As we step into 2025, AI technologies are primed to drive even greater innovation around societal challenges, from fostering inclusive growth to expanding educational pathways and beyond. But AI is also going to continue raising important ethical questions while carrying the potential to drive new inequities.
At NationSwell’s recent roundtable discussion, What’s Ahead in Social Impact and AI, leaders and innovators across sectors joined featured panelists Vilas Dhar of The Patrick J. McGovern Foundation, Nathan Froelich of Blackbaud, and Stephen Plank of The Annie E. Casey Foundation to share strategies on how AI is currently being leveraged to meet societal challenges and surface ethical considerations and best practices for responsible AI implementation moving forward.
Here are some of the key takeaways from the event:
Insights:
Philanthropic funders have a key role to play in ensuring nonprofit partners get the AI tools they need at scale. New technologies have the potential to serve vulnerable communities, including by organizing decades of longitudinal research and creating predictive engines that can improve community wellbeing. But given the corporate power dynamics surrounding how tech is built and deployed, we need philanthropies and companies to step forward and advocate for the technology solutions their partners need on the ground, in order for them to be created at scale. Funders have a unique opportunity to come together to build shared capacity, new institutions, and resources in order to ensure that future investments in AI go toward honing its potential to create new pathways to dignity and justice in the world.
A good intelligence strategy will require us to be extremely intentional about governance. One of the most pressing challenges posed by AI will be how we can leverage and deploy it in a way that doesn’t harm people and the planet. We need to set up effective systems of governance, paying attention to how we’re deploying generative AI both within our own organizations and in the marketplace. The development of a set of guiding principles will be instrumental in determining which technologies your organization ultimately adopts, ensuring that the tools you’re using meet your ethical standards.
The creation of empowerment councils can help you tap into the most salient use cases for AI. Convening grantees and employees and giving them the access and latitude to experiment with AI can be one way to fuel unfettered iteration and innovation. Providing the tools and encouraging experimentation and exploration can help to surface the most salient examples of how they’re using new technologies to be more productive and support goals effectively, which can ultimately be helpful in deciding when and how to scale solutions appropriately.
Private-public partnerships hold great potential in shaping AI decisions and adoption. Engaging directly with tech funders through roundtable discussions can help to surface innovative ways to leverage private sector partnerships for tool licensing and technical assistance. Similarly, building peer learning communities where government leaders can access AI expertise and collectively develop approaches to service delivery and technology procurement can be powerful ways to shape policy decisions.
AI’s potential to displace or disrupt jobs depends on which workforce you’re talking about. While there is good research to suggest that corporate leaders do not expect AI to contribute to significant disruption in white collar jobs, those outside of traditional 9-5 roles still face challenges to upskilling, and in many cases AI is being developed with goals that run counter to the interests and livelihoods of low income and nontraditional workers. At the same time, new technologies also hold the potential to help workers maintain and build power by facilitating organization among union members, helping workers to file wage theft claims, visualize data, and influencing state policy decisions. Let’s explore that potential.
Philanthropic leaders must balance the work of executing on their unique organizational priorities, adapting to evolutions in the field, and innovating toward more impactful models and approaches.
At the outset of 2025 – a year poised to surface new tensions, complexities, and opportunities for funders – NationSwell convened leaders to take stock of the most urgent trends and highlight what’s needed to unlock even more transformational impact on the road ahead.
Here are some of the key takeaways from the event:
Increasing polarization around the language of DEI might require adjusting approaches to achieve important goals. Doubling down on our equity commitments within the current political climate may require us to think creatively about how we can still “do the work” without drawing unwanted attention — relying on judicious rhetorical and narrative framings in order to continue to show up and prioritize the people and communities who rely on us. At the same time, we must remember that language has power — when we change our language, we also risk inadvertently decentering our priorities or shifting our focus. Maintaining our firm commitments to increasing equity will require us to avoid “preemptive submission” — making cuts or strategic decisions out of fear of the unknown, before we’re asked or required to do so.
Focus on what is in front of you and what you can actually control. Sometimes, the oldest cliches are true: Hand-wringing and worrying about the state of the world more broadly will only stymie your efforts to move the ball forward in the corners of your organization where effective change is possible. Our current political moment requires an acknowledgement that this political phase is temporary, and a commitment to adjusting to and processing the information we actually have in front of us in order to respond effectively and do the critical work that needs to be done in this moment of flux.
Get creative about how public-private partnerships can function in unexpected ways to serve common interests. As the work of joining hands in service of common goals becomes more urgent, leaning on nontraditional partnership models is one avenue funders can explore in order to serve their communities. Funders who might not normally come together or might have competing funding priorities — banks, for example — now have an opportunity to come together and use one voice, thinking strategically about how they can work together in service of creating more inclusive economies and being more generally supportive to partners, organizations, and the communities they serve.
Prioritize the engagement of local government in place-based work. Although there is traditionally a silo wall that hinders functional communication and collaboration between place-based philanthropy leaders and local governments, the swiftly-materializing reality of a massive reduction in federal dollars and services will inevitably leave local governments facing significant financial constraints and obstacles to delivering urgently-needed services. As community members are set to bear the brunt of these shortfalls, philanthropic leaders now have a prime opportunity to develop new strategies for bridge-building and engagement with local officials — and to help reimagine how those funds and community services are delivered.
Understand that some nonprofit partners are anxious and scared. Our current moment will require us to think not just as funders, but also as community members responding to a very human reaction by nonprofit partners who were stressed and resource-strapped even before the political climate shifted. As ever, listening and empathizing will be critical skill sets for philanthropic leaders to lean on, as will the ability to think creatively about how to deploy or earmark capital and provide partners with the information they need.
