February 2, 2024

New Leaders Council is in a cohort – and we’re not talking about NLC Institute! This week, we kicked off our first session in New Profit’s Civic Lab Cohort 4. Civic Lab is a leading nonpartisan initiative that invests in and grows innovative non-profit organizations focused on strengthening democracy and sparking an American Evolution in the U.S. and its territories.

New Leaders Council was one of eight organizations selected to receive an unrestricted grant of $100,000. Yes, that’s six figures! In addition to the grant, we will receive one-on-one leadership and strategic coaching to help us build organizational capacity and take aim at changing the broader systems in which we operate.

New Profit believes in the power of proximity, because leaders who have lived experience with the systems that need to change – in education, health, economic mobility, and others – have the deepest knowledge about the assets in their communities and are creating innovative, experience-driven solutions.

“Receiving this grant and participating in Civic Lab Cohort is like holding a mirror to our mission at NLC. Like us, New Profit believes in the power of proximity and through our training and alumni, New Leaders Council can train more proximate place-based leaders to dismantle systems of oppression and change the world. We also are fortunate to learn alongside other powerful nonprofits whose work compliments ours – FirstRepair, GenUnity, Latinas Represent, Partners In Democracy, The Pivot Fund, Rhizome, and the United States Federation of Worker Cooperatives,” says Karen Pandy-Cherry, New Leaders Council Vice President of Programs.

New Leaders Council CEO & President, Clare Bresnahan English and VP of Programs, Karen Pandy-Cherry behind the scenes at 2023 NLC Convention.
New Leaders Council CEO & President, Clare Bresnahan English and VP of Programs, Karen Pandy-Cherry facilitating the Leadership training NLC powered by Allstate provided at the 2023 ARP Convening

Throughout this year, we will engage in a peer learning community that allows us to meet with these nonprofit leaders through multi-day in-person convenings (like we are this week in Miami) and virtual sessions as well. We’re excited for the opportunity to build cross-sector relationships with each of these leaders, while engaging in meaningful dialogue and solution building for tackling key leadership and organizational challenges. Just like the community we foster during our signature program, NLC Institute.

We’re excited for the opportunity to keep building a new kind of leader and will be sharing our updates along the way in this journey.

Learn more about New Profit Civic Lab Cohort 4 at https://www.newprofit.org/go/introducing-new-profits-fourth-civic-lab-cohort-of-democracy-entrepreneurs/.

About New Profit

New Profit is a venture philanthropy organization that backs social entrepreneurs who are advancing equity and opportunity in America. New Profit exists to build a bridge between these leaders and a community of philanthropists who are committed to catalyzing their impact. New Profit provides unrestricted grants and strategic support to a portfolio of organizations led by visionary social entrepreneurs to increase their impact, scale, and sustainability. It also partners with social entrepreneurs and other cross-sector leaders to shift how government and philanthropy pursue social change to ensure that all people can thrive. Since its founding in 1998, New Profit has invested over $350M in 250+ organizations and, through the America Forward Coalition’s collective advocacy efforts, has unlocked over $1.9B in government funding for social innovation.

More Blog Posts from NLC