Topic: Partnerships and collective impact

New York Life | From classrooms to cubicles

New York Life | From classrooms to cubicles

How New York Life is scaling grief support through its agents and expertise

New York Life Foundation’s impact in the childhood bereavement space began more than a decade ago, sparked by a partnership with Comfort Zone Camp. What began as a pilot grant quickly evolved into a larger commitment, driven by the realization that this was a space where New York Life could lead. With a corporate mission to offer peace of mind and financial support, bereavement support is deeply aligned with New York Life’s purpose.

Motivated by the lack of reliable data and practical support tools, the Foundation launched a research partnership with Judi’s House to create the Children’s Bereavement Estimation Model (CBEM) to understand where childhood grief was most concentrated. The Foundation also conducted surveys with the American Federation of Teachers (AFT) to learn about grief in the classroom. Among its learnings from the initial 2012 survey: over 90% of U.S. educators say childhood grief is a serious problem that deserves more attention from schools, but only 3% had received training on supporting students through their school district. Asked how many students typically need their support due to the loss of a loved one each school year, 87% of educators said at least one, and 25% said six or more.

In 2018, the Foundation launched the Grief-Sensitive Schools Initiative (GSSI), enlisting New York Life’s  national agent network to deliver grief education and resources directly to schools. As momentum grew, agents began asking: Can we take this to nonprofits and other youth-serving organizations in addition to schools? The model was expanded to youth-serving nonprofits through GSSI+. 

In 2024, the Foundation expanded its bereavement support into workplaces. The Grief-Supportive Workplace Initiative was built around New York Life data that revealed a deep unmet need: although up to 20% of a given workforce might be grieving at one time, about 64% of employees report that their workplaces do not offer any bereavement support or training.

 

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A Better Marketplace: Aligning Workforce Supply and Demand 

Posted on by Brianna Provenzano

Despite historic investments in workforce development, America’s talent marketplace remains deeply fragmented – employers can’t find the skilled workers they need, while millions of workers remain underemployed or left out of opportunity altogether.

During a NationSwell roundtable on February 10, leaders from business, philanthropy, education, and policy came together to explore how we can better align the disparate pieces of the workforce ecosystem. Below are a few of the models that surfaced that are bridging the gap between training supply and employer demand, and driving real results for workers, businesses, and communities alike.

Key Takeaways:

Design workforce strategies for non-linear career journeys. Real-world careers rarely follow a straight path from education to employment. Adults cycle through transitions – career changes, skill updates, pauses, and reinvention. Yet, many workforce systems remain built on linear assumptions (train → place → exit) and risk excluding the learners they aim to serve.

The opportunity:

  • Design pathways that anticipate re-entry and reinvention
  • Normalize career cycling
  • Build systems that assume movement, not permanence

Extend support beyond initial job placement to enable sustained economic mobility. Entry into a role is only one milestone. Workers often stall after landing their first opportunity. The true test of alignment isn’t placement – it’s progression. Continued upskilling, advancement pathways, and alumni engagement are important to achieving long-term economic mobility. We need to be asking if workers are building durable mobility over time.

Sustained mobility requires:

  • Continued upskilling
  • Advancement pathways
  • Alumni engagement
  • Financial capability support
  • Clear progression toward a thriving wage (not just a living wage)

Close the communication gap between skills and courses. There is a fundamental disconnect between how employers articulate needs (skills, competencies, capabilities) and how education systems structure offerings (courses, credits, seat time). Translating between these frameworks, and moving toward skills-based validation, remains a critical alignment challenge. Research from WGU highlighted that employers struggle to evaluate skill sets beyond resumes. Employers prioritize critical thinking, adaptability, problem-solving, and emotional intelligence – but struggle to see those signals clearly. Translating between these frameworks – and moving toward credible, skills-based validation remains a central alignment challenge. 

Anchor curriculum development in employer-identified skill gaps. Effective training models are co-designed with employers, focusing on what companies are hiring for now and where talent shortages persist. Demand-driven alignment strengthens both learner outcomes and employer confidence in training pipelines. Hands-on training models reinforce the importance of foundational technical competency alongside durable human skills.

Build post-graduation ‘captive ecosystems’ that promote talent portability. In K-12 education, we have a captive ecosystem: learners are enrolled, connected to infrastructure, supported by shared tools, and guided through a structured progression. That system – while imperfect – creates continuity, accountability, and exposure to skill-building environments. After graduation, that ecosystem dissolves. For many workers – especially those who are low-income, career-changing, or not attached to a large employer – there is no comparable structure guiding ongoing development, skill validation, or mobility. Navigation becomes fragmented and self-directed in a system that is complex and rapidly evolving. 

The opportunity is to intentionally design post-secondary and workforce ecosystems that replicate the strengths of captive ecosystems: continuity of support, access to shared infrastructure and tools, structured exposure to experiential learning, ongoing skill validation, real-time labor market insight, and clear progression pathways.

Embed experiential learning as a core signal of readiness. Experience is increasingly the differentiator. Learners must be able to demonstrate capabilities in addition to acquiring knowledge. Simulations, project-based learning, real-world datasets, internships, and apprenticeships were framed as essential mechanisms for building confidence, validating skills, and meeting employer expectations for experience. Experiential learning lowers risk for employers, provides tangible evidence of capability, builds durable skills in real contexts, and supports transferable skill translation (especially for veterans or career changers).

Adapt to how AI is reshaping hiring patterns and skill expectations. AI is not eliminating talent demand – but it is reshaping it. Employer data indicates a shift toward mid-level talent, reduced entry-level hiring in certain sectors, and increased emphasis on AI fluency alongside durable human skills. This evolution heightens the importance of adaptable credentialing and experience-building pathways. Lagging data – often 12 months behind labor market realities, also limits responsiveness. Real-time data systems and better cross-platform integration are critical to staying aligned with demand.

Five Minutes with… the Center for Audit Quality

Posted on by Brianna Provenzano

At a moment when the accounting profession faces both a shrinking talent pipeline and an urgent need to diversify who enters the field, the Center for Audit Quality’s Accounting+ program is reshaping perceptions of what a career in accounting could look like. 

Launched as a profession-wide response to longstanding recruiting challenges, Accounting+ meets students where they are to spotlight the dynamic, impactful opportunities that exist within the accounting profession. Now in its fifth year, CAQ’s 2025 Annual Report shows that Accounting+ has strengthened awareness and engagement with accounting careers through data-driven content, strategic partnerships, and sustained outreach that reflects real student interests and aspirations. 

For this installment of 5 Minutes With, NationSwell sat down with Liz Barentzen — Vice President of Operations and Talent Initiatives at the Center for Audit Quality — to talk about how, against a backdrop of declining accounting graduates and broader enrollment pressures, Accounting+ is not just raising visibility for the profession but also helping to rewrite its narrative for the next generation of talent.