Put your own mask on first. With an evolving mandate and a set of stepped-up anxieties for partners and community members, philanthropic leaders must remember that taking care of themselves and ensuring that they are in a healthy mental space will be a pragmatic concern as much as a spiritual one. Ask yourself what you need in order to be okay to show up for others in the way that is required of you in this moment — is it more sleep? Better hydration? More dedicated time with loved ones? Finding new and innovative ways to provide support for community partners will also be critically important, whether it’s funding new avenues for legal support or collaboratives for leaders in the trenches so that they are emotionally supported with new ways for processing and keeping their own heads up.
The discipline of social impact is evolving quickly, driven by sociopolitical shifts, technological advancements, and stakeholder priorities. Meeting the moment will require us to home in on trends facing the practice of social impact, forecast the demand for new strategies and approaches, and collectively brainstorm around what’s needed most to lead our field into the future.
During a NationSwell virtual Leader Roundtable on January 16th, a group of cross-sector leaders gathered to discuss how we can energize, advance, and even reimagine the work of social impact into 2025 and beyond.
Here are some of the key takeaways from the event:
Encourage proactive leadership conversations to align on forward-looking strategies. Convening leadership outside of crises helps companies fortify their positions and respond confidently when challenges arise. Bringing key decision-makers, such as all leaders that report to your CEO, together regularly to discuss and preemptively resolve key issues (e.g. how to navigate political headwinds on material issues) can lessen the need for reactivity during moments of external scrutiny, ultimately promoting consistency in your work.
Simplify messaging, align on definitions, and stay grounded in principles to stand the test of time. Amidst politicization of DEI and ESG, organizations are grappling with how and when to use these acronyms. While there’s no right answer for terminology use, it is important to ensure that your board and leadership teams are aligned on a unified vision of how you communicate about social impact, building a strong foundation for persistence in the face of internal and external shifts. To maintain focus and clarity with key stakeholders, consider simplifying your communication, focusing on principle-driven and business-focused messaging.
Stay informed on legal and political developments impacting ESG, DEI, and more. Monitoring legal and political shifts is critical to safeguarding social impact initiatives. For example, Judge Reid O’Connor’s recent ruling in Texas challenges the legality of ESG investments. While appeal options exist, the ruling underscores the need for organizations to remain vigilant about regulatory trends that could affect their ability to operate in this space. Companies should collaborate with legal, investor relations, and government affairs teams to proactively develop strategies that address emerging risks while maintaining a commitment to their principles. Get familiar with and follow a credible ESG legislation tracker.
Align social impact initiatives with business goals to drive shared value. Integrating social impact efforts with core business objectives promotes durability amidst political headwinds. Identifying a key business challenge that can also generate social value (e.g. skills-based training) can secure leadership buy-in for continued investment. Evaluate your impact strategy’s shared value by answering questions like:
To what extent does this initiative address a pressing business challenge?
Does the initiative address a clearly defined societal need?
Does the initiative leverage the company’s unique strengths (e.g., products, expertise, supply chain)?
Are there clear metrics tracking the initiative’s contribution to business goals (e.g., revenue growth, cost savings)?
Are there measurable societal outcomes (e.g., number of people impacted, carbon emissions reduced)?
Are key internal stakeholders (e.g., business leaders, employees) engaged and supportive of the initiative?
Get innovative and holistic with your funding strategy to fill gaps amid policy shifts. As you build your social impact strategy for the year(s) ahead, consider how your full capital stack can address emerging challenges for your business and communities. For example, blended financing (e.g. impact investing, philanthropy) and collective impact models can be used to support innovative, untested ideas or provide critical funding for markets that are at risk of being deprioritized amidst policy shifts. Collaboration with peer funders and aligning on co-investment opportunities can amplify your ability to support a significant funding gap.
“Make talent instead of take talent:” Be intentional about talent development and inclusion. With shifting social impact priorities and roles, it is important to consider strategies to invest in and nurture your existing team’s growth, focusing on both skills and adaptability. For example, prioritize mentorship, hands-on coaching, and shadowing opportunities that prepare team members for their next roles while creating an environment of empathy and inclusivity.
As we enter a new era of workplace dynamics, the critical issue of care support for workers has become increasingly urgent. According to a survey led by AARP and S&P Global, 67% of caregivers face difficulty in balancing their employment with caregiving duties with 27% of caregivers needing to switch to part-time work or reduced hours. Furthermore, 16% of caregivers have needed to decline promotions due to their care responsibilities and 13% have been forced to change employers to meet their care needs. Between April 2022 and March 2024, the U.S. Census collected data from 1.1 million parents who said child care has kept them from working, up from 939.7K between 2018-2020. Care directly impacts the economyand both private sector solutions and public policy are needed to support the sustainability of the workforce.
In response to this urgent need, Pivotal, the Annie E. Casey Foundation, and the American Family Insurance Dreams Foundation highlighted caregiving at the 2024 NationSwell Summit through an Impact Spotlight and a panel discussion, which was punctuated with an on-site immersive experience including a ‘Care Lounge’ that highlighted key stats, quotes and figures from the expanded Childcare for All site created by the Case for Childcare Collaborative.
We’ve summarized key insights from this portion of the Summit below:
Public-private partnerships are key to sustainable, systemic change.
Aly Richards, CEO of Let’s Grow Kids, shared her inspiring story through an Impact Spotlight showcasing how the nonprofit revolutionized childcare in Vermont alongside the business community, ultimately passing Act 76, which committed $125 million to the childcare sector annually through a 0.44% payroll tax. During the spotlight, Richards emphasized the critical role of childcare in both economic and social development, calling the state’s care crisis a “market failure.” Through her passionate storytelling, Richards highlighted the urgency of early childhood education on workforce participation, stating, “90% of a child’s future is baked by age 5.”
