Annual Report 2022
Dear
New Profit
community,
As we take stock of everything this community achieved over the past year, we are filled with gratitude … for the social entrepreneurs who are shifting the systems in this country through their brilliance, vision, and determination; for our investors and partners who remain committed to building an America that provides opportunity for all; for our staff who dedicate their days to deepening our impact, taking a learning stance, and never settling for “good enough”; and for all of you who have joined in our community to make this work possible.
The pages that follow tell a story about what’s possible when we come together, find common ground, and honor our interdependence. They show a community driving transformational change in education, economic mobility, democracy, and beyond. They introduce you to the bold leaders who are close to — and guided by — the genius of the communities they serve, and explore the collaborations at the heart of it all. And they point to a pattern of exponential growth and deepening impact that reflects the magnitude of the moment we are in.
Between the lines, our community is navigating big questions as we look ahead to major milestones, including New Profit’s 25th anniversary in 2023 and America’s 250th anniversary in 2026.
What role can this community play in building an alternative to the fear and fragmentation that threatens progress in America? Where do we stand in our collective efforts to shift power and resource flows in philanthropy, and where do we go from here? How can we power an American Evolution that makes good on our country’s greatest possibilities?
These questions are always in the room with us. They guided our work together at New Profit’s annual convening, The Well, which relaunched this autumn with a new name to reflect its renewed purpose — to reconnect and replenish our community’s bonds, and cultivate a multiracial, intergenerational, cross-sector coalition strong enough to achieve transformational change. Earlier this year, in conversation with Tulaine, Dr. Vivek Murthy, the U.S. Surgeon General, spoke pointedly about the value of interconnectedness:
“As painful as these two years have been, there are certain windows it has opened for us, and one of them I think is a greater willingness that people have in America right now to have a conversation about community and how we rebuild it; a greater recognition, if you will, that our relationships with each other actually do matter a lot. They’re not just a ‘nice to have,’ they are necessary to have.”
In that vein, we hope you will join us in community, and get closer to each other as well as the leaders, problem-solvers, and solutions that we get behind. As we look ahead to New Profit’s 25th anniversary next year, we are looking forward to more opportunities to come together in person and online to learn and grow, commit to concrete action, celebrate impact, and fortify our community for the path ahead.
Warmly,
Tulaine Montgomery & Vanessa Kirsch
CO-CEOS OF NEW PROFIT
2022 Highlights
New Build investments
New Catalyze investments
Catalyze cohorts (3 new)
New board members
Kerwin Charles & Deborah Quazzo
New portfolio organizations (48 Catalyze and 8 Build)
96% of new Catalyze organizations and
83% of new Build organizations are led by people of color
multi-day Catalyze in-person convenings
and 8 virtual sessions
hours of staff professional development
including 3 learning weeks
field leadership speaking engagements at major conferences and events
Year in Review
jan 2022
Portfolio Investing
New Profit’s portfolio strategy and support model center equity and proximity. We are committed to meeting the expressed needs of our portfolio organizations and to reducing asymmetry between funder and grantee.
Over the last five years, New Profit has strategically shifted the composition of our portfolio to invest in significantly more leaders of color—particularly women of color—and broaden our issue areas, invest in more systems-first organizations, and markedly grow the number or organizations we serve at both the Build and Catalyze levels.
Evolution of New Profit’s portfolio 2017-2022
Elevating Proximity
We significantly shifted our portfolio’s composition from a majority of white-led organizations(79%) serving communities of color to a majority of leaders of color (82%) whose identities and practices center proximity to communities served.
Building Pipelines
We grew the number of our Catalyze (pre-mezzanine stage) organizations from 1 cohort of 8 deals to 7 cohorts of 56 deals; our Build portfolio investing accelerated from a high of 8 new deals per year to 13 new deals - with a robust “waiting list”.
Investing in Key Issue Areas
We rebalanced our portfolio in terms of key issue areas, shifting from a large focus on K-12 education to a more diversified portfolio with 50% of investments supporting economic mobility and democracy building.
Supporting Systems Change efforts
We increased the portion of portfolio organizations whose primary focus is intervening at the systems level, from 13% to 27%.
Geography and Concentration of Our Portfolio Organizations
Portfolio Spotlights
Key Findings from our Compensation Study
New Profit is pleased to share a selection of findings* from our Compensation Study Report, which compiles data from 43 current and alumni organizations that received either Build (mid-stage) or Catalyze (early-stage) investments from New Profit. The study aimed to shed light on frequently asked questions from other social entrepreneurs such as:
- What is a competitive salary if we are recruiting for a new senior team member?
- How should we measure pay equity if we want to operationalize equity in our compensation philosophy?
- What are promising practices in compensation equity?
The contents of this report offer increased visibility across the sector to help organizations allocate their resources equitably and effectively. While other industry compensation reports exist, many focus on a limited scope (a particular state, organization size, etc.) and/or may cost hundreds of dollars per copy.