Here’s what she had to say:

NationSwell: What specific gap have you identified in the types of applicants the accounting profession typically attracts that made a broad, student-facing awareness campaign feel necessary? How has the Accounting+ program sought to address that gap?

Liz Barentzen, CAQ: The accounting profession was facing a dual challenge: a shrinking talent pipeline overall and persistent underrepresentation of Black, Latino, and other students of color. But what made a broad, student-facing campaign feel necessary — rather than just more targeted recruitment — was the data on awareness. Many students, particularly those without family connections to business or professional services, simply didn’t have accounting on their radar as a viable, appealing career path. They associated it with tax prep or number-crunching, not with the strategic advisory work, global mobility, or earning potential the profession actually offers.

So Accounting+ was designed to intervene earlier and more broadly — to shift perceptions before students make decisions about majors or career tracks. We’re working to widen who even considers accounting, not just compete for students already headed toward business fields.

NationSwell: You’ve described Accounting+ as working in two major buckets: large-scale brand awareness and in-classroom activation. How do those two strategies reinforce each other in practice, and where have you seen the strongest shifts in student perception?

Liz Barentzen, CAQ: The large-scale brand awareness work — think digital campaigns, influencer partnerships, broad-reach content — creates cultural receptivity. It plants the seed that accounting is something worth paying attention to. But awareness alone doesn’t give students the information or confidence to actually pursue it.

That’s where the in-classroom activation comes in, primarily through our partnership with EVERFI. We’ve reached nearly 260,000 students across thousands of high schools with a curriculum that goes deeper — explaining what accountants actually do, the variety of career paths, the earning potential and stability.

And critically, it doesn’t stop at awareness. When these previously primed students come to the Accounting+ website, they’re offered concrete next steps — internships, scholarships, programs that help them continue the journey. So we’re not just inspiring interest and then leaving students to figure it out on their own. We’re building a pathway from “I didn’t know this was an option” to “here’s how I actually get there.”

Some of the strongest perception shifts we’ve seen are around long-term earning potential and career stability. Students are starting to see accounting as a path to financial security — not just a boring desk job that requires advanced mathematics.

NationSwell: What has your research revealed about how students’ priorities are changing over time, and how has Accounting+ — and your messaging strategy — adapted in response?

Liz Barentzen, CAQ: Our longitudinal research has tracked a real shift. When we first launched the campaign, the messages that resonated most were about accounting as a pathway to starting your own business or giving back to your community. Students were drawn to the autonomy and purpose narratives.

Now, what’s landing is stability and long-term security. When we ask high school students what matters most in a career, long-term earning potential outranks starting salary — 68.5% prioritize it. They’re thinking about financial trajectory, not just what they’d make in year one.

That shift likely reflects the broader environment these students are coming of age in — economic uncertainty, headlines about layoffs and AI disruption, watching their families navigate instability.

So, our messaging has adapted accordingly. We’re still telling the full story of what accounting offers, but we’re leading with the durability of the career path, the flexibility it provides, and the financial foundation it builds. We’re meeting students where their priorities actually are, not where we assumed they’d be.

NationSwell: Accounting+ has been explicit about reaching students with the least exposure to accounting; what are the mechanics you employ to ensure that the campaign is widening the funnel rather than simply reaching students already on a professional track?

Liz Barentzen, CAQ: This is something we’re deliberate about. The mechanics include: partnering with 38+ state CPA societies to reach schools in communities with less exposure to professional services; working through EVERFI to deploy curriculum in Title I schools and districts we wouldn’t otherwise access; and ensuring our digital content doesn’t just target business-oriented students but reaches broader interest categories.

We also track who we’re reaching. If our data showed we were just preaching to the choir—students already in AP Economics or DECA — we’d know something was off. What we’re seeing instead is engagement from students who didn’t have accounting anywhere in their consideration set before encountering our content. The goal is exposure equity: giving students the same information about this career that kids with accountant parents or professional networks get at the dinner table.

NationSwell: As AI reshapes the accounting profession and companies rethink entry-level hiring, how are you reframing the value proposition of accounting for students today?

Liz Barentzen, CAQ: This is the live tension right now. Students are hearing headlines about AI replacing jobs and firms pulling back on entry-level hiring. If we’re not careful, the narrative becomes “why would I pursue a profession that’s automating itself out of existence?”

Our reframe is this: accounting skills are foundational to understanding how any organization works—financially, operationally, strategically. AI will change how accountants work, but it increases the need for people who can interpret, advise, and exercise judgment. The profession is shifting from compliance and data processing toward analysis and strategy.

We’re also honest with students that the entry-level landscape is evolving, and we’re working with firms and educators to ensure there are clear pathways in. But the core value proposition — financial literacy, career stability, multiple exit options, strong earning trajectory — remains sound. We just have to tell that story with more nuance now.

NationSwell: Your annual report shows accounting enrollments growing significantly faster than overall college enrollment, driven largely by Black and Latino students. What does that data tell you about what’s working — and what still needs to change to sustain this momentum long-term?

Liz Barentzen, CAQ: The headline is striking: accounting enrollments grew 13.9% while overall undergraduate enrollment grew just 5.2% — and that growth was driven disproportionately by Black and Latino students. Accounting programs are outperforming national trends across all demographic groups.

What does that tell us? First, that the awareness investment is working. When students know about a career path and see people like them succeeding in it, they pursue it. Second, that the profession’s efforts on diversity and inclusion — however imperfect — are registering with students. They’re voting with their enrollment decisions.

But to sustain this? We need to ensure students don’t just enroll — they persist, they pass the CPA exam, they get hired, they advance. That’s where the ecosystem needs to keep evolving. The pipeline is widening, but the profession has to be ready to receive and develop this talent. That’s the next chapter.

Liz Barentzen, CAQ: Is there anything else that feels important to mention?

First, Accounting+ is a coalition effort — major firms, state societies, educators, NABA Inc., AICPA, and more. That’s unusual in professional pipeline work, and it’s been essential to our scale and credibility. When students see the whole profession showing up, not just one firm recruiting for itself, it signals something different.

Second, we’re at the five-year mark, and we’ve seen meaningful movement. But this isn’t a problem you solve in five years. The question now is how we sustain momentum, continue adapting to a changing landscape, and ensure this generation of students has the support they need all the way through — from awareness to enrollment to career success.

Impact Next: An interview with Deloitte’s Dana O’Donovan

Posted on by Brianna Provenzano

In moments of challenge and opportunity, who is advancing the vanguard of economic and social progress? Whose work is fostering growth that helps to ensure individuals thrive? Who will set the ambitious standards that mobilize whole industries, challenging their peers to reach new altitudes of social impact? 

In 2026, Impact Next — an editorial flagship series from NationSwell — will spotlight the standard-bearing impact leaders, entrepreneurs, experts, and philanthropists whose catalytic work has the potential to shape the landscape of progress.