As seen by Richards’ work in Vermont, public investments can fill care gaps. Through a grassroots campaign, Let’s Grow Kids mobilized 40,000 citizens and business leaders and secured bipartisan support for Act 76. Now, more families are eligible to receive financial assistance for child care than ever before, and the state is paying programs at higher weekly rates to provide that care. Since implementation, slots have surged, boosting access for many families and relieving employers of staff shortages with a more stable workforce.
Caregiving is an economic issue with investments yielding huge economic returns.
The NationSwell caregiving panel brought together visionary leaders to discuss the urgent challenges and groundbreaking solutions shaping the future of caregiving. Moderated by Jennifer Stybel of Pivotal, the panel featured Reshma Saujani, founder of Moms First; Lindsay Jurist-Rosner, CEO of Wellthy; and Stephan Dolling, Vice President at Merck, who each shared their personal and professional perspectives on the critical care issue.
Stybel set the stage by emphasizing caregiving as a universal challenge, stating, “None of us can do it alone. The solution lies here together.” Saujani underscored the transformative potential of prioritizing caregiving within policy and business frameworks. “We need to convince the nation that childcare is an economic issue,” she said. She credited the pandemic for shifting perspectives, noting, “We’ve slammed the door on whether childcare is a personal problem or an economic problem.”
Jurist-Rosner shared her personal caregiving journey and explained Wellthy’s mission to partner with families through personalized care coordinators, alleviating the complexities of a fragmented healthcare system. “Families need someone who can get things done,” she explained. Dolling highlighted Merck’s commitment to employee well-being and the ROI of caregiving benefits. “Providing caregiving support shows your people you truly care,” he said, sharing how Merck implemented Wellthy’s services during the pandemic resulting in overwhelming employee appreciation and support.
The conversation also spotlighted the significant economic case for caregiving. Saujani noted, “Investing in childcare offers a 425% return,” emphasizing that solutions must extend beyond privileged workforces to include hourly and shift workers.
The panelists concluded by exploring bold, actionable strategies for change: join national coalitions advocating for policy reform, foster open discussions about caregiving in workplaces, and leverage data to drive leadership buy-in. As Stybel aptly concluded, “Caregiving isn’t a niche issue; it’s a challenge that unites us all.”
Workers with the most to gain from employer-sponsored care support are traditionally excluded from care benefits.
Following the inspiring spotlight and panel, NationSwell announced the launch of the expanded Childcare for All site, which builds the case for gig, hourly, part-time and frontline workers to be included in employer benefits to support caregivers. Frontline workers represent about 70% of the workforce with 90% of companies relying on these workers. And yet, while only 14% of full-time workers have access to employer-sponsored childcare support, that number falls to 8% for part-time workers. This demonstrates a childcare benefits gap, revealing those with the most to gain from these benefits are traditionally excluded from qualifying. The detrimental effects of a broken childcare system are glaringly apparent, with parents forced to leave careers in order to take care of children, and businesses suffering huge workforce losses.
The site serves as a resource for employers to better support employees who are caregivers, highlighting 35+ actionable strategies through an interactive solutions visualization. Packed with resources, firsthand stories, insights, and examples, the site empowers businesses and individuals to advocate for and implement impactful caregiving solutions. This launch reinforces the call to action for systemic change and collective responsibility in addressing the childcare crisis. Visit the Case for Childcare Collaborative’s site to publicly commit to implementing solutions and find downloadable resources to share with your team and network. Help us forge a world where childcare is no longer a barrier for workers to remain and thrive in the workforce.
To learn more about the Case for Childcare Collaborative, click here
On November 20 and 21, NationSwell convened changemakers, innovators, and thought leaders in New York City for our Summit 2024. This year’s theme was Hope in Action — a nod to both the radical optimism this moment requires and the intentionality needed to create a more equitable and prosperous world.
Throughout the event, we heard from some of the nation’s leading social impact, sustainability, and philanthropic leaders on the innovative solutions and game-changing partnerships they’re pioneering. Below are a few of the moments that left us feeling hopeful and inspired to be standing shoulder to shoulder with this community of changemakers for all the work still to come:
Fireside Chat with Julián Castro
“We have an opportunity in this moment to model what we want the world to look like and to do that as leaders in our own organizations; to recommit ourselves to that vision and to breathe more energy into the values that we want to prevail.” – Julián Castro, CEO of the Latino Community Foundation and former United States Secretary of Housing and Urban Development
Impact Spotlight by Maria Kim
“What I’ve learned through my work and my life over the years is that lived experience is not what you’ve done or what’s been done with you; it’s sometimes this catalyst that makes you most beautifully, gloriously, affirmatively who you are. So in a way, my lived experience is more aptly described as my lived expertise.” – Maria Kim, President and CEO, REDF
“I know we can do this if we put our back into it. And if we do it, we end up shifting from a generational transfer of poverty to a generational transfer of joy.” – Maria Kim, President and CEO, REDF
NationSwell founder and CEO Greg Behrman
Impact Spotlight by Scott Pulsipher
“To me, Hope in Action is about changing one life for the better and doing that hundreds of thousands of times, if not millions of times. And it’s incredible to actually imagine a different world in which we rethink education, we imagine how it can actually operate. Not just for the good of the few, but for the good of the many.” – Scott Pulsipher, President, Western Governors University
“The U.S. higher education system is, in fact, failing those that it was designed to serve.” – Scott Pulsipher, President, Western Governors University
NationSwell’s Books of the Year panel, moderated by Alesha Washington and featuring Nicholas Kristof and Dr. Ayana Elizabeth Johnson
NationSwell’s Books of the Year
“Hope is a muscle.” – Nicholas Kristof, Journalist, The New York Times
