Category: Event Takeaways

Inside & Out: Education, Community and Opportunity for the Incarcerated

Posted on by NationSwell Team

On Wednesday, May 7, NationSwell community members gathered at Mount Tamalpais College in San Quentin Prison for a guided site visit to explore how education and growth programs can foster growth, resilience, and possibility for incarcerated and formerly incarcerated individuals.

Led by Dr. Jody Lewen — founder and president of Mount Tamalpais College, the independent, tuition-free, accredited college that operates inside the prison — the experience offered a powerful look at how expanded access to quality higher education is about more than learning — it’s a bridge to community, purpose, and hope.

We’ve recapped some of the key insights from the day below.

Key Takeaways:

  • Education can be a counterculture
    In carceral systems designed to disconnect, education becomes radical. It’s not just about learning, it’s about reclaiming voice, building community, and engaging with the world in new, life-affirming ways.
  • The light of learning disrupts the system
    Mount Tamalpais College offers more than classes, it challenge the very logic of incarceration. Education is a “disturbance in the force.”
  • Healing requires space to reflect
    Access to education in prison opens the door to deeper psychological insight. It creates space to confront trauma, build resilience, and help others do the same.
  • The system is not rational
    The carceral state is not the product of coherent logic, but a patchwork of arbitrary decisions and policies. We must resist the illusion of inevitability and instead ask who benefits, who’s harmed, and what a more humane system could look like.
  • Human worth is inherent
    Regardless of our worst decisions, our pasts, or our circumstances, every person holds equal value and is worthy of dignity, respect, opportunity, and growth. Full stop. Systems can be designed to forget this. We can’t afford to.
  • Reentry is a collective responsibility
    The transition out of prison is complex. Career support and alumni services are critical and a space where deeper community partnerships can make a lasting difference. This is an area where Mount Tamalpais College could use our help!
  • Proximity is powerful—but depth is essential
    Connection starts with showing up, but it doesn’t end there. The question is: how do we move beyond observation into curiosity, action, and shared storytelling?
  • Let people tell their own stories
    Authentic storytelling fosters understanding, not just attention. How do we create space for people to speak in their own words?
  • Resist both romanticizing and othering
    Incarcerated people are often cast as either heroes or villains. The truth is more human, more complicated, and more deserving of our full attention. How do we shift society from sensationalizing the experience of incarceration to humanizing it?
  • Fair chance hiring is everyone’s work
    Every organization can audit, improve, and advocate. Whether it’s changing internal practices or supporting national reform, inclusive hiring must become standard.
  • Bridge-building means welcoming discomfort
    Can we broaden the aperture of experiences like this one? Can we invite in people with different ideologies and use shared reflection to build understanding across differences? What’s the first step? How do we take it?

The Bottom Line: Collective Action for Clean Air

Posted on by NationSwell Team

On April 23RD, NationSwell hosted a virtual leader roundtable to kickoff the Equal Air Collaborative and discuss the innovative models and approaches that businesses are spearheading and investing in to combat air pollution.

Here are some of the key takeaways from the event:

Treat this moment as a call to courageous leadership. 

This is a watershed moment for climate and environmental justice. Corporate partners have a unique opportunity – and responsibility – to step up when it would be easier to stay silent. Showing communities you care, especially now, builds authentic trust and long-term impact.

Harness the strength of collective action. 

Joining a collaborative or alliance offers companies a safer path to make bold commitments without standing alone. By working together, organizations can align on shared goals, support each other’s initiatives, and create a louder, more influential voice for change.

Leverage industry influence to build more responsible AI infrastructure. 

As AI and data centers proliferate, companies must consider their environmental footprint. This includes ensuring backup generators rely on clean energy sources and that facilities are built with accountability to the communities they impact – especially underserved ones.

Focus on state and local partnerships to drive tangible outcomes. 

With limited federal engagement (especially in the United States), there is an urgent need to support clean air and climate initiatives at the state and community level. Localized action offers both measurable progress and deeper community trust. 

Keep employees at the heart of environmental action. 

Employee engagement is a powerful driver for sustainability and environmental justice efforts. Whether through volunteering, citizen science, or internal advocacy, employees often lead the charge in embedding purpose into company culture and operations.

Start small, iterate, and scale over time. 

Perfection is not the goal – progress is. Many organizations began with a single air quality pilot, local engagement effort, or vertical focus, and expanded from there. Early wins build momentum, provide learning opportunities, and lay the groundwork for long-term impact.