For this installment, NationSwell interviewed Dana O’Donovan, US Purpose leader at Deloitte.

NationSwell: What brought you to the field that you’re in right now? Was there an early moment, a relationship, or an experience that galvanized your commitment to driving bold action?

Dana O’Donovan, Deloitte: I didn’t realize it at the time, but the genesis of my work really began when I was adopted at three weeks old, which completely changed the trajectory of my life. I was adopted by wonderful parents and given every opportunity to fulfill my potential and succeed.

As I got older, that personal experience became deeply formative; it drove a passion in me around the belief that every child deserves the opportunity to thrive, regardless of their background or the circumstances of their birth. I’m very aware that my life could have turned out very differently — that I could just as easily have been someone the nonprofit sector exists to serve; that awareness has stayed with me.

When I first started my career, I was focused almost entirely on client service. I came from corporate and business unit strategy, worked in strategy consulting, and then shifted into client service work for nonprofits and foundations (I used to joke that my two jobs were horse camp counselor and consultant).

About 18 years ago, I took an in-house role at a nonprofit, and that experience fundamentally changed my perspective. It gave me a deep appreciation for how hard day-to-day operations are, especially in the nonprofit space. Strategy, I realized, is often the easy part — implementation and operations are where the real challenges live.

When I returned to client service after that, it changed how I worked. Strategy still mattered, but I became much more focused on how it connected to what teams actually do every day, and that mindset has guided me ever since. I’ve held hybrid roles since then, never fully leaving client service but adding management and leadership responsibilities over time.

That blend of experiences ultimately led me to my current role, and it’s what energizes me most today: drawing on that full arc of experience to lead with both vision and practicality.

NationSwell: What are some touchstones that you have for yourself from that past experience that you’re bringing into how you’re leading now?

O’Donovan, Deloitte: I think one of the core roles of any leader is shaping vision and strategy — but it’s just as important to understand the operational reality your team is living in. You have to stay close enough to the day-to-day to help remove obstacles, spot opportunities, and keep the work moving as effectively and efficiently as possible. We often underestimate how much time and energy it takes just to keep the trains running on time; that’s something I learned very clearly during my nonprofit experience, and it’s stayed with me.

I also believe deeply in the power of communication. It’s almost impossible to over-communicate with your team — about what’s exciting you, what you’re seeing in the broader landscape, and where you think things are headed, both externally and inside the organization. We actually have a standing agenda item in our team meetings called “Dana’s downloads,” where I share those reflections. It’s a good reminder for me to keep doing that consistently.

There’s no denying how much is happening in the world right now, but I also see this moment as one of extraordinary opportunity. New technologies and capabilities are opening up possibilities we couldn’t imagine before, and I’m seeing a growing willingness to engage in bolder, more meaningful collaboration to drive impact.

On the corporate side, purpose is increasingly a market driver — it’s no longer something adjacent or optional; it’s core. At Deloitte, we see growth and purpose as deeply linked, and that connection helps us stay relevant in a world that’s moving incredibly fast.

I feel fortunate to have a front-row seat to this moment — through my role at Deloitte, through our client work across industries, and through conversations with leaders across the NationSwell community. I’m encouraged by how many organizations are finding new ways to make purpose central to their strategies and to collaborate beyond what any one organization could do alone. That kind of creativity and collaboration is really the only way we’re going to meet this moment — and it’s where I see real possibility for lasting impact.

NationSwell: Is there a particular lever you’re pulling or an approach that you have to that work that you think sets it up for success? 

O’Donovan, Deloitte: I do think we’re seeing more meaningful multi-sector collaboration than in the past. We’ve talked about collaboration for years, but it hasn’t always been as common or as effective as it needs to be. The reality is that the challenges trying to be solved are far too complex for any single organization — even one as large as Deloitte — to tackle alone.

That’s why focus matters. Organizations need clarity on the issue areas they’re committed to. But the real power of corporate purpose lies in how we show up. It’s not funding alone, which will always be modest compared to large foundations; it’s not talent engagement, pro bono work, or skills-based volunteering on their own. Impact comes from intentionally combining those assets.

At Deloitte, that “how” is grounded in place-based, issue-driven ecosystems. A strong example is the Yes San Francisco urban sustainability challenge, launched in 2023 as a collaboration among Deloitte, Salesforce, the World Economic Forum, and the San Francisco Chamber of Commerce. The aim was to support local urban sustainability innovators in developing solutions to help revitalize the city post-COVID, and in doing so build a more resilient economy.

That work has since evolved into a broader blueprint called Yes/Cities, focused on using cross-sector collaboration to drive sustainable change in cities globally. We’re not creating the solutions — we’re creating the conditions to help local innovators succeed.

One key lesson from San Francisco: Strong ecosystems require collaborators across sectors, each bringing distinct skills, resources, and networks. Place-based work also has to be community-centered — designed by, for, and with the people closest to the challenges. That means leading with questions, listening deeply, and building alongside communities rather than arriving with answers.

NationSwell: What’s defining the current social and economic environment that we’re in — what are the trends that you’re currently seeing, and what’s giving you hope?

O’Donovan, Deloitte: I think we still need to push ourselves to think about innovation not just for what’s required right now, but for what nonprofits will need five or ten years down the road. That’s especially true as we think about the commitments we’re making to help the social sector meet this moment from a technology perspective.

We’ve spoken with dozens of nonprofit leaders about their technology challenges and opportunities, and what’s clear is that they’re not naïve about the potential of tools like AI or integrated systems to help transform their work. The challenge isn’t awareness — it’s capacity. It’s not just about access to a platform; it’s about having the technical talent and resources to customize, maintain, and continually adapt those systems to their specific models.

As a result, technology takes up an enormous amount of nonprofit leaders’ mindshare — often at the expense of their core mission. I would love to help lower that burden so leaders can spend more time focused on impact. This is where Deloitte can play a valuable role. We bring deep experience in the social impact space alongside the scale and sophistication of our broader technology capabilities — the same kinds of platforms and support we provide to corporate clients.

Talking about innovation and potential isn’t enough if we can’t translate it into something usable and practical. The real opportunity is connecting technology to day-to-day operations in a way that helps organizations work more effectively, more efficiently, and stay deeply mission-focused. That’s the gap I’m most excited to help close.

NationSwell: What advice do you have for others about how they can lean in and use their superpowers to help the nonprofit sector?

O’Donovan, Deloitte: One thing I believe very deeply — and anyone on my team will tell you I say this all the time — is that Deloitte can do almost anything. But the real question isn’t what we can do — it’s what we should uniquely do to be most helpful.

I think we’re past the era of check-the-box corporate philanthropy: writing a check, running employee giving campaigns, and calling it a day. That work mattered, but we’ve learned so much more about the real superpowers corporations can bring to the table. When you do deep listening — when you talk to communities, engage people on the ground, and really understand what’s needed — you get fundamentally different answers.