“Find the way to connect the dots to your work. I offer a simple diagram: what are you good at, what needs doing, and what brings you joy? The joy part is what keeps you going and will welcome other people into the work. Pick one and roll up your sleeves and see how far we can get.” – Dr. Ayana Elizabeth Johnson, Co-founder, Urban Ocean Lab
Impact Spotlight by Vilas Dhar
“Leadership in this moment is no longer about just individual courage; it’s no longer about many conversations that happen across society, but a world where we make decisions together.” – Vilas Dhar, President, Patrick J. McGovern Foundation
“We can be architects, we can build blueprints for tools and technologies in the future that incorporate our morals, our values, our norms, our beliefs, and the voices of the people around us.” – Vilas Dhar, President, Patrick J. McGovern Foundation
Impact Spotlight by Aly Richards
“[Affordable and accessible childcare] is a market failure – it is a broken business model. Early educators can’t afford to make less, parents can’t afford to pay more. The sooner we can understand that we need help from local, state, and federal, the sooner we can fix it.” – Aly Richards, CEO, Let’s Grow Kids
The Stonewall Chorale Chamber Choir
The Case for Care: The Business Imperative of Investing in Care
“In many ways, motherhood is the unfinished business of gender equality.” – Reshma Saujani, Founder and CEO, Moms First; Founder, Girls Who Code
“You can make a very strong business case for [child care], to do the right thing to help your people.” – Stephan Dolling, AVP, Global Benefits and Well-Being, Merck
“Let’s talk about the challenges more. Talk to me, or talk to your employers, about the caregiving challenges that we’re all experiencing.” – Lindsay Jurist-Rosner, Founder and CEO of Wellthy
The Care Lounge, presented by the Case for Childcare Collaborative
Creative Forces for Social Change: The Power of Art in Action
“There’s a war on the storytelling of our authentic selves and truth and history.” – Renée Elise Goldsberry, Tony- and Grammy Award-Winning Actress and Singer
“I put all my hope in art. For one, art never cared who was in power.” – Rahsaan Thomas, Documentary Filmmaker, Podcaster, and Producer
“There’s a lot of misunderstandings going on in our country right now, so we need art more than ever to translate the truth.” – Rahsaan Thomas, Documentary Filmmaker, Podcaster, and Producer
“I think my greatest resource as an artist is my most authentic self.” – Renée Elise Goldsberry, Tony- and Grammy Award-Winning Actress and Singer
Impact Spotlight by Dr. Carmen Rojas and Tara Raghuveer
“Our country faces an unprecedented housing crisis. Not only are more than 3 million people homeless, housing insecure, or living in shelters, but rents have gone up more than 30% since 2020. This is in a context in which we have 16 million vacant homes in the United States. So this means that we have made a choice not to house our brothers and sisters, our cousins, people that we might fall in love with, slow dance with, sing karaoke with – it’s a decision that our political leaders have made.” – Dr. Carmen Rojas, President and CEO, Marguerite Casey Foundation
“The rent is the biggest bill in most working people’s budgets. When people need to cut back on living expenses, making cuts to housing is not an option – the alternative is homelessness. The rent is too damn high.” – Tara Raghuveer, Founding Director of Kansas City Tenants
“Derek is one of the tenants who will strike another month. He said, ‘My rent is my power. And I will use my power with my neighbors until we win what we’re owed.’” – Tara Raghuveer, Founding Director of Kansas City Tenants
Impact Spotlight by Jay Bailey
“You want to talk about innovation? Show me someone more innovative than a single mother with two kids making $17,000 a year. She problem-solves, she makes sure there are gifts under the Christmas tree – send her to business school and she’ll run circles around everybody.” – Jay Bailey, President and CEO, Russell Innovation Center for Entrepreneurs (RICE)
“Hope in action is black prosperity through ownership.” – Jay Bailey, President and CEO, Russell Innovation Center for Entrepreneurs (RICE)
The Augment and Involve panel, featuring Molly Kinder, Nicole Johnson, and Carri Twigg
Augment and Involve: Empowering Workers in an AI-driven World
“We look at the AI development and economy that’s happening as an opportunity space. How can we ensure – unlike the internet – that there’s intentionality to the workforce that’s behind this technology?” – Nicole Johnson, Global Director of Social Impact & Inclusion, Cadence Design Systems
“Tech is all of us – each of us has the ability to engage and change for the tech future we want.” – Michele Jawando, Senior Vice President, Omidyar Network
“The human spirit is indomitable, and art is a fundamental part of that. We will figure out how to fulfill the promise of increasing representation, increasing stories using AI, and we will see more people fight for the art that gives their lives texture.” – Carri Twigg, Founding Partner, Culture House Media
“What gives me hope is that when workers are at the heart of our design of this technology and the decisions around deployment, this is not only good for society and workers, but there’s a lot of evidence that it’s good for employers, too. Workers are assets. They’re experts. They often know their space the best. AI is not something that’s top-down.” – Molly Kinder, David M. Rubenstein Fellow, The Brookings Institution
“Just as we celebrate innovation and we’re awed by it, it creates opportunities for creation and destruction. We need innovation in our policies, badly – we’re at an intersection of technology where it impacts workers, and there’s a role for the government in all of this.” – Ambassador Katherine Tai, United States Trade Representative
Impact Spotlight by Dreama Gentry
“The hope I’m holding – the hope that I’d ask you to join me in – is hope that this great nation can be a place where all of our children and young people are supported and have a choice-filled life.” – Dreama Gentry, President and CEO, Partners for Rural Impact
“We know what will create upward mobility from cradle to career – we just need to invest in that, and we can’t do this work alone.” – Dreama Gentry, President and CEO, Partners for Rural Impact
Impact Spotlight withSurgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy
“When your friend is in a crisis, showing up doesn’t mean coming up with a ten-point plan to solve all problems. The truth is, people derive tremendous comfort from knowing that they’re not alone.” – Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy
At a moment of growing inequality and division, who is advancing the vanguard of economic and social progress to bolster our most vulnerable communities? Whose work is fostering the inclusive growth that ensures every individual thrives? Who will set the ambitious standards that mobilize whole industries, challenging their peers to reach new altitudes of social impact?