Commit to measurable clean air action alongside climate goals. 

Air quality is still an overlooked element in many ESG strategies, despite its direct ties to health and equity. Organizations are now recognizing that tracking and improving air quality can be a high-impact, data-driven way to meet both sustainability and social justice targets.

Reduce point source pollution with targeted strategies. 

While carbon emissions often come from large, regional sources, air pollution tends to have more localized sources — requiring hyper-local monitoring and targeted interventions. Reducing pollution at its source – whether it’s idling drive-thru traffic or emissions from industrial zones – can support clean air efforts. Businesses can make a tangible impact by identifying and mitigating these hyper-local sources of pollution that disproportionately affect nearby communities.

To learn more about, or to join, NationSwell’s Equal Air Collaborative, click here.

AI-Powered Impact: Advancing Mission Delivery with Artificial Intelligence

Posted on by NationSwell Team

On April 10th, NationSwell hosted a virtual leader roundtable called AI-Powered Impact: Advancing Mission Delivery with Artificial Intelligence dedicated to surfacing actionable strategies for harnessing the power of AI to increase impact through operational efficiency and enhanced mission delivery.

Here are some of the key takeaways from the event:

Experimentation should be actively encouraged as a strategic approach to uncover the strengths and limitations of artificial intelligence tools in the workplace

By fostering a culture that embraces curiosity and learning, organizations can empower employees to explore new technologies with confidence and creativity. This begins with setting clear and ethical guidelines for AI usage, ensuring that staff understand both the opportunities and boundaries of these tools. Once those guardrails are in place, inviting team members to incorporate AI into time management, research, and project development can lead to significant breakthroughs.

Consider constrained budgets as an opportunity to spark innovation

In the current economic climate, time is one of the most valuable and limited resources for individuals and organizations alike. AI can significantly enhance productivity by streamlining key performance indicator (KPI) tracking. It can also improve efficiency in notetaking and help identify patterns to obtain specific insights.

As artificial intelligence grows in usage, underrepresented communities face the risk of being behind the curve

The digital divide that currently exists has the potential to grow even wider with rapid AI expansion. Individuals from underprivileged backgrounds may have limited internet access, digital education, and broad awareness of how AI can be used to benefit them on a personal level. Outreach to these groups can help identify and address gaps in workforce development.

Don’t wait for perfection – start small and scale what works

Organizations are seeing real gains by launching small AI pilots tied to clear operational challenges, then iterating based on feedback and outcomes. Early hands-on use helps demystify AI and reveals practical paths forward. Peer sharing and community learning can be accelerators for progress, enabling access to real examples, toolkits, and honest feedback helps organizations move faster and avoid common pitfalls.

Explore how mission-aligned AI tools can unlock new nonprofit capabilities

Tools like Grant Guardian and Resume Boost show how AI can directly support nonprofit workflows – from financial due diligence to personalized career support – when designed with human-centered values and clear use cases.

Leaders should set the standard for responsible AI usage

The substantial benefits artificial intelligence can provide an organization also comes with significant risks. Adhering to clear guidelines on ethics, specifically data usage and privacy, could help circumvent problems from arising down the road. Making sure staff members have transparency and understanding in how AI can be used in the workplace helps lessen fears around the technology.

Impact x Talent: Updating Talent Development Systems for the Workforce of the Future

Posted on by NationSwell Team

On April 3rd, NationSwell hosted a virtual leader roundtable in collaboration with the International Youth Foundation (IYF) on Impact x Talent: Updating Talent Development Systems for the Workforce of the Future.

Focused on existing social impact programs that bridge the skills gap by leveraging the scale of traditional talent development systems, the conversation revealed a host of insights into how we can work together to address workforce challenges. Some of those insights appear below:

Insights:

Future skills are being shaped by emerging megatrends
Economic megatrends like artificial intelligence, nearshoring, and energy transition are reshaping workforce needs across geographies and industries. Employers and workforce development partners must address the growing importance of blending technical skills with higher-order thinking and human capabilities, such as adaptability, critical thinking, and collaboration.

Adapting skills-based training to regional demands is critical to program sustainability Industry gaps and requirements vary based on location. Cross-sector partnerships—between funders, employers, and workforce developers—are often most effective when they co-design place-based solutions that respond to local labor market needs. A flexible, iterative approach rooted in deep listening and local stakeholder engagement is critical to long-term impact. 