That’s when you’re able to focus on what your organization is uniquely positioned to contribute. Because while you can do a lot of things, not all of them add up to the kind of change this moment actually demands.

NationSwell: How do you cultivate purpose within your team? How do you help people understand their purpose and feel guided by that?

O’Donovan, Deloitte: I think the good news about Deloitte is that we’ve cared about impact for more than 180 years. We’re starting from a place of real strength. For me, my role is about continuing to evolve that purpose in line with the moment we’re in.

A big part of that is making sure there’s as little daylight as possible between our ambitions and how we actually show up. When I think about our investments, commitments, and social impact work, we’re focused on sustainability, opportunity, and trust — areas aimed at creating positive impact in our organization and in our communities genuinely make sense for us. My work has been about sharpening that focus: aligning our portfolio with those priorities and doing the work with communities, not for them, and never alone.

Our senior leaders share this commitment and believe deeply in strengthening local efforts, convening decision-makers, and facilitating collaboration across sectors. That’s really shaped our approach — not just what we focus on, but how we show up. It’s about working alongside organizations closest to the issues, supporting strategic initiatives, and driving collective action. We started from a strong place; the work now is about raising our game and focusing on what we can uniquely do to create long-term impact — building access to opportunity, family-sustaining jobs, and more resilient communities.

I also want to be clear that leading with purpose isn’t limited to my role. I get to focus on this every day, and we empower our people to lead with purpose in how they show up with their teams and respond to opportunities including our client service professionals that can help think through the impact of their work on people and communities.

Part of my role is making that easier — helping our professionals and leaders embed purpose into their team and client engagements. Many of our clients care deeply about this too, which creates real opportunity. Whether it’s co-investing in communities, showing up together on Impact Day, our annual day of collective service, or building purpose into long-term client relationships, there are so many ways we can demonstrate what it looks like to lead with purpose as an organization.

NationSwell: Of the socially motivated leaders you consider your peers, are there any whose work inspired you and whom you hold in high esteem?

O’Donovan, Deloitte: First, I get a lot of energy from people and community — meeting new people, reconnecting with trusted peers, and talking through how we’re seeing the world. Those conversations often spark new or unexpected ideas. That’s why I value spaces like NationSwell so much. There’s real power in community building, especially when it’s a group you trust. I’ve always had what I call a “kitchen cabinet” — a personal board of directors. They’re not all in similar roles, but they’ve known me at different stages of my life, and when I’m facing a big decision, their perspectives are invaluable.

Second, I’m very intentional about continuing to invest in my own leadership. I love a good podcast or audiobook — especially thinkers who combine data with practical, human-centered insights. That blend of rigor and applicability really resonates with me and helps shape how I think about leading in complex environments.

And finally, I’ve been incredibly fortunate to learn from some exceptional mentors over the course of my career. A few former managers are still part of my kitchen cabinet today. One mentor, in particular, taught me so much about leadership—especially how to support people through different seasons of their careers. She helped me see possibilities for myself long before I could see them on my own. Watching her do that shaped how I lead today and how I think about developing others on my team.

Seeing people grow over time — and helping them prepare for what’s next — is one of the most fulfilling parts of leadership for me.

NationSwell: Are there any resources you’d recommend — books, podcasts, Ted talks — that have influenced your thinking that might influence others as well?

O’Donovan, Deloitte: I just finished the audiobook of Strong Ground, Brené Brown’s new book, and I found it incredibly insightful — especially in how it talks about leadership, transformation, and what’s actually required of leaders in this moment. I don’t think I’ve fully processed all of it yet, but it’s already prompting me to reflect on where some of my default settings might need an upgrade. It’s the kind of book that stays with you, and I know I’ll be carrying those questions with me as I think about 2026.

For people who want to come into this space, one thing I’ve found to be profoundly important is the combination of two kinds of experience and knowledge. First, deep industry knowledge in the social impact space — really understanding what it takes to create change, which for me and my team has come from decades of working closely with nonprofits, foundations, and communities. And second, a strong understanding of how change actually happens inside a corporate environment.

You need both. If you only have industry knowledge, your options can be limited if you don’t know how to galvanize people and move work forward in your organization. And if you only understand corporate systems without the depth of issue-area knowledge, the impact may not be meaningful. I certainly had to build that second muscle when I came to Deloitte 13 years ago — learning how things get done here to match my external experience.

When you bring those two together, the opportunity set expands exponentially. It’s incredibly energizing, because you start to see what’s actually possible. But it’s also complex work. This space can look appealing from the outside — and it is rewarding — but it requires a lot of reps, learning, and humility. That’s why I often tell junior professionals: go deep on one side first, build real experience, and then start layering in the other. Purpose alone isn’t enough — you need the skills and capabilities to turn it into lasting impact.

The NationSwell Council on The Power of Collaboration

Posted on by Brianna Provenzano

In the third quarter of 2025, the NationSwell Council embarked on a journey across America for a Salon series dedicated to exploring The Power of Collaboration.

In an age of challenges too big for any one leader or sector to solve alone — including climate change, immigration, inequality, public health, democratic decline, and technologies advancing faster than our institutions can adapt — the way forward can only be found through deep connection and collaboration.

The Salon series served as a vehicle to connect us with some of the standout collaborations and unlikely partnerships that have become essential to unlocking new possibilities, outcomes, and solutions. Participating leaders shared with candor and courage, helping us to spark meaningful connections, fresh insights, and deeper relationships across the groups we met with.

In the following sections, we’re excited to present a curated collection of the insights and essential resources we’ve distilled from these conversations.

Key Insights:

  1. Scale Boldly Through Cross-Sector Partnerships. Nonprofits must consider mergers, acquisitions, and coalitions designed for greater impact amid sector contraction and wealth inequality. Change is multi-racial, intergenerational, and cross-sectoral, and engagement should involve full leadership teams—not just select executives.
  2. Share Power With Youth and Next-Gen Leaders. Movements are most relevant and sustainable when youth have true decision-making roles. Carefully defining “youth” shapes both funding and strategy. Mental health is a core priority, and initiatives like a Youth Mental Health Corps could expand both impact and workforce diversity.
  3. Build Trust Through Proximity. As trust in institutions declines, leaders should create solutions with communities—not just for them. Practices like focus groups, co-design, and candid dialogue foster authenticity and trust, though they’re underused in many nonprofits.
  4. Expand What Counts as Care. Solving the youth mental health crisis means recognizing care can be provided well beyond traditional therapy. Healing shows up through nature, group activities like GirlTrek, workplace programs, or caring mentors outside the family.Shift Mindsets and Culture
  5. Lasting change grows from culture as much as strategy. That involves radical support, shared leadership, and welcoming discomfort as a catalyst for transformation. Philanthropy’s convention of “lifetime leadership” makes power transitions complex—but with widespread discomfort, now is the time to embrace new possibilities.
  6. Effective collaborations grow from trust, where resources are shared in flexible, unrestricted ways rather than bound by rigid requirements.
  7. Micro-philanthropy and community-driven giving demonstrate how modest yet rapid investments can fill urgent gaps and scale across contexts.
  8. Cross-boundary partnerships—among nonprofits, employers, service providers, and connective platforms—generate more comprehensive impact by addressing both immediate needs and long-term opportunities.
  9. Collective action helps tackle structural barriers no organization can overcome alone, such as inequitable access to financial and social capital.
  10. Shifting from individual success metrics to collective ROI elevates community well-being alongside financial outcomes. This mindset enables creativity in partnership, aligning corporations, grassroots groups, and others around shared goals.
  11. Innovation often emerges when “unlikely but powerful partners”—such as technology firms with nonprofits or philanthropy with grassroots coalitions—unite. These unconventional alliances unlock advantages rooted in diversity, shared purpose, and integrated action.
  12. Building platforms for direct, transparent resource exchanges will strengthen collaboration by fostering trust.
  13. Expanding community-driven giving models can create more resilient systems of support, whether in education, workforce, or beyond.