In 2024, Impact Next — a new editorial flagship series from NationSwell — will spotlight the standard-bearing corporate social responsibility and impact leaders, entrepreneurs, experts, and philanthropists whose catalytic work has the potential to shape the landscape of progress amid urgent need for social and economic action.
For this installment, NationSwell interviewed Alesha Washington, President and CEO of Seattle Foundation.
Chloe Lew, Senior Vice President of Partnerships, NationSwell: How did you come to be the President and CEO of the Seattle Foundation? I’d love to hear about any key milestones, mentors, or experiences that brought you here.
Alesha Washington, President and CEO, Seattle Foundation: For me, it started with a general curiosity about nonprofit organizations because of my experiences with them growing up. I was a volunteer camp counselor at my neighborhood YMCA, and my first internship experience was with the ACLU. As I became more aware of nonprofits, I quickly learned that philanthropy played a role in funding all of these amazing experiences I was having as a kid, and I knew I wanted to do something to give back to this sector that was giving so much to me.
I also had a notable mentor in Dave Abbott, the former president of the George Gund Foundation in Ohio — he was the one who instilled in me the power of public policy and philanthropy. He taught me that if we make a grant to an organization, it will benefit a group of people, but if we change the law or the regulation that’s causing the need in the first place, we can help many more. He was always thinking about how to use philanthropy as a catalyst for public policy and systems change. I became a lobbyist because of his influence and used my position to create change in the civic sector. By the time Seattle Foundation became a possibility for me, I was impressed by how explicit the foundation was about racial equity and justice, and how clear it was about the role that a community foundation could play in systems-change work through grant making and advocacy.
Lew, NationSwell: You have been at the Seattle Foundation for nearly three years. What has been guiding your leadership as you’ve taken the helm of the organization?
Washington, Seattle Foundation: Three things come to mind. First, there were some operational challenges when I stepped into Seattle Foundation, and I came in eyes wide open — the opportunity I saw was: How do you unlock resources for a community while also building a stronger business, and how do you do that with purpose? Wrestling with this solidified the need for a very clear and accessible vision. When you go through big shifts as an organization, there are bound to be questions and pent-up energies — the ability to set that vision early on and give folks something to aspire to helps them know that even when it’s hard, it’s hard for a reason.
The second thing is that I genuinely believe organizations are only as strong as their people, and at the end of the day if the people aren’t well, the organization isn’t healthy either. Stepping into this role, I spent time early on with every single person who works at the Foundation so that I could hear their stories and understand their point of view. It starts to give you a real temperature check on the health of the organization as a whole when you hear how people are showing up to work every day.
Finally, the thing I hold at the very center of my work is joy. In a space where there is so much polarization and so many people coming from different lived experiences, joy is something that we all still seem to find some unity in. Holding space for joy doesn’t mean that things aren’t chaotic or difficult; it just means that we can recognize the beauty of that discord and move through it with meaning, strength, purpose, and hope.
Lew, NationSwell: How do you center joy within the Foundation — what does that look like in practice?
Washington, Seattle Foundation: The reality is given the changing nature of community foundations – the shift towards sustainable business models that can drive real impact – we will be in a state of evolution constantly. Navigating change is hard, so a key focus for us is building trust in order to ensure that our people feel valued and heard. We put out a robust staff engagement survey in an attempt to create mechanisms for people to share thoughts and perspectives. We use our people manager meetings to offer training on change management, really focusing on how to manage through change joyfully so they feel equipped to support our team.
We’re always thinking about how to create safe spaces for people to share thoughts, but then also how to respond to those concerns so folks have clarity and transparency around our thinking. Our team that works on learning literally put together a Jeopardy game to bring people deeper into the work and make it fun — you can make gaining knowledge and trust a really joyful experience.
At the end of the day, we’re trying to create a fun and joyful environment internally while also being intentional about transparency and trust mechanisms that help people step into more of their power in the work. My personal barometer for that is how many staff feel comfortable reaching out to me to say, “Can we grab coffee?” or “Can I talk to you?” I’m seeing an uptick in that in a way that lets me know we’re doing something to foster something good here, even if it’s hard.
Lew, NationSwell: How are you thinking about the current moment in social impact, and the economic landscape more broadly?
Washington, Seattle Foundation: Nikole Hannah-Jones did a piece on the colorblindness trap that I think is essential reading. Especially now as I consider where we are post this election. She very skillfully and artfully tracks the impact and legacy of slavery to where we are in the present day, with a number of lawsuits and efforts to attack diversity, equity, inclusion, to turn the Civil Rights Act and the Voting Rights Act on their heads and systematically reverse a lot of the efforts to create more opportunities for Black people and other people of color.
So much has gotten lost in translation through this time that I’m not quite clear or sure how astute and clued in we all are as a society. If nothing else, it is illuminating how powerful and sometimes dangerous narrative can be. One thing I still hold onto from NationSwell’s immersive experience in Montgomery is when Bryan Stevenson shared with the group that the biggest sin of slavery wasn’t slavery itself, it was the way that we justified it — the narrative around it.
I think what it means in my work, and for philanthropy as a whole, is that we get prepared for sophisticated legal, financial, and reputational threats that are meant to make us back away from anything we are doing that would be seen as too controversial in this current environment. We need to stay focused and close to each other. We need to keep our values at the center of every move we make. And we need to keep funding narrative change, community organizing, and power building in the communities we serve.
I want to know that we’re able to stand the test of this time, that we don’t shrink away and acquiesce to a moment and then find ourselves in a situation a decade from now where these things we fought so hard for around a more inclusive democracy, around opportunities for those that never had a fair shot to a get ahead, all of that is turned on its head.
Lew, NationSwell: What are some of the initiatives, ways of working, or projects that you feel represent the best or most differentiated work that the Seattle Foundation is doing? What would you lift up for other leaders in the field?