Employers and workforce development partners can help education systems increase speed and adaptability
Traditional education systems often can’t keep pace with the speed of industry change. Creating “room to maneuver” within public systems, like supporting the development of new curricula, can accelerate the integration of in-demand skills and shorten the time from design to deployment.

On-the-job training is valuable but is difficult to scale; simulation-based learning can help
While hands-on experience is essential for many roles, challenges in matching students with high-quality, relevant placements persist. In response, some workforce development partners are bringing real-world case studies into the classroom to simulate work-based learning in more scalable ways. Group practice, internships, and mentorships can give students the chance to learn through experience in real-world scenarios. 

As AI skill demand increases, workforce development initiatives must create equitable pathways for all learners to meet that demand
As demand for artificial intelligence skills and capabilities continues to grow, so too do critical questions around how to ensure all learners, particularly those from under-resourced communities, can access the skills and opportunities needed to thrive. As the pace of change accelerates, there’s a shared imperative to design inclusive pathways that help all talent succeed, not just those with the opportunity to attend elite educational institutions. 

Community colleges are essential partners for responsive, regional workforce development

Unlike traditional four-year institutions, community colleges are often better equipped to quickly adapt curriculum in response to changing employer demands. Their regional focus, flexibility, and emphasis on practical skill development make them valuable partners in co-creating training programs that align with local industry needs.

Elevating Innovative and Highly Effective Impact Programs and Models

Posted on by NationSwell Team

On March 20th, NationSwell hosted a virtual Leader Roundtable designed to explore how leaders and organizations are redefining the cutting edge of impact program design, focusing on emerging examples of “best in class.”

Some takeaways from the event appear below:

Insights

Embed innovation across your entire organization, not just your programs. Truly innovative organizations don’t treat innovation as a separate function. They integrate it into the DNA of their operations – whether that’s aligning their endowment with their mission, reimagining office spaces to model sustainability, or increasing payout rates to meet the moment. Every asset and decision point becomes a tool for change.

Redesign capital systems to center community aspirations. Instead of asking communities to navigate traditional financial structures, forward-thinking initiatives are flipping the script, inviting capital holders to revise their own rules and reduce barriers. This includes creating accessible capital pools, layering equity and credit tools, and prioritizing long-term ownership for individuals historically shut out of wealth-building opportunities.

Stay focused and back it up with data. Programs that maintain focus on a specific goal (like economic mobility) can drive powerful results when paired with robust measurement. Embedding evaluation from day one allows organizations to surface insights over time and use them to adapt offerings, close disparities, and prove long-term outcomes.

Treat storytelling as core infrastructure for social change. Narrative change is more than a communications strategy, it’s a structural lever. For instance, investing in platforms that amplify the lived experiences of working-class communities, especially those underrepresented in traditional media, can reshape public dialogue and policy priorities. Grounding storytelling in on-the-ground organizing ensures alignment with real-time needs and movements.

Use the full balance sheet – and imagination – of philanthropy. Flexible, mission-aligned capital is essential in moments of disruption. Whether through program-related investments, purchasing real estate on behalf of community partners, or deploying guarantees and patient capital, philanthropic organizations are finding creative ways to stretch beyond traditional grantmaking and meet partners with the tools they truly need.

Invite your grantees to define what capacity-building looks like. Capacity-building is most effective when it indexes to what funders say they need most, and trusting their guidance. Some funders are developing operating LLCs to manage certain functions on behalf of partners, while others are providing flexible resources to partners to build their capacity in-house. Sometimes, the best technical assistance is simply a larger, unrestricted grant.

Center relationships as the foundation of innovation. Innovation travels faster when rooted in trust. Funders that build authentic relationships with their partners (viewing them as co-strategists, not just grantees) are better equipped to adapt to changing contexts. Whether that means co-designing participatory grantmaking models, convening peers across regions, or responding to global challenges with shared learning, deep relationships unlock collective intelligence.

Investing in the Next Generation: Youth, Mental Health, and Investing in Emerging Leaders

Posted on by NationSwell Team

Throughout history, young leaders have been critical in driving meaningful impact in key issue areas facing our planet and society. As we look to 2025 and beyond, building power behind this next generation of leaders can be an asset as we continue to address challenges that range from the expansion of expanding mental health services to reshaping educational pathways to fostering youth-led innovations in climate action. But to truly unlock their potential, we must shift our approach from viewing young people as just participants, to recognizing them as vital contributors whose insights and expertise are essential for shaping the future.