Resources shared:

Collective Action Models and Approaches

Collective Action Models and Approaches

EXECUTIVE BRIEFING
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This resource is a practical guide for impact leaders to quickly understand the most prevalent and effective models of collective action. It distills each model into clear purposes, strengths, risks, and use cases—providing actionable insight into when and how to leverage these structures to advance your goals. The aim is to save leaders time, sharpen decision-making, and help you align the right model with the challenge or opportunity in front of you.

The models covered in this guide include:

  • Public-Private Partnerships
  • Co-investment + Pooled Funding
  • Learning, Advocacy, & Action Networks
  • Place-Based Initiatives
  • Shared Capacity & Services Platforms

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The State of Collective Action

Posted on by Brianna Provenzano

Collective action provides a pathway to greater scale, durability, and innovation. It also distributes and mitigates some of the risks that can undermine or deter individualized approaches. But what are the most successful, proven, and accessible forms of collective action in practice today? Which examples can we look to for how various models work at their best? And what should impact leaders be asking and weighing when determining the best ways to advance shared goals with would-be collaborators?

On October 30, NationSwell hosted a virtual Leader Roundtable dedicated to exploring The State of Collective Action by introducing new analysis on the most prevalent models for collaboration, sharing a new resource designed to help leaders identify which approaches best fits their goals, and spotlighting other ways we’re helping you spark connection and partnership within our ecosystem.

Some of the most salient insights from the discussion appear below:

Key takeaways

The field is evolving from “should collaborate” to “must collaborate.” With accelerating technological change and complex social challenges, collaboration is shifting from a desirable practice to a core strategic capability. Leaders reflected on when to launch new coalitions, when to join existing ones, when to sunset from partnerships, and how to balance urgency with sustainability.

Collective action requires clear structure and governance. Coalitions succeed when they establish shared purpose, defined roles, transparent governance, and mechanisms for accountability. Structure promotes consistency, momentum, and alignment across diverse partners.

Collaboration frameworks help leaders choose the right model. Taxonomies, like that contained in NationSwell’s new resource on collective action models, and playbooks for collaborative work are helping the field gain clarity on when to convene, when to follow, and when to partner. These models guide decisions on structure, decision-rights, and stewardship, reducing duplication and increasing efficiency.

Equity must be a design principle. Lower barriers to entry and open pathways for smaller organizations, grassroots partners, and historically under-resourced communities to meaningfully participate. Flexible funding, capacity building, and intentional inclusion practices are essential.

Trust and relationship-building are core infrastructure. Sustained and equitable collaboration is rooted in trust. Transparent communication, shared decision-making, and ongoing engagement build the social capital needed to navigate tension, share power, and stay aligned through long-term systems-change efforts.

Resource the work behind the work. Collective success depends on establishing resourcing backbone functions such as convening, coordination, communications, and shared measurement. Micro-grants and operational support help ensure all partners can contribute fully.

Measure what matters. Participants noted that impact measurement remains a difficult yet important aspect of effective collaboration. Ideally, partners should identify their key leading and lagging indicators at the outset of an initiative, ensuring transparency and accountability from the beginning.

Together: A recap of NationSwell Summit 2025

Posted on by Brianna Provenzano

On a crisp October morning in New York, more than 250 leaders came together for NationSwell Summit 2025, united by this year’s theme: Together — a call to move beyond silos and into shared purpose. Across the day’s sessions — which spanned across the challenges of childhood in the age of social media and community transformation to healing through sport, collective action, and the future of work — speakers returned to a single truth: our shared progress depends on partnership. 

The day’s conversations invited participants to reimagine how we govern technology, build workplaces that nurture every kind of talent, and invest in the local trust and shared purpose that make lasting change possible. Our Impact Spotlights served as powerful and emotional reminders of the good work happening in this community, and included: It’s Time to Make Connection a Cause, featuring Aaron Hurst, U.S. Chamber of Connection; What Teachers Are Telling Us, featuring Alix Guerrier, DonorsChoose; In This Lifetime — Structural Change, Strategy, and Belief, featuring DeRay Mckesson, Campaign Zero; Collaborative Action: Strengthening Public Health by Integrating CHWs featuring Barb Short, Sanofi and Denise Octavia Smith, MBA, CHW, PN, National Association of CHWS; Neurodiversity & The Future of Business, featuring Nathan Friedman, Understood.org; Opening Doors to the AI Economy, featuring Nicole Johnson, Cadence Design Systems and Cadence Giving Foundation; and Together in Action: Unlocking the Power of Corporate Philanthropy, featuring Dale Strange, Blackbaud.

In case you were not able to be with us in the room — or if you’d simply like to revisit the day’s events — we’ve recapped several Summit sessions below:

1. NationSwell’s Book of the Year: The Anxious Generation by Dr. Jonathan Haidt

Featuring: Dr. Jonathan Haidt, The Anxious Generation

Moderated by: Margot Brandenberg, Ford Foundation

 “If aliens landed here and we didn’t understand them, would we send our kids off to play with them? Hell no. But that’s what we’re doing with artificial intelligence, and at warp speed.”