Washington, Seattle Foundation: We have a vision of a joyful region of shared prosperity, belonging, and justice. As a grantmaker, we’re always thinking about how we resource organizations — especially BIPOC-led and -serving organizations — in a way that helps make that vision a reality.
We’ve always done that through this very tiny pot of money that represents our core discretionary dollars — around 5% of what we do as a whole — with the other 95% driven through our donor-advised funds. The foundation has had to get innovative to figure out how we shift from impact work happening through a tiny discretionary grantmaking pool to bringing all the resources under our control to drive toward our vision. We have to think about all of the tools in our impact toolkit and how they support traditional grantmaking, and so we’ve really started to deepen our work with impact investing.
One of our primary vehicles for this is the Evergreen Impact Housing Fund, which is our way of contributing to the production of affordable housing, something that iis sorely needed in a community like Seattle. Thinking about the creative ways that philanthropy can test, innovate, and de-risk projects around affordability, how we can come into a capital stack of a project to make it more solvable at the end — we really put a lot of energy into that, and it creates opportunities for donors to co-invest with us. We are planning to grow this impact fund over the next year and create opportunities for individual donors to co-invest with us.
We have refreshed learning opportunities for our donors to help broaden their understanding of community issues and help them get engaged. We’re supporting peer-to-peer learning among our donor base, so while their entry point may be a conversation of interest for them with other philanthropists on environmental justice, we’re there to then help them see what we’re funding and where there are opportunities for them to invest.
My hope is that by recognizing everybody’s humanity in this — and the fact that we are all linked together in what it takes to get to a joyful community — we’re seeing resources move in more ways that are aligned and connected to what Seattle needs to thrive.
Lew, NationSwell: Which of your peers in the field most inspire you?
Washington, Seattle Foundation: I have a top three.Fred Blackwell with the San Francisco Foundation is the epitome of cool for me. He has a tremendous heart for social justice. Trisha Finnegan at the Oklahoma City Community Foundation — we have this shared experience of moving to communities that we are not from and stepping in as new leaders attempting to drive pretty significant change. She leads with a level of courage and strength that is beyond anything that I’ve seen, and it gives me a lot of energy and hope.
I’m also inspired by a phenomenal community leader back home named Leah Hudnall, who runs the Legacy Perspective. Leah really understands narrative change work and is deeply committed to the success of the community that raised her. She’s been very intentional in capturing the stories and legacy of people that would otherwise not be named, and she has stayed true to that calling, even in the face of opposition to her leadership.
Lew, NationSwell: What are the resources that you’ve found have been transformational in terms of how you look at this work and at your own leadership?
Washington, Seattle Foundation: I’m reading a really great book right now called “Leading with Joy: Practices for Uncertain Times,” by Akaya Windwood and Rajasvini Bhansali. I’m big on leadership books for past time reading but it is probably the most insightful, meaningful body of work that I’ve read — it uses short vignettes and stories from both of the authors to reflect on the leadership experiences of women of color through a lens of joy.
NationSwell’s 3rd annual Private sector social impact and sustainability leadership survey coincided with a period of significant turmoil in the U.S. political arena, and occurred against a backdrop of ongoing backlash to corporate social impact, diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging (DEIB), and environmental initiatives.
The survey sought to better understand the sentiments, experiences, and priorities of senior leaders overseeing environment, social, and governance (ESG), corporate social impact, sustainability, DEIB, and related functions. Through those leaders, the survey also sought to better understand organizational priorities and behaviors.
The 2024 survey explored three themes in particular depth: perceptions of – and attitudes toward – the overall environment for corporate impact and sustainability initiatives, the amount of influence wielded by social impact and sustainability leaders within their own organizations, and the role of political and cultural forces on their work.
Summary of top findings
Leaders continue to face down a difficult environment for their work, but growing optimism is there if you squint
Despite ongoing backlash to ESG, impact and sustainability leaders are strengthening their positions within their organizations
U.S. politics loom large over corporate impact and sustainability programs, with most leaders expecting their organizations to remain on the sidelines during the 2024 election
Methodology and sample
NationSwell fielded this survey from early July through early August 2024. Participants included vice presidents (VPs) and above at public companies, private companies, and company-sponsored foundations. The survey garnered responses from 49 individuals, representing 47 unique institutions.
At a moment of growing inequality and division, who is advancing the vanguard of economic and social progress to bolster our most vulnerable communities? Whose work is fostering the inclusive growth that ensures every individual thrives? Who will set the ambitious standards that mobilize whole industries, challenging their peers to reach new altitudes of social impact?
In 2024, Impact Next — a new editorial flagship series from NationSwell — will spotlight the standard-bearing corporate social responsibility and impact leaders, entrepreneurs, experts, and philanthropists whose catalytic work has the potential to shape the landscape of progress amid urgent need for social and economic action.
For this installment, NationSwell interviewed Francine Chew — VP, Head of Corporate Impact for Guardian.
Greg Behrman, CEO and Founder, NationSwell: Tell us a little bit about your leadership journey — was there a formative experience that helped you to arrive in impact work?
Francine Chew, Vice President of Corporate Impact for Guardian:
I’m an immigrant from Jamaica, and I came here when I was 12 as a part of this program called Prep for Prep that provides leadership opportunities to academically gifted minorities in the New York City area. As a result of Prep for Prep, I went to Exeter, and then I had an opportunity to go to Yale — it provided an incredible foundation and access.
I felt like I was Jane Goodall — like a scientist in the jungle, wondering what strange environment I had been lifted and shifted into. When I moved to Exeter and saw the differences in resources and even level of conversation and discourse between what I was seeing in New York City public school versus private education, it was clear to me that there was a whole other world.
My life, I think, is testament to the benefit that access and opportunity can provide, and I’ve wanted to pay it forward as a professional do-gooder.
