People cannot build a democracy they can't imagine.

That's the premise behind New Profit's democracy strategy: supporting work that strengthens civic capabilities today, and work that paints the possible of what American democracy can become.

Kathryn Peters, Partner on our Portfolio team and democracy expert, sat down with three leaders in our portfolio — Shawon Jackson of Vocal Justice, Rebecca DeHart of Fair Count, and  Layla Zaidane of Future Caucus — to hear how they're dreaming, building, and hoping right now.

Together, the group lifted three takeaways: the agency individuals hold when problems feel too big to touch, why meeting people where they are is crucial, and the role young people have to play in shaping the future of our country.

NEWS FROM NEW PROFIT

• In June, New Profit Managing Partner Shawn Dove joined Yolanda Coentro, President and CEO of the Institute for Nonprofit Practice, for a virtual webinar on his leadership journey, "Leading Across Systems: Lessons in Partnership & Community Impact." Here are four insights we took away from the conversation.
  
  
• Earlier this month, Shawn was recognized as an honoree by The ExceptionAL Project at their 10-year award ceremony hosted at the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture in Harlem, alongside Army Armstead of Emergent Works — an Unlocked Futures alum and current Alumni Lab grantee. 
  
  
• Shawn was quoted in a recent Chronicle of Philanthropy article on the sector's record of funding efforts to support boys and men.
  
  
• Managing Partner Gia Truong, Manager Shiko Rugene, and Fellow Jimmie Briggs represented New Profit in Santa Fe this month at a three-day convening hosted by the Better Way Foundation, which brought together more than 100 donors, nonprofit leaders, and Native American community members to discuss increasing philanthropic investment in — and proximity to — social entrepreneurs in Indian Country.  

   

NEW PROFIT FEATURE

New Profit sat down with Hope Wollensack, Founding Executive Director of the Georgia Resilience & Opportunity (GRO) Fund — part of New Profit's Build portfolio — and her New Profit Deal Partner, Hassan Hassan, to talk about how GRO Fund has grown even amid a precarious year for the social impact sector.

PORTFOLIO NEWS

• Earlier this summer, Rudy Espinoza, President & CEO of Inclusive Action for the City, was named a 2026 McNulty Prize Winner for his leadership advancing economic inclusion for LA's street vendors, small business owners, and working-class communities. Established by the McNulty Foundation in partnership with the Aspen Institute, the prize honors visionary leaders whose courage and creativity drive lasting social impact.

   

• Erica Smith of Boys to Men Tucson, an alum of our Catalyze Mental Health Equity cohort, published "The Boys We're Losing — and the Prevention We're Missing" in Youth Today.

   

• Colorado Governor Jared Polis highlighted Zearn as a vital investment behind the state's No. 1 education ranking from U.S. News & World Report, pointing to research that found Colorado students who used Zearn consistently raised their achievement scores. South Carolina's Department of Education also credited Zearn for driving its strongest-ever SC READY math results.

   

• 3rd Decade announced a three-year partnership with the Fool Community Foundation through its ImpactFool Fund. The partnership provides $300,000 in unrestricted funding plus strategic support.
  
  

• City Bureau released a new resource guide for Chicagoans who owe money on parking tickets and other unpaid fines, as the city weighs selling $1 billion in vehicular debt to private collectors. The guide explains the debt sale, available relief programs, and how to spot a debt scam, with companion Instagram Reels breaking down the information plainly.
  
  

• Braven's annual Summit returns October 22 in Newark, convening 400+ leaders from higher education, business, philanthropy, and civic sectors around empowering the next generation of leaders. This year's keynote is Jodi Kantor, Pulitzer Prize-winning New York Times investigative reporter and bestselling author.
  
  

• Latinas Represent, an alum of our Catalyze Civic Lab cohort, was selected for the pre-approved list of organizations eligible for the Women Moving Millions' Democracy Catalyst Fund, a new initiative mobilizing $20 million to support nonpartisan organizations strengthening U.S. democracy, civic participation, and women's leadership. Eligible member gifts through the fund receive a 1:1 match.
  
  

• A new story from Surge Institute follows several of their alumni at Butler College Prep, a Noble Schools campus in Chicago, and the ripple effect of their leadership.
  
  

• The Black Principals Network, powered by Surge Institute, brings its Eastern Regional Leadership Summit to Baltimore October 9–10. Under the theme "Grounded in Truth. Forward in Strategy," school and district leaders will build sustainable wellness habits and sharpen their instructional leadership. Register by September 11.

   

• Growing Hope has been selected for the Erb Family Foundation's inaugural Sustainable Business Innovation Cohort, a three-year program for nonprofits helping small businesses grow while caring for people and the planet. The funding, coaching, and peer network will strengthen Growing Hope's work building food sovereignty-rooted economic opportunity in Ypsilanti, MI.

   

• GLOW (Grassroots Law & Organizing for Workers) is building the Worker Center Bar, a legal network to support low-wage workers and their organizations amid rising threats to democracy and labor rights. Lawyers and legal workers who are ready to: support worker-led campaigns and meet urgent legal needs; stand in solidarity with communities under attack; and join a national movement for racial and economic justice are invited to join a virtual orientation on September 2 at 3pm ET. RSVP here. 

CATALYZE COHORT SPOTLIGHT 

Better Terms is a podcast miniseries featuring the voices of founders and funders working toward mental health equity. Each episode explores the defining moments that shape why they do this work and what becomes possible when funding grows into true partnership.

In this episode, Reem Aly of the Ohio School-Based Health Alliance and Jordan Lewis of The Confess Project of America, members of New Profit's 2025 Mental Health Equity Cohort, reflect on what it takes to build systems of care that last. From school-based healthcare in Ohio to mental health advocacy in barbershops across the country, the conversation explores sustainability, burnout, re-traumatization, and the hidden emotional cost of leading mission-driven work.

EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITIES

• The GRO Fund is hiring a Senior Director of Program Innovation to join its leadership team and lead all aspects of GRO's programming.
  
  

• English Learners Success Forum is hiring a Chief of Strategic Engagement & Impact to partner with the Executive Director on the strategy behind ELSF's work and to shape how ELSF communicates its impact across the education ecosystem.