— Dr. Jonathan Haidt, author of The Anxious Generation 

  • Technology has accelerated beyond our social evolution, eroding the very institutions that once bound us together. Humans are deeply social creatures who developed systems like democracy, education, and the rule of law in order to cooperate with each other at scale. But the rapid pace of technological change, especially through social media and AI, is destabilizing those social bonds faster than society can adapt.
  • The greatest threat posed by modern technology is that it makes us less reliant on each other. Where we once depended on relationships for knowledge, connection, and decision-making, we now turn to machines and algorithms. This erosion of interdependence undermines empathy, belonging, and the shared fabric of human life, especially among younger generations.
  • The smartphone marks a generational rupture unlike any before. The sharp divide between those who went through adolescence before versus after 1995, when smartphones became ubiquitous, has created the first truly distinct digital generation. Rates of anxiety, depression, and dysfunction rise steeply beginning with this cohort, particularly among girls.
  • Girls are being crushed under the social and emotional weight of social media, while boys are disappearing into digital addiction. Girls’ mental health suffers from social comparison, online bullying, and exposure to predatory or appearance-based content. Boys, meanwhile, retreat into gaming, pornography, and sports betting — activities that hijack dopamine systems and stunt social and emotional development.
  • Parents are caught in a collective-action trap, each feeling powerless to resist norms everyone privately disapproves of. Most children admit they dislike social media but feel compelled to use it to avoid being left out. Families acting alone feel “cruel” denying their kids phones; only collective, community-level norms can reset expectations and make restraint the default.
  • Four collective-action norms can restore real childhood and social connection:
  1. No smartphones before high school.
  2. No social media before 16.
  3. Phone-free schools.
  4. More independence, free play, and responsibility in the real world.


According to Haidt, these shifts would re-anchor children in lived experience rather than addictive digital feedback loops.

  • Passive screen time isn’t inherently harmful — but solitary, interactive screen time is. Shared story-based experiences, like movie nights, nurture imagination and moral reasoning. The danger lies in touchscreens that deliver rapid, isolated, reward-based stimuli — training children’s brains for distraction and consumption rather than focus and empathy.
  • Mothers have emerged as the unexpected vanguard of reform. Across political lines, grassroots groups of mothers have organized text threads, reading groups, and policy campaigns pushing for phone-free schools and age restrictions. This movement’s bipartisan momentum signals widespread cultural readiness for change.
  • AI poses the same relational threats as social media, but on a far greater scale and at warp speed. AI companions already draw teens away from human relationships. Unlike past technologies, AI evolves autonomously and exponentially, with little oversight or liability, amplifying the risks to truth, empathy, and social cohesion.
  • Children are not small adults, and AI should not be tested on them. While AI can be a powerful tool for adults, it risks replacing essential developmental struggle with servitude and dependency in children. Until its effects are understood, the safest role for AI in childhood is none.
  • Hope lies in collective resistance and community-based action. The success of parent-led campaigns to limit smartphone and social-media use proves society can move quickly when unified. If we can win this fight for childhood, it will build the civic muscle needed to confront even larger challenges — like AI — together.

2. The Power of Place: Community-Driven Impact in Action

Featuring: Tonya Allen, McKnight Foundation; Kwame Owusu-Kesse, Harlem Children’s Zone

Moderated by: Amy Lee, NationSwell

“Together is actually more than a theme. Given the times that we are in, it’s basically a survival tactic. The idea of togetherness is a prerequisite of the work; it’s where transformation endures — understanding that we are our brothers’ and sisters’ keepers. If we want to move the country forward toward pathways of excellence, it is a requirement that we are in lockstep with one another.”

— Kwame Owusu-Kesse, CEO of Harlem Children’s Zone 

  • Trust and proximity are the foundation of lasting impact. Place-based work succeeds when leaders get close enough to hear the truth from those affected by their efforts. Community proximity creates accountability and keeps change grounded in lived experience rather than abstract theory.
  • Place is the true unit of change. Where a child grows up determines much of their economic mobility. By tightly weaving education, health, and economic programs within a defined geography, organizations like Harlem Children’s Zone prove that thriving neighborhoods drive generational progress.
  • Build from community assets, don’t fix perceived deficits. Effective place-based work begins with local strengths — aspirations, talents, and collective wisdom — rather than focusing on what’s broken. This approach unleashes creativity and ownership within communities themselves.

“Transformation happens in real places with real people. I think a lot of the time we think of transformation as abstract, and I think that is actually why we struggle with creating real change. We are so far away from the people and the places we want to help.”

— Tonya Allen, President of the McKnight Foundation

  • Transformative change requires matching the scale of the solution to the scale of the problem. Incremental fixes cannot close the wealth gap. Initiatives like the GroundBreak Coalition call on institutions holding capital — banks, governments, philanthropies — to redesign systems so wealth flows with “speed and justice” to those long excluded.
  • Power in place-based work means organizing people and organizing money. Communities can’t achieve lasting change through engagement alone; financial systems and resources must also be organized intentionally. Those in power have a responsibility to “rewrite the rules” so access to capital and opportunity is fair and attainable.
  • Collective accountability is the test of true partnership. When outcomes falter, real collaborators resist finger-pointing and instead share responsibility for results. Joint ownership of successes and failures keeps efforts aligned across the full cradle-to-career continuum.
  • Excellence is not negotiable in service of equity. Mission-driven work must meet the same standards of rigor and quality as any enterprise. Communities deserve world-class execution, not “good hearts” without capacity or skill — nonprofit should mean tax status, not lowered expectations.
  • Strong relationships and courage sustain collective impact. Partnerships endure when they’re built on trust strong enough to survive fatigue, turnover, and disagreement. Courage is required to challenge underperforming systems and refuse complacency in the face of inequity.
  • Lead with fierce, radical love, and guard your focus. Love, properly understood, is not sentimental but powerful and protective — it fuels persistence through difficulty. Staying focused amid distraction is an act of moral courage; every inch of lost focus, as one leader put it, “a child pays for.”

3. From Bold Ideas to Big Bets: Building Relationships that Move Impact Forward

Featuring: The Rockefeller Foundation and Big Bets Fellows; Jacob Hannah, Coalfield Development; Catherine Wilson, United Way of Greater Newark; Rey Faustino, One Degree

Moderated by: NationSwell Vice President of Partnerships and Community, Jordan Vaughn

  • Revitalizing communities begins with refusing to leave them behind. In West Virginia, a new generation of leaders is reversing economic decline by rebuilding from within. Through workforce development, sustainable business, and reclaimed infrastructure, communities once defined by extraction are becoming engines of renewal — proof that it is more than possible to thrive in rural America. 
  • A modern safety net must be built for the AI age. Millions of families are lost in a maze of disconnected systems, forms, and eligibility rules. The next frontier is digital public infrastructure that connects services across agencies — not to replace human care and labor, but to make processes faster, fairer, and more humane for all. When technology is designed with community at its center, it can open doors instead of closing them.
  • Microinvestment can turn residents into owners and equity into belonging. In Newark, New Jersey, local residents are being invited to invest directly in new developments, giving them the chance to not only live in revitalized neighborhoods but to hold a real financial stake in their city’s growth. The model reframes community wealth as something that’s built from the ground up, where homeownership and local investment become tools for dignity and shared prosperity.

4. A Framework for Collective Action

Featuring: Nick Cericola, NationSwell

“The fight for marriage equality, the anti-Apartheid divestment movement, the Montreal Protocol — none of these were solo victories. They were built on unlikely alliances that turned moral clarity into structural change — laws, treaties, new norms, even new markets.”