HIGHLIGHTS
- Amina Fahmy Casewit and Molly O’Donnell, both Partners and longtime New Profit employees, were promoted to co-lead the organization’s Portfolio team and serve on the New Profit Leadership team. As co-leads of the Portfolio team, Amina and Molly oversee the vision, strategy, and management of New Profit’s investing and strategic support for social entrepreneurs. Amina primarily leads New Profit’s Build Investments; Molly primarily leads Catalyze Investments.
- We invested in eight new Build organizations and are on our way to close 2022 with the largest number of new Build investments made in a single year. Avance, Cara Collective, CodePath, Girls Leadership, Inner City Computer Stars Foundation (i.c.stars), Project Basta, and The Knowledge House joined our second set of Postsecondary Innovation for Equity (PIE 2) investments. Each is focusing on creating access to postsecondary and career opportunities for young people from under-resourced communities across the country. Additionally, we made one Build investment in the area of Education —BARR Center.
- Five outstanding Build organizations exited our portfolio. Deals completing their terms with New Profit spanned a number of issue areas including civic engagement (PushBlack), education (EdLoC and LEAP Innovations), and economic mobility (GirlTrek and The Health Initiative).
- Through our Impact Compass, we have aligned on a set of core beliefs for our portfolio work:
- Lasting social change is only possible if the conditions which hold social problems in place are shifted to produce equitable outcomes.
- Solutions to structural challenges require proximate leadership and organizations.
- Our beliefs in equity and systems change require us to hold a more flexible perspective on the paths organizations take toward change and not focus on a singular destination by the end of our investment.
- Philanthropy is more powerful when funders listen to social entrepreneurs.
- We are learning on many fronts and commit to a stance of humility, feedback, and investing in our continuous evolution.
Portfolio stats
Financial Growth & Sustainability
We set the table so that more people have a seat at the table when it comes to building the future of education. We want to see founders who look like you and me, building new schools, new educational programs, that meet the needs of the families in their community. We want to see funders write checks with better terms and based on trust with the founders that they’re supporting. We want to see facilitators manage and allocate resources equitably. And most importantly, we want to see families driving the innovation agenda. We want to see families being the ones who tell the rest of the ecosystem what is working and what is not so we can keep building together.
Build Social Entrepreneurs
Build investments are $1M+ multi-year, unrestricted grants that come with deep strategic support and a dedicated New Profit Deal Partner who serves as a trusted advisor to the social entrepreneurs and as a member of the organization’s board of directors.
4.0
Hassan Hassan
BARR Center
Angie Jerebek
Beyond 12
Alexandra Bernadotte
Braven
Aimée Eubanks Davis
Cara Collective
Kathleen St. Louis Caliento
CASEL
Dr. Aaliyah A. Samuel
CodePath
Michael Ellison
Education Leaders of Color (EdLoC)
Sharhonda Bossier
Envision Education
Jillian Juman
Equal Opportunity Schools
Eddie Lincoln
GirlTrek
T. Morgan Dixon and Vanessa Garrison
Inner City Computer Stars Foundation (i.c.stars)
Sandee Kastrul
Instruction Partners
Emily Freitag
Kingmakers of Oakland
Chris Chatmon
The Knowledge House
Jerelyn Rodriguez
LEAP Innovations
Phyllis Lockett
Pivot Learning
Arun Ramanathan
Project Basta
Sheila Sarem
PushBlack
Julian Walker
Saga Education
Alan Safran & AJ Gutierrez
Springboard Collaborative
Alejandro Gibes de Gac
The Health Initiative
Rebecca Onie & Rocco Perla
Think of Us
Sixto Cancel
Urban Alliance
Veronica Nolan (Interim CEO)
Zearn
Shalinee Sharma
Ecosystem Building
Social and systemic change requires a multiracial, intergenerational, cross-sector coalition. New Profit’s ecosystem-building initiatives bring together social entrepreneurs, philanthropists, community members, corporate leaders, policymakers, and other stakeholders to transform how we collectively pursue social change. By grounding ourselves in community insights, we can move toward concrete action in ways that enable all people to thrive.
The MIC
Ecosystem Building In Action
Advancing Ideas
By investing in over 200 social enterprises since its founding, New Profit has amassed a wealth of knowledge about long-standing and emerging trends across a variety of systems and sectors. Furthering systemic change requires disseminating these learnings, often in partnership with one or more social entrepreneurs in our portfolio. A key driver of our impact is advancing ideas, which, in addition to informing our investment selections and strategy, supports broader systemic change.
Insights
Proximate leaders—those who are closest to the problem and are meaningfully guided by the expertise, needs, assets, and experiences of their communities—bring unique expertise and drive the most sustainable solutions. Funders have historically under-invested in proximate entrepreneurs and organizations. Though we don’t have an ideal portfolio composition, we have prioritized funding Black, Latinx, and Indigenous leaders in recent investments.
Proximity Fellows
This year, New Profit launched its Proximity Fellows initiative which provides funding to individuals who are actively shifting the social entrepreneurship ecosystem through their work. Grants provide capital and capacity-building support that enables the documentation and dissemination of breakthrough ideas that have the potential to change the social sector. In the coming years, New Profit will invest $1.25M to support proximate leaders and initiatives.