Behrman, NationSwell: What would you say are some kind of defining facets of your leadership that help you to be an effective leader in this space?
Chew, Guardian: Because I started out on the for-profit side of work and didn’t cut my teeth at a foundation, the profit and purpose has always been an easy marriage. I care more about the life-changing impact that comes from participating in a program that I’ve helped structure versus the number of students who’ve enrolled.
For me, at the heart of this work is the question, “If not for this intervention, this involvement, what would not have happened?” The activity and the outputs aren’t enough — it’s the actual change that matters.
Anytime you’re dealing with corporate social responsibility or corporate impact within the context of an organization, you have to be comfortable with the fact that you have a dual mandate to drive the goals and purpose of the broader corporate entity alongside those of underrepresented populations. Our job is to figure it out in a very creative way that satisfies both needs.
Behrman, NationSwell: As someone who is very comfortable being at the intersection of profit and purpose, do you have any unlocks for folks in making the case for the business value of social impact work?
Chew, Guardian: I think what we have not done enough of is building in mechanisms to do longitudinal tracking. The first part of that is beginning with the end in mind — you start by asking questions, especially with young populations, about how you can stay in touch, because asking for permission upfront means shaping the dollar allocation and use of funds.
I think the second part of that is putting on the hat and saying, if I were the biggest skeptic in the world, what would convince me? I sometimes think about a story I heard about how President Obama won over the democratic apparatus to become the nominee. He didn’t ask, “Why don’t you see me as presidential?” He asked, “What do I need to show and demonstrate for you to get behind me?”
That stayed with me — “what do I need to demonstrate?” It’s taking an unemotional approach and saying, “What metrics are convincing and how do you see the world so that I can better understand and align to that?”
Asking what would have to be true and getting people to start answering some of these questions can help you bake in accountability — it means that they’re thinking about it in ways that they weren’t before, and then you’re getting them to become a part of the journey.
Behrman, NationSwell: What makes your approach to the work differentiated — are there any programs, initiatives, or partnerships that feel particularly exciting?
Chew, Guardian: Part of what’s exciting about here at Guardian is there’s a real commitment and follow through on the narrative of change: More than half of the executive leadership team at the firm is new, and with this shift has come new clarification of Guardian’s purpose of inspiring wellbeing through mind, body and wallet.
When there is agreement and alignment on how we do that at the very top of the house, everything can flow through from a process perspective, including the work itself. There is a strategic coherence and a simplicity on what we’re trying to achieve, and internal alignment on our organizational goals.
Behrman, NationSwell:How do you think about collaboration with other corporate philanthropies or private foundations or funders?
Chew, Guardian: It’s something that we’re definitely open to in the future. Currently, our partnerships are exclusively with for profit and nonprofit organizations. An example is the collaboration with EVERFI by Blackbaud to launch Minding Your Money (Guardian’s first-of-its-kind financial wellness curriculum that addresses the intersections of personal finances, relationships, and health and that helps young people learn lasting financial habits before they enter adulthood). There’s an opportunity for it to be white-labeled so that other organizations can fund the expansion of the program in schools across the country, because we can’t do it alone. While we touched 20,000 students this academic year, and that’s an awesome number, we would like to touch 500,000 students in a single academic year! The only caveat is that with everyone who white labels, I need to know about it so that impact is attributable back to Guardian.
Even in the criteria for expansion and ecosystem building, the question we need to answer is, “What’s in it for us?” That’s the banker in me. Track who uses it, ask other people to use it so that the benefit can be broadly distributed, but I want credit for that too. At the end of the day I would like Guardian’s name to be in all of these conversations as the people who launched and led the work, and then I would also like there to be room for others to say, and then we took the baton that they passed to us, and we made it much more.
Behrman, NationSwell:Who are three peer leaders you admire, look to as exemplars or swap notes with?
Chew, Guardian: There are so many people I admire who are doing this work, but one is Tia Hodges from MetLife Foundation. I’ve had the chance to know her through the charitable committee for the Life Insurance Council of New York, which I chair, and her willingness to partner, to serve, to share thoughts, is just so admirable.
I also have this standing Friday call — we rarely cancel — with two women who I worked with at Prudential: Sarah Keh and Nisha Aidasani. We say we’re each other’s small council, a la Game of Thrones, and the call is an hour in which we carve out time to chat a bit about what’s happening personally and professionally. It’s a chance for people who understand the work, but also each other, to connect, share wisdom, and support one another. I truly value that group, and it just sustains me in many ways.
Behrman, NationSwell: What are three resources that you might showcase or lift up that have helped to inform your leadership?
Chew, Guardian: I read the Wall Street Journal religiously and I used to read the Economist all the time. Even though we are focused on social impact, we can’t drive impact unless we are aware of the broader economic impact. So whatever the medium is that is most effective for you, It is incredibly important to be grounded in the economic realities of what’s moving our companies and our space.
With market forces and the regulatory environment converging to drive up demand for sustainability expertise in the private sector, the next few years will be pivotal for leaders hoping to develop and fine-tune their sustainability strategies.
On May 31st, NationSwell hosted a virtual Mainstage event called In the Green Seat: Lessons from Sustainability Executives on Designing for Impact that sought to unpack some of the wisdom, challenges, and unlocks shaping this dynamic moment.
Our featured panelists included Michael Kobori, Chief Sustainability Officer of Starbucks; Suzanne DiBianca, Executive Vice President & Chief Impact Officer of Salesforce; Erin Meezan, Chief Sustainability Officer of JLL; Letitia Ferrier Webster, Managing Director and Chief Sustainability Officer of Goldman Sachs Asset Management; and the event was moderated by Jason Rissman, Chief Experience Officer of NationSwell.