— Nick Cericola, Vice President of Insights, NationSwell

  • Effective collective action channels outrage into agency. Movements succeed when they give people a tangible role to play. Whether through organizing, storytelling, or investment, they transform moral clarity into coordinated effort — turning diffuse frustration into focused momentum.
  • We are living through a Renaissance in collective action. Across the U.S., cities like Tulsa, Houston, Baltimore, and Union County are pioneering cross-sector collaborations that integrate employers, educators, and community organizations. These are not loose partnerships but structured, disciplined systems built for long-term community outcomes.
  • Five models dominate today’s landscape of collaboration:
  1. Co-investment models pooling private funding with shared governance.
  2. Shared capacity platforms that centralize infrastructure.
  3. Learning, advocacy, and action networks aligning peers around common cause.
  4. Public-private partnerships marrying public oversight with private sector innovation.
  5. Place-based initiatives uniting stakeholders across a geography.

Each model balances tradeoffs between control, trust, speed, and innovation.

“The best movements don’t wait for perfect consensus — they build coalitions of the willing. They give people a role, a way to turn conviction and even outrage into agency.”

— Nick Cericola, Vice President of Insights, NationSwell

  • The right collective model depends on your goals. Choosing between approaches requires clarity — do you seek scale, legitimacy, deep local ties, or speed? Each configuration demands different governance, risk tolerance, and resource investment, and the best collaborations evolve as conditions change.
  • Enduring principles — shared purpose, clear structure, mutual value, and trust — anchor all successful collaborations. Though models differ, the underlying DNA remains constant. Trust is the most essential ingredient, enabling participants to move through the inevitable slow progress, repeated meetings, and political friction of long-term coalition work.
  • Systemic change is inherently slow, but it’s the only thing that works. Collaboration is messy and iterative, yet every meaningful societal advance has been collective in nature. The complexity of today’s challenges simply exceeds the capacity of any single organization, however powerful, to solve alone.
  • Collaboration itself is our greatest technology. When practiced with creativity and discipline, collective action becomes a living system — capable of adaptation, innovation, and scale. The question is no longer whether collaboration works, but what we will choose to do with it next.

5. Nothing Heals Like Sport

Featuring: Megan Bartlett, founder of the Center for Healing and Justice through Sport

  • Sport is one of the most under-utilized tools for healing and mental health. When designed around people rather than performance, sport can calm the body’s stress response, rebuild trust, and reconnect young people to joy. It’s not just play — it’s applied neuroscience in motion, capable of changing biology and behavior.
  • The real power of sport lies in regulating the nervous system. Sport helps young people move out of chronic “fight, flight, or freeze” states by creating safety and rhythm in the body. Regulation — feeling calm, connected, and safe — is the foundation for learning, love, and growth, and sport naturally provides it.
  • Movement, connection, and challenge are the biological ingredients of healing, and sport delivers all three. Patterned, rhythmic movement restores a sense of safety; connection with teammates and coaches builds trust, the antidote to stress; and appropriate challenge — neither too much nor too little — teaches resilience through safe struggle, not avoidance.
  • We must shift the focus of youth sports from winning to well-being. Too often, youth sports environments prioritize competition over care, leaving both kids and coaches dysregulated. To unlock sport’s healing potential, coaches must have training, resources, and community support that allow them to stay grounded and emotionally available.
  • Healing is relational — dysregulated adults cannot regulate dysregulated kids. Coaches and mentors are frontline healers, but they can only help young people recover if they themselves are resourced and supported. Investing in their regulation and mental health multiplies impact across entire communities.
  • With the right investment, sport can become a scalable system for social change. The infrastructure already exists — fields, gyms, parks, and millions of committed coaches. Through initiatives like the Move Fund, seeded by Nike, local coalitions are being equipped to harness sport not just as recreation, but as a public-health intervention that helps young people heal before they learn, achieve, and thrive.
  • When it’s done right, nothing heals like sport.The opportunity isn’t to reinvent sport, but to reimagine its purpose: as a powerful, ready-at-scale, evidence-based framework for rebuilding trust, resilience, and connection in a generation living under chronic stress.

6. Building a Workforce and Workplace Where All Can Thrive

Featuring: Carrie Varoquiers, Workday; Lisa Lawson, The Annie E. Casey Foundation, Claire Casey, AARP Foundation

Moderated by: Utaukwa Allen, Google

“There are 48 million young people on the bridge of adolescence right now, and we should think of ourselves as the bridge-builders responsible for making sure they have what they need to make a successful passage across.” 

— Lisa Lawson, President & CEO, Annie E. Casey Foundation

  • Thriving workplaces are built through intergenerational collaboration. With five generations now working side by side, success depends on learning from one another rather than forcing younger employees to adapt to outdated norms. The most effective organizations cultivate “intergenerational agility” — a culture of mutual learning that values both experience and innovation.
  • Adolescence should be seen as a bridge, not a problem. Young people are often framed through a deficit lens, described as entitled or unmotivated, but this narrative is harmful and self-fulfilling. When we view adolescence as a stage of growth and potential — one that society must help young people cross safely — we create the conditions for confidence, purpose, and long-term success.
  • Skills-first hiring and new learning models are expanding access — but must be guided by purpose. The shift away from degree-based hiring has opened doors for untapped talent, while AI-assisted upskilling and apprenticeships are redefining what readiness looks like. The goal is not just speed to employment, but creating pathways to meaningful, family-sustaining work that centers human dignity.

“The marginalized worker — whether younger or older — has far more in common than we realize. Only a third of low-income workers over 50 will stay continuously employed through their 50s, and just one in ten will ever earn as much as they did before… We talk a lot about lifelong learning, but we forget about the worker. It’s time we practice what we preach.”

— Claire Casey, President, AARP Foundation

  • Mentorship and connection remain the most powerful workforce technologies. Bridging generations through mentorship builds confidence, soft skills, and community. Whether formal or informal, these relationships help young workers navigate new environments while reminding older ones of their enduring value and leadership.
  • AI should amplify our humanity, not replace it. Used well, technology can reduce administrative burden and free time for creativity, empathy, and collaboration. The challenge — and opportunity — is to design systems that strengthen connection rather than diminish it, ensuring that human relationships remain the core of productive, innovative workplaces.
  • The call to action: Be a bridge builder. Creating thriving workforces means linking generations, sectors, and technologies in pursuit of shared purpose. Every person, regardless of age or role, can help others cross into stability and possibility — because thriving, by definition, is something we achieve together.