On March 11, NationSwell hosted a virtual Leader Roundtable designed to explore the most effective programs and initiatives leaders are deploying in order to maximize the potential for young leaders to strengthen their voice and resources, and drive meaningful change.

Some takeaways from the event appear below.

Insights:

Empower young leaders by prioritizing their wellbeing. Providing a mentee with work-related assistance is just one aspect of support needed for long-term success. Prioritize the mental health of those you mentor and check in to see what their struggles are, both personally and professionally. Genuine connection with young employees helps improve employee engagement and workplace outcomes.

Overconcern with risk has the potential to hinder possibilities. A lack of trust is a significant barrier in youth entrepreneurship programs. Provide children and young adults with the opportunity to have some agency with business projects or assignments in order to drive engagement. While financial liabilities can’t be ignored, being creative about mitigating these risks can provide space for youth innovation and ingenuity.

Co-create with young adults to drive impact. Working with young leaders is critical to finding solutions to problems they disproportionately face. Center youth voices within your work to introduce new, creative perspectives on global challenges. This professional exposure gives young adults the ability to explore career pathways and opportunities.

Young adult experiences are key in expanding inclusivity online. Teens and young adults are the most vulnerable to harassment on social media platforms. Their feedback is critical in conversations around expanding safety protocols and algorithmic protections on popular platforms.

Economic mobility is often dependent on current obligations. Many young adults eager to start their careers often juggle these ambitions with family obligations and financial responsibilities. Finding ways to support students and employees in terms of compensation and timing flexibility can increase the likelihood of consistent program participation and success.

Building Thriving Futures: The Power of Place-based Strategies

Posted on by NationSwell Team

Place-based approaches have become a cornerstone for fostering long-lasting, meaningful change, by connecting organizations, cities, and communities across the United States. Through focusing on local needs and opportunities, place-based strategies have proven essential for building community resilience and driving positive, tailored outcomes.

During the final event in the Building Thriving Futures series hosted in partnership with FUSE, leaders dove into actionable strategies to strengthen partnerships across sectors and address critical challenges in supporting small businesses, advancing housing equity, and expanding workforce opportunities. 

Some of the key takeaways from the event appear below:

Insights:

Impact leaders need to support and work closely with local decision makers. City and state leaders are the largest social services providers for communities. As the federal government pulls away funding and infrastructure, it won’t change the community needs and people will look to their local and city governments to do more. The current destruction is huge — some populations like in Kansas have/had a large proportion of federal workforce — and philanthropists and private sector leaders need to help local public sector leaders expand their capacity to navigate the change. 

Learn from existing models that bring disparate people together for local change. For example, JobsFirst and FresnoDRIVE are initiatives funded by public, philanthropic, and private dollars aimed at boosting workforce, education, and inclusivity, and are high-aspiration, long-term plans.  

Diversification of funds is key — understanding who in your community is reliant on federal funding and helping them diversify to de-risk and change keeps occurring. Consider how you can help track the dollars being cut in your region, predict the ripple effects that will impact your grantees and community, and stem the loss. 

Balance listening and surviving, with planning for the future. Many organizations are navigating changing infrastructure, adopting a defensive posture, and doing the important work of helping grantees and community partners survive this turbulence e.g. by providing more unrestricted funding to plug gaps. However, also make time to think about those things that will help you “swing for the fences” and plan for a new future e.g. investing in the capacity and social capital of local talent who can rise into transformational leaders. 

Consider how we can fall in love with the problem and use it as a spark for innovation? Turbulence allows us to consider what we should double down on, what can we pivot away from because it is not an immediate priority, and what can we think differently about? In this time where national actions are impacting hyper local communities, it could be a useful exercise to borrow from entrepreneurs and figure out how you find the hardest, stickiest pain point and build energy around addressing it.

Drive investments to data and make sure you have secure data infrastructure locally, as it may not always be there federally. There may be opportunities for new investments and new partnerships that hinge on this data. 

Philanthropies have the power to bring place-based peers together to support each other. Information and strategy help us adapt more rapidly. By bringing together members, partners, or organizations you work with, across states and cities, who are working to combat the same barriers and issues, you scale insights and learning and help prevent a constant reinventing the wheel and repeating the same growing pains.