Proximity as Expertise
While many organizations elevate the thinking of so-called “experts in their fields,” a growing number are coming to rely on and prioritize proximate leaders, those with lived experience in the systems they seek to change.
State of Education Series
As education holds the political main stage, New Profit brought together education leaders and community members through our State of Education series for thoughtful discussions about our current education system and how together we might co-create a vision for the future of education. This education learning series was created to grapple with the dichotomy of extraordinary challenges and opportunities for change created by the pandemic.
Strengthening Democracy Event
In the lead-up to midterm elections, New Profit convened community members and alumni entrepreneurs from our Civic Lab cohorts for a discussion about the role of democracy entrepreneurs in strengthening America in election years and beyond. The event featured democracy entrepreneurs who are striving to ensure the strength and health of our democracy, with particular emphasis on the role of participation. Angela Lang, Executive Director of Black Leaders Organizing for Communities (BLOC), and Max Lubin, CEO of Rise, discussed their work and experiences in the civic engagement ecosystem, and the group explored innovations that are building civic trust and an inclusive democracy in America.
Tear the Paper Ceiling Campaign
The narrative about a “skills gap” is deeply entrenched in the way we think about the workforce. But the problem isn’t a lack of skilled workers. Research from Opportunity@Work notes that 71 million Americans without degrees have the skills to perform higher-wage work. Therefore, the problem we need to solve is really an opportunity gap.
Leadership & Donors
Doug Borchard
Managing Partner,
Chief Operating Officer
Trevor Brown
Senior Partner
Shawn Dove
Managing Partner
Amina Fahmy Casewit
Lead Partner,
Portfolio Investing
Eliza Greenberg
Managing Partner
Kevin Greer
Partner,
Chief Administrative Officer
Sam Hiersteiner
Managing Partner,
Communications and Corporate Partnerships
Vanessa Kirsch
Founder & Co-CEO
Ian Magee
Managing Partner,
Chief Financial Officer
Abby Marquand
Partner,
Economic Mobility
Tulaine Montgomery
Co-CEO
Molly O’Donnell
Lead Partner,
Portfolio Investing
Elizabeth Perlmutter
Partner,
Investor Relations
Shruti Sehra
Managing Partner,
Education Portfolio
Deborah Smolover
Managing Partner/Executive Director,
America Forward
Strategic Collaborations
Since 2013, Deloitte and New Profit have collaborated to provide social impact organizations with the caliber of strategic support that is typically only accessible to Fortune 500 companies. In addition to strategy work, the power of our cross-sector collaboration has led to tremendous learning for each organization, and ultimately for those we work with.
Deloitte is driving ecosystem impact for New Profit social entrepreneurs, and beyond, by creating and disseminating thought leadership for the field and through convenings, including The Well.
Our collaboration also draws on Deloitte’s broader capabilities, including digital crowdsourcing of innovative ideas and data-rich research, which contribute to sector thinking and conversations on topics such as the future of work and health equity.
Each year, Deloitte consultants and New Profit team members work together to lead pro bono strategy projects for a set of New Profit portfolio organizations. Working in partnership with the leadership teams, we help our grantee-partners pursue impact at scale by engaging in projects focused on leadership and board development, monitoring and evaluation, financial sustainability, impact modeling, and growth strategy. To date, Deloitte and New Profit have collaborated to lead pro bono strategy projects to scale the impact of nearly 50 New Profit portfolio organizations that collectively reach millions of people across America.
This spring, New Profit and Deloitte’s Health Equity Institute (DHEI) collaborated to launch our first Health Equity Catalyze Cohort. DHEI is a data-driven community investment and knowledge development organization that advances health equity as an outcome through pro bono programs, philanthropy, and cross-industry collaborations. “At DHEI, we believe health and health equity extends well beyond clinical care and health services,” said Jay Bhatt, Executive Director of DHEI and Deloitte Center for Health Solutions. “Our efforts to advance health equity have to address the root causes of inequitable health outcomes and support the leaders on the ground championing innovative solutions, and our work with New Profit is focused on doing just that.”
This collaboration is built upon fifteen years of similar pioneering work done with the Monitor Group, which Deloitte acquired in 2013. In 2018, Deloitte announced a continuation and expansion of our collaboration over three years, which included providing $6.6M in pro bono strategy services to New Profit’s grantee partners to help them create transformational impact.
Financials
Foundations
Family Foundations
Revenue Breakdown
Almost all of our revenue consists of gift & grant commitments, to be collected over multiple years.
Net Assets
Expense Breakdown
PORTFOLIO INVESTING
Portfolio Grants
Grantee Support
Deloitte Pro Bono
Select Donor Supported Initiatives
ECOSYSTEM BUILDING
America Forward
Convenings
Field Building
NEW PROFIT INFRASTRUCTURE
Administration
Development
Communications
Legal/Strategy Pro Bono
Numbers may not add due to rounding.
The figures included in the above graphics and table are based on
the audited financial statements for CY2021.