8. AI and the Public Good: Who’s Governing the Future?

Featuring: Michael Kubzansky, Omidyar Network; Miriam Vogel, EqualAI

Moderated by: David Gelles, author of Dirtbag Billionaire

  • Public trust is collapsing, and literacy is the cure. Half of Americans report being more afraid than excited about AI. Those who understand it are more optimistic, suggesting that AI literacy — not hype or fear — is the foundation for responsible adoption and social trust.
  • Profit-driven systems won’t self-correct. Expecting companies to prioritize ethics over revenue misunderstands capitalism’s incentives. Governance must come from a mix of policy, investor expectations, and board accountability — ensuring AI’s social license to operate.
  • There’s still time to design responsible AI — but only if we demand it now. Responsible AI isn’t theoretical: it requires clear accountability, transparent testing, and leadership ownership. The companies that get this right will be the ones that earn both consumer trust and long-term viability.

Check out our recap video:

Five Minutes with… Niagara Cares’ Ann Canela

Posted on by Brianna Provenzano

For this installment of Five Minutes With, NationSwell sat down with Ann Canela, director of Corporate Giving at Niagara Bottling and head of Niagara Cares, to talk about the new “Love Your Happy Place” campaign — a colorful, citywide initiative encouraging people to show love for the places they call home.

Rooted in behavioral science and built on empathy rather than guilt, the campaign aims to make environmental action feel joyful, personal, and contagious — proving that small, “too-small-to-fail” acts can add up to big community impact.

Here’s what Ann had to say:

NationSwell: What was the inspiration for this kind of community-focused coalition building? What are the main goals of the initiative? 

Ann Canela, head of Niagara Cares: The “Love Your Happy Place” campaign began as a national initiative but drew its real inspiration from local communities. The idea was to spark local “too-small-to-fail” actions — picking up litter, recycling, joining a cleanup — that collectively show love for where we live. Grounded in behavioral science, we studied why recycling rates stagnate, following people in their daily routines to understand their confidence, confusion, and barriers. What we found was that emotion — especially empathy and optimism — moves people more effectively than guilt or logic. This insight shaped a campaign that leaned into joy, play, and gamification in order to motivate environmental action.

Our first pilot in Austin wrapped the city in messages of love — from murals and bus wraps to community events—and boosted recycling confidence and civic pride by double digits. That success has since expanded to San Diego, where coalitions of partners are leading beach cleanups, park recycling competitions, and tree plantings, with activations culminating around Valentine’s Day and Earth Month. The model is spreading rapidly — next stops include Denver, Los Angeles, Dallas, and Oakland — and has already earned Keep America Beautiful’s award for Best Sustainable Communications. It’s a campaign powered by optimism, local pride, and the belief that love, expressed through small daily actions, can create measurable change.

NationSwell: What do you think it is about small coalitions that activates this optimism or civic pride lever in folks’ brains? 

Ann Canela: People see these huge signs that say love and it’s disruptive, it makes you stop and look, but it’s also universal. Love is something everyone understands; to me, it’s the purpose of everything. The challenge with many climate-related campaigns is that we often ask too much of individuals. But when you break it down into small, tangible actions — like picking up a piece of litter on a walk — and remind people that thousands of others are doing the same, the collective impact becomes visible and real.

Those simple acts connect people to a larger purpose. It’s not just about one person recycling or cleaning up; it’s about feeling part of a shared movement that turns small gestures into massive change. There’s a kind of magic in that: When people can see themselves reflected in the solution and recognize that love, expressed through everyday action, truly adds up.

NationSwell: What compelled you to get involved in sustainability in the first place? What galvanized your interest in piloting bold solutions? 

Canela, Niagara Cares: When I joined Niagara, there wasn’t a formal CSR platform, just a family fund rooted in decades of charitable giving. My career throughline has always been strategic philanthropy: using funding in ways that align with a company’s purpose, engage employees, and resonate with consumers. For Niagara, that meant mapping philanthropy to what we make — water — and investing in recycling, water restoration, and disaster relief. Rather than forcing climate work into our business, we’ve focused on making every dollar work smarter, advancing multiple goals at once: driving impact, supporting employee volunteerism, and shifting culture.

As a private, B2B company, we’re not a household name, but our products touch people’s lives daily. That’s why we hold ourselves accountable for every philanthropic investment — we want each dollar to serve both business and community. Beyond funding, we take an active role with grantees: fundraising alongside them, hosting events, and investing deeply in their success. My goal is to help move philanthropy forward — not just by what we fund, but by how we give, ensuring it’s collaborative, strategic, and built for lasting change.

NationSwell: What do you feel is the North Star of your leadership — the principle or ideal you look to in order to be the most effective leader possible? 

Canela, Niagara Cares: I’ve always believed that effective leadership, like strong branding, requires a balance between head and heart. To truly connect with people, you need both strategic clarity and emotional authenticity. I’m not afraid to show emotion; the issues we work on are real and deeply human. My approach is to pair a thoughtful, data-driven strategy with genuine empathy — to be both the mind and the soul of the business. That balance allows me to lead in a way that’s motivational, grounded, and real.

At the same time, none of this work happens alone. Behind every success is a team that inspires me daily, partners who share our vision, and nonprofits doing the hard work on the ground. It’s a collective effort — each part strengthening the other — and I couldn’t be prouder of the people I get to collaborate with. Together, we make each other better and turn strategy into meaningful, lasting impact.

NationSwell: What is exciting you right now? What is the next thing on the horizon that has you really excited? 

Canela, Niagara Cares: What’s exciting is that this is a new strategy for Niagara — we launched it at the start of 2024, so we’re only in our second year. The first year was about benchmarking: understanding what was possible and how to execute it. By year two, we established ambitious KPIs — feeding 150,000 people a month, planting a million trees, and restoring a billion gallons of water over five years. But we’ve already surpassed expectations: 400,000 trees planted this year alone, 70,000 people fed, and water goals we’ll likely reach within 18 months.

Now we’re asking ourselves what’s next — how we can stretch even further and scale our impact. Reevaluating and expanding these goals isn’t just a metric exercise; it’s a reflection of the legacy we want to leave in the world. Seeing how much we can accomplish in such a short time makes me incredibly proud and motivated for what’s ahead.

NationSwell: What, to your mind, is sort of defining the world of philanthropy right now? What are you seeing that is giving you the most hope? 

Canela, Niagara Cares: In corporate philanthropy, the shifting flow of money is redefining everything. Funding models are changing so quickly that many nonprofit leaders are struggling to adapt — but what I find hopeful is how many corporate peers are stepping up to help. Companies are working more closely with partners, offering flexible funding, and showing real empathy for the challenges nonprofits face. I recently joined a roundtable on the state of corporate giving where people were moved to tears — and to me, that emotion reflects deep commitment to sustaining impact in uncertain times.

Even as traditional funding sources dry up, I’m inspired by the innovation happening across the sector. Nonprofits are reorganizing, forming new partnerships, and finding creative ways to stay resilient. We may see more collaboration and consolidation, but not collapse — and that gives me tremendous hope. There’s a shared determination, both in business and philanthropy, to evolve together and continue supporting the work that matters most.