Invest in telling the story of place-based impact. With so many programs and initiatives at risk due to their reliance on federal funding, telling the story of their impact is more essential than ever. The role of communications and communications teams is often an afterthought, but the importance of language and framing has never been more crucial. Storytelling matters — even if it means we need to pivot or look at it a different way, we keep the story going.

A Thriving Economy for All: Strategies for Collective Wealth Building

Posted on by NationSwell Team

As social inequality and economic disparities continue to rise across the United States, there is a pressing need to reverse the trends, transform the economic landscape, and build a foundation for sustainable intergenerational prosperity. Data shows areas of greater inequity experience weaker economic growth — so it benefits all of us to overcome those inequities.

On February 26, NationSwell convened leaders from across sectors for a virtual roundtable on the strategies and opportunities they’re seeing to address systemic inequities, including affordable housing, access to quality education, healthcare disparities, and the racial wealth gap.

Some takeaways from the conversation appear below:

Insights

We need to invest in widening “wealth literacy” not just financial literacy.. There are still knowledge gaps in how individuals tend to conceptualize income as wealth vs. understanding asset-based accumulation.

Lowering the barriers to entry can give millions more people access to powerful tools. . Tools that have been widely vetted and applied — including grants, “patient” loans, and market rate loans — are still some of the best in our collective arsenal, but access is still an issue for communities who have been historically regarded as unbankable. In order to mitigate those roadblocks, organizations like the Groundbreak Coalition focus on stacking resources to make it easier for people to find them and benefit from their collective impact — using tried-and-true puzzle pieces, but reconfigured in a more accessible way.

Employee ownership is a powerful way to empower people to build wealth. Organizations such as Ownership Works offer businesses of all sizes the opportunity to offer their staff stock – a vital pathway to wealth building, and addressing the imbalance that currently the top 1% wealth owners own 99% of the stock and mutual funds. 

Safety net reforms show promise when they mirror the values of trust-based giving. The principles of trust-based giving — like not having to prove your worthiness over and over again — a should be reflected in our social safety net and direct cash transfer programs. 

Targeted policy reforms like “baby bonds” help to reimagine the role the government has to play in closing the wealth gap. Baby bonds are government-funded trusts created at a child’s birth. California has started the largest baby bond program in the country aimed at children who have lost a primary caregiver through COVID or have long term stays in the state’s foster care system.

For underserved individuals, entrepreneurship can be a significant pathway for wealth generation. Undocumented and formerly incarcerated individuals are not always able to legally work as employees; and incarceration is shown to be a huge factor in the wealth gap. Entrepreneurship creates avenues to work as your own boss and can help to make inroads for wealth-building. Focusing on business development and supporting co-ops and CDFIs — as well as working with partners focused on seeding community-based organizations (CBOs) —  can help to strengthen such opportunities.

Narrative change is a necessary component of the wealth-building conversation. As a society, our tendency to attribute poverty to a moral failure or theorize that poverty is solvable through hard work and the “bootstraps mythology” help dictate the ways that policies are prioritized and shaped, creating tremendous barriers to entry that exacerbate the wealth gap. Using sociopolitical context and narrative storytelling can help to catalyze our communities into feeling like they’re part of a larger picture in wealth-building — helping to create buy-in, engender pride, and form a sense that this work is larger than ourselves.

Impact Imperative: Innovative and Effective Partnership Models

Posted on by NationSwell Team

Partnerships and collective action are essential for advancing transformational impact. But what are the most effective and boundary-setting approaches to collaboration today? What perspective, strategies, and frameworks are unlocking deep value between organizations and across sectors?

On February 20, NationSwell hosted a virtual roundtable discussion on the Impact Imperative: Innovative and Effective Partnership Models.

Here are some of the key takeaways from the event:

Insights:

Invest in trust-building as a load-bearing feature of your partnerships. Successful collaborations are rooted in trust and relationship-building. Establishing trust requires ongoing engagement, transparency, and alignment on shared goals. Whether between funders and grantees or across coalitions, investing time in in-person collaboration and candid conversations strengthens long-term commitment and impact.

Create a backbone to facilitate cross-sector collaboration. Organizations that take on the role of a backbone entity can drive more effective cross-sector partnerships – coordinating efforts, providing structural support, and creating alignment among stakeholders. As a backbone organization, tap into real-time, data-driven insights, and third-party expertise. 

Identify the intersection of organizational self-interest and things that you absolutely can’t do alone. As a general rule, a strong understanding of your own opportunities for partnership starts here.

