchers, 80% of whom are people of color, and has shaped bipartisan worker benefits legislation.
Village of Wisdom
Village of Wisdom partners with Black parents to co-design culturally affirming learning environments that affirm and protect Black children’s brilliance—what they call “Black Genius.”
Village of Wisdom believes that when Black parents are positioned as experts and collaborators in education, they can shape learning environments that affirm identity, foster belonging, and improve academic and social-emotional outcomes for all students. Through parent-led assessment tools and educator training, they work to embed culturally affirming practices systemically.
Village of Wisdom stands out as the only organization coupling educator training on culturally affirming instruction with the direct leadership of Black parents. Their innovative tools, research-based frameworks, and growing knowledge dissemination work align with New Profit’s Education strategy and address long-standing biases in the education system.
Founded in 2014, Village of Wisdom is based in Durham, NC and is expanding its national reach through virtual programs and digital tools.
Founder and Executive Director Dr. Will Jackson, a Black parent and former educator, leads VOW with a deep commitment to proximate leadership, rigorous research, and community-centered innovation.
Impact Highlights:
- Classrooms using VOW’s frameworks show higher attendance, improved academic outcomes, and fewer suspensions.
- Their Dreamship fellowship strengthens Black parents’ wellness and skill development, with 100% of Dreamship parents reporting feeling more confident using the Black Genius framework, and 80% of parents reporting feeling more confident creating culturally affirming learning.
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About New Profit
New Profit is a venture philanthropy organization that catalyzes the impact of social entrepreneurs who are expanding access and opportunity in America. We provide capital, capacity, and community to a portfolio of organizations to increase their impact, scale, and sustainability. And we partner with social entrepreneurs, philanthropists, and cross-sector leaders to shift how the philanthropic sector pursues social change and ensures that all people can thrive. Since 1998, New Profit has invested over $350M in 275+ high-impact organizations serving more than 30 million people in all 50 states.