We're thrilled to kick off 2026 by welcoming 16 organizations to our 2026 Economic Mobility Catalyze Cohort! These organizations are expanding access and opportunity across America through innovative approaches to workforce development, entrepreneurship, and economic empowerment.

Each organization will receive $100,000 in unrestricted funding and $10,000 for leadership development, alongside strategic advisory support. Over the next year, cohort members will build relationships with one another and tackle key leadership and organizational opportunities and challenges through virtual sessions and in-person convenings.

We invite you to learn more about these organizations and the impact they’re creating below:

❗Keep reading for funding opportunities, field insights, updates from our portfolio, and volunteer and job opportunities.

NEW PROFIT FEATURE

New Profit is seeking organizations led by formerly incarcerated and directly impacted leaders who are expanding economic opportunity and removing barriers to capital in their communities.

Selected organizations receive:

▪️$100K in unrestricted funding.

▪️$10K leadership development stipend.

▪️Strategic advising and capacity-building support.

📆 Submit Discovery Form by Wednesday, Feb. 11 at 8:59 p.m. PT / 11:59 p.m. ET

NEW PROFIT NEWS

• Save the Date: On March 12 from 4-8 PM, New Profit will host a social impact house in Austin. Join us for an evening with fellow social entrepreneurs, funders, donors, and changemakers as we gather to connect, learn, and strengthen our community. Stay tuned for the official invitation with more details, coming soon!
  
  

• Join New Profit this March at SXSW EDU where we're convening three essential conversations with leaders who are doing the work. These sessions go beyond theory to explore what's working, what's challenging, and how we create lasting change together.
  

  • Advancing the Educational Attainment of Boys & Men

    • Speakers: Shawn Dove (Managing Partner, New Profit), Langston Clark (Professor, UT San Antonio), Richard V. Reeves (President, American Institute for Boys & Men), and Victor Sáenz (Associate Dean & Professor, UT Austin)

  • Grow or Let Go? Navigating M&A in Education

    • Speakers: Molly O'Donnell (Managing Partner, New Profit) and Maurice McCaulley (Program Officer, Gates Foundation)

• • Proximity in Practice: Social Entrepreneur & Funder Mixer

    • Speakers: Shruti Sehra (Managing Partner, New Profit), Frances Messano (CEO, NewSchools), Joanna Burleson (Practice Leader, Monitor Institute by Deloitte), and Sarah Johnson (President & CEO, Relay Graduate School of Education)

• How can philanthropy help close critical funding gaps preventing young people—especially youth of color and those in rural communities—from accessing effective mental health care? Tezeta Tamrat, Manager, New Profit and Shruti Sehra, Managing Partner, New Profit share their insights in this Candid article.
  
  

• Watch New Profit CEO Tulaine Montgomery moderate a fireside chat with SixDegrees.org Founder Kevin Bacon and Executive Director Stacy Huston as they explore their groundbreaking Purpose, Produced initiative—and how it's transforming the way nonprofits nationwide connect with audiences.

PORTFOLIO NEWS

• West Virginia Women Work, a member of New Profit's 2025 Economic Mobility Catalyze Cohort, recently celebrated graduate Kelsei's placement as an Apprentice Carpenter with Triton Construction. The organization trains and places women and system-impacted adults into high-wage, skilled trades careers across West Virginia.

   

• Healing Together was selected as an awardee of Pivotal Ventures' Action for Women's Health for equipping communities to support survivors of trauma and violence. Learn more here.
  
  

• Daughters Beyond Incarceration will host "Lessons in Liberation: A Civics-Based Approach for Mentoring Impacted Youth" on February 6, 2026, at the National Mentoring Summit in Washington, D.C. The workshop showcases DBI's mentoring model that transforms girls impacted by parental incarceration into leaders and policy advocates.
  
  

• The Black Principals Network, powered by Surge Institute, is hosting the Southern Regional Leadership Summit February 27-28 in Atlanta, bringing together Black school leaders for professional development and community connection. Register.
  
  

• Surge Institute CEO Will Collins shares a message about challenges facing education systems and communities of color, highlighting how Surge's 500-plus alumni are transforming schools nationwide. 
  
  

• Future Caucus will release The Exit Interview on January 29, examining why capable young lawmakers are leaving public office. Based on conversations with 89 Gen Z and millennial state legislators across 31 states, the report explores whether public service has become structurally unsustainable.
  
  

• Open Source Wellness and its Community As Medicine® program were featured in recent stories by funder partners. Unlikely Collaborators profiled health coach Lena's journey from participant to certified staff member, and the American Heart Association's The Venturist featured OSW's model. 

EMPLOYMENT & VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITIES

• New Profit seeks a strategic and systems-oriented Chief Finance and Operations Officer to sustain and strengthen the organization's financial health, steward innovation in our internal operations, and serve as a key advisor in the modeling and integration of expanded revenue streams.
  
  

• Empowerment Avenue's Editorial Council connects volunteer editors, journalists, and storytellers with incarcerated writers to develop and publish their work. The Council challenges dominant carceral narratives and centers the voices of incarcerated writers. Join the Editorial Council.
  
  

• The Knowledge House is seeking volunteers and mentors to support students pursuing careers in Data Analytics, Cybersecurity, and AI Business Solutions. Sign up here.
  
  

• Big Picture Learning (BPL) seeks a Digital Growth Manager to grow ImBlaze’s impact by expanding their K–12 and Independent Software Vendor (Salesforce ISV) lead pipeline, improving CRM-driven lead tracking, and nurturing partnership opportunities to close.