Engage third-party perspectives to spark new ideas and collaborations. Organizations often miss opportunities for innovation by staying within their own networks. External experts, intermediaries, and third-party organizations can help identify new collaboration opportunities, provide fresh perspectives, and facilitate partnerships that might not naturally emerge. 

Break down silos among funders to enhance collective impact. Many funders support the same nonprofits but fail to coordinate efforts, leading to inefficiencies and missed opportunities. Organizations should pool resources, align funding strategies, and pursue collaborative grant-making to maximize impact and reduce burdens on nonprofit partners. Independent conveners can play a key role in brokering connections and facilitating shared funding models.

Hire staff with cross-sector experience to strengthen partnership design and relationships. Having team members with firsthand experience in relevant sectors improves collaboration and bridges power dynamics between funders and grantees. For instance, staff with NGO backgrounds bring emotional intelligence and valuable insight into nonprofit challenges, making them better positioned to create more equitable, flexible, and responsive funding strategies at grantmaking organizations.

Support nonprofit sustainability during economic uncertainty. Given financial uncertainty and funding contractions, funders should explore operating support, flexible grant structures, and bridge funding to help nonprofits sustain their work. Small grants can provide immediate relief, while long-term investment strategies ensure stability in an evolving landscape.

The social sector is being broken down and upheaved in dramatic ways right now; therein lies opportunity to consider what a better model looks like. With many traditional funding and partnership models being challenged, this moment presents an opportunity to rebuild a more effective and sustainable system. Organizations should use this period of uncertainty to innovate, create new frameworks, and rethink how funders, nonprofits, and businesses collaborate to drive long-term impact.

A Thriving Economy for All: Equitable Career Pathways

Posted on by NationSwell Team

In an era of rapid economic change and growing inequality, creating equitable career pathways has become a critical challenge for policymakers, educators, and business leaders alike. As we strive to build a thriving economy that benefits all members of society, innovative approaches to workforce development and career advancement are essential.

On February 18, NationSwell hosted a Leader Roundtable dedicated to unpacking the cutting-edge strategies and most effective initiatives, programs, and models for fostering equitable career pathways.

Some of the takeaways from that conversation appear below:

Insights:

Encourage skills-based hiring and employer investment in long-term workforce development. Skills-based hiring is on the rise, but still needs socialization and support. Continue to emphasize that traditional degree requirements often exclude qualified candidates, and that employers should reassess job descriptions to focus on competencies rather than credentials. Beyond immediate hiring needs, businesses should invest in reskilling and career advancement opportunities. Offering continuous education, apprenticeships, and mentorship programs helps employees grow within the company, reducing turnover and increasing economic mobility. 

Prioritize social supports to remove workforce barriers. Workforce development programs must go beyond skills training and job placement by addressing systemic barriers that prevent individuals from succeeding in the workplace. Providing wraparound services such as childcare, transportation assistance, and financial aid ensures individuals can fully participate in training programs and employment. These supports are often the difference between career success and workforce disengagement.

Leverage storytelling to drive awareness and action. Storytelling has the power to change hearts and minds at scale. Strategic storytelling outlets, such as films, that reach beyond typical workforce bubbles can help socialize and promote specific narratives about hiring practices. Employers and workforce advocates should use storytelling to highlight real-world challenges and opportunities.

Align workforce initiatives with business strategy. Successful corporate social impact programs are integrated into business strategy and continually aim to demonstrate return on investment. Leaders should aim to align their workforce development initiatives with core competencies, such as training talent in fields relevant to their industry, to create shared value and sustainable employment pipelines. Additionally, corporate foundations and philanthropic investments can be positioned as catalysts – providing seed funding to test and scale innovative models that demonstrate measurable outcomes. By leveraging data, organizations can make a compelling business case for continued corporate investment, turning short-term funding into long-term strategic commitments. 

Act as brokers of connection to create strong networks of support. Employers, nonprofits, and funders should focus on facilitating partnerships to ensure job seekers have access to the resources they need. Rather than duplicating existing efforts, organizations can focus on coordinating services, sharing best practices, and building collaborative models. A well-connected ecosystem enhances career mobility, supports talent development, and ensures long-term success for both workers and employers.

Adapt messaging to shifting political and social landscapes. As Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) language faces political pushback, organizations should remain committed to their mission while adapting their messaging. Framing workforce initiatives around economic mobility, opportunity, and business success can help sustain momentum while addressing stakeholder concerns.