Here are some of the key learnings from the event:
– Embrace the unprecedented attention on sustainability to embed the work throughout the business. Sustainability practices are actively shifting from voluntary to mandatory, bringing it top of mind for business leaders. To succeed in mitigating risk, meeting disclosure requirements, and adding value to the business and its stakeholders, sustainability should be integrated into core business strategy. Ultimately, there is no sustainability without a sustainable business model.
– Interrogate goals and ambitions to include cross-functional priorities, especially if inheriting an existing sustainability strategy. It is difficult to add sustainability to business goals after the fact, much like it’s difficult to add an impact lens to sustainability work once programs are already in motion. Don’t shy away from thought-provoking questions; asking a question as fundamental as “what would our ideal impact be?” can help you identify if your organization is focusing on the best questions and goals for its unique strengths.
– Prioritize credible and actionable data. Collecting credible, auditable data helps with meeting reporting requirements and enables better strategic decisions, ESG performance projections, and roadmap development. At JLL, Chief Sustainability Officer Erin Meezan started an ESG Center of Excellence to bring together the business functions that generate and own ESG data, including finance, legal, and her own sustainability team. The Center’s activities have included internal and external audits to assess data quality and data mapping. The Center aims to understand how many people are involved in data generation and identify opportunities for better efficiencies and digitization.
– Weave sustainability and finance together to unlock new allies and innovation. By aligning financial resources with sustainability principles, companies can unlock new avenues for investment and innovation. All panelists agreed on the importance of bringing financial experts into the fold, as their skillsets are highly transferable to sustainability needs. Beyond personnel, adding a sustainability lens to traditional finance mechanisms can help unlock innovation and generate continued demand for sustainability from investors, as noted by Goldman Sachs CSO Letitia Webster. Large companies are already innovating based on these ideas; for example, Salesforce used a green bond to finance its acquisition of Slack, which allowed it to subsequently invest in additional products like Net Zero cloud.
– Understand your company’s unique role to play across various spheres of influence. It is impossible for any company to be involved in every aspect of sustainability work, so staying focused and playing to your company’s strengths is crucial. There are areas to make significant progress against your climate goals, such as focusing on building infrastructure or circularity in product materials. For example, at Starbucks, new employees all receive a reusable coffee cup that they can also use for their on-shift drinks. It’s an internal-foused change but one with significant impact: Starbucks CSO Michael Kobori estimates that 300 million cups will be saved through this initiative. Meanwhile, at Salesforce, EVP and Chief Impact Officer Suzanne DiBianca categorizes Salesforce’s opportunities under four main spheres of influence: employees, peer networks, policy, and customers. Salesforce’s activities in each of these areas are defined by the company’s inherent strengths – for example, the size of the employee base, or the use of technology to enhance customers’ understanding of their own sustainability impact.
– Maintain aspiration and passion as drivers of innovation and impact. Historically, sustainability work has been driven by passionate employees and ambitious targets. New regulations and stakeholder interest bring new scrutiny to the work, and ambitious goals will need to be backed up by data and evaluated in the context of the potential scrutiny they will attract. Scrutiny might make ambitious goals more daunting, but at the end of the day, stakeholders expect the work to proceed and increase in impact. Sustainability leaders have an opportunity to shift certain aspects of the work to more natural homes within the organization with the right stakeholder engagement, incentive alignment, and collaboration across functions, leaving the sustainability team with additional capacity for creativity and innovation.
– Ally with peers to strengthen impact. By fostering strategic alliances with industry peers, non-governmental organizations, and local communities, companies can strengthen accountability, share best practices, and amplify impact. At Goldman Sachs, CSO Letitia Webster is convening fellow leaders to share challenges and opportunities to mobilize partnerships. When partnerships come to fruition, they can shift entire industries – for example, CSO Suzanne DiBianca shared the significance of Salesforce’s participation in advanced market commitments alongside peers like Meta and Google.
2023 brought social impact and sustainability work further into the social, political, and organizational spotlight, and presented leaders with distinct, long-term considerations for their work. Leaders encountered large-scale, composite challenges: the escalation of the anti-ESG movement; the Supreme Court’s ruling against affirmative action and its subsequent implications for diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging (DEIB); the effects of an increasingly restrictive macroeconomic environment on teams and priorities; and the intensification of regulatory requirements. At the same time, social impact work has matured and deepened, with leaders investing heavily in employee engagement, leaning in on sustainability strategies, cautiously adopting AI, and empowering communities through trust-based and place-based work.
Against this backdrop, NationSwell set out to investigate what forces were most significant in changing the way leaders approached their priorities and decision-making over the past year, and what leaders anticipate about the environment, their organizations, and their jobs in the year to come. Between July and August 2023 we surveyed 74 corporate social impact and sustainability leaders across NationSwell’s membership community and beyond. The resulting report explores the direct opinions and experiences of those leaders, in service to advancing collective knowledge about their essential roles.
Below is a summary of the key findings discussed in greater detail in the report:
Theme 1: Leaders’ confidence takes a hit among a difficult year for impact work
Leaders’ satisfaction with their organizations’ social impact is waning marginally amid an increasingly challenging environment.
With trepidation about the year ahead, leaders’ confidence in their own work is also dwindling.
Theme 2: Economic and regulatory activity assert their dominance above other forces
Two of 2023’s trending issues – the politicization of ESG and the emergence of generative AI – have not transformed social impact and sustainability strategies.
Instead, macroeconomic conditions had widespread and deep impacts highlighted by layoffs, budget cuts, and new barriers to collaboration.
Over the next year, leaders predict that economic conditions and regulatory/legislative activity will be key factors in their prioritization and decision-making.
In recognition of their growing need, and in spite of economic uncertainty, leaders will advocate for more funding for social impact and sustainability work in the year ahead.
Theme 3: Influence is leaders’ most sought-after and valued currency
Leaders respond most to the influence of their executive team, and want to wield their own influence in return.
Leaders are intent on improving their strategies and capabilities to engage with internal stakeholders.
