New Profit in a grantmaking and advisory nonprofit providing funds and support for social entrepreneurs. Focused on providing funding for minority groups through equity and social change, New Profit gives to initiatives in health care equity, education, and civics and elections. New Profit has increased its focus on promoting Black, indigenous, and “Latino/a/x” leaders and organizations in the nonprofit sector.

History

In 1998, Vanessa Kirsch founded New Profit as a funding vehicle for left-of-center social entrepreneurs to provide funding and advice to social organizations modeled after venture capital firms. ¹ New Profit has focused on systemic change and equity matters in funding grants to entrepreneurial organizations. ²

Programs

Since 2013, New Profit has partnered with international professional services company Deloitte to provide strategic support to grant recipients. ³ In 2021, Deloitte expanded the collaboration with a $3 million donation to the New Profit capital fund and $1.5 million from the Deloitte Health Equity Institute to New Profit’s Healthy Equity program. ⁴ This Health Equity Cohort began in 2022 with funding for housing issues, fighting racism and bias, contraceptive and abortion services, healthy food initiatives, and structural flaws in health care. ⁵

New Profit states that inequities are “baked into our education system” and parents must be participants in the design process for education. ⁶ Mohamed Nur, a senior associate with New Profit, stated that Black history is openly being erased or obscured in schools across America by bans on critical race theory, calling such legislation “modern-day McCarthyism” in classrooms and school boards. ⁷

In 2019, New Profit launched Civics Lab to fund and support non-partisan nonprofit organizations advancing left-of-center voting policies. ⁸ New Profit’s Civics Lab stated that 2020 pushed everyone to “reconsider the ideological and structural foundations on which our country was built.” ⁹ The Civics Lab further stated that after the COVID-19 pandemic and “police killings” in 2020 put a spotlight on who the systems in our country are harming, activists and the outcome of the November 2020 election “demonstrated the resilience of our electorate.” ¹⁰ New Profit Civics Lab has called to make election day a holiday, expand early voting, and “debunk the concept” of election night to build awareness for extended vote tabulation. ¹¹

In 2020, New Profit launched Inclusive Impact, a program focusing on increasing equity in the social sector to drive systemic change. ¹² Impulsive Impact focuses on Black, indigenous, and Latino/a/x programs and entrepreneurs. ¹³ The program was announced at New Profit’s Inclusive Impact Action Summit with support from the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, Silicon Valley Community Foundation, Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation, the Bromley Charitable Trust, and the McCance Foundation. The Inclusive Impact initiative provides a list of books, speeches, and films as resources to promote equity such as the 1619 Project. ¹⁴

Funding

In 2020, New Profit had total assets of $64,312,700. ¹⁵ According to the organization’s tax returns, in 2020 New Profit recorded $21,481,917 in revenue and $31,384,777 in expenses. ¹⁶ In 2019, New Profit had $46,877,712 in revenue and $22,628,482 in expenses. ¹⁷ In 2020, New Profit provided over $13.5 million in grants and other assistance. ¹⁸

In 2017, New Profit received $12 million from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative. ¹⁹ In return, New Profit would spend at least $1 million of that contribution plus management advising services to seven other personalized learning organizations in education. ²⁰ Other major contributors to New Profit include the Annie E. Casey Foundation, William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, Hirsch Family Foundation, David and Lucile Packard Foundation, Walton Family Foundation, and Carnegie Corporation of New York. ²¹

Leadership

Vanessa Kirsch is the founder and co-CEO of New Profit. ²² Previously, Kirsch was founder of the left-leaning groups Women’s Information Network and Public Allies. ²³ Kirsch worked for the 1988 presidential campaign of Michael Dukakis. ²⁴ Since 2001, Kirsch has given over $4,900 in reportable contributions to Democratic candidates across the country. ²⁵

Tulaine Montgomery has been co-CEO of New Profit since May 2021 after previously working for the organization as managing partner since 2012. ²⁶ She was previously founder and president of New Resource Strategies and vice president of the United Way of Massachusetts Bay. ²⁷ In 2022, Montgomery donated $1,000 to Tanisha Sullivan in the secretary of state primary election against Democratic incumbent Bill Galvin. ²⁸

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20. Herold, Benjamin. “Gates, Zuckerberg Philanthropies Team Up on Personalized Learning.” Education Week. June 7, 2017. Accessed August 19, 2022. https://www.edweek.org/technology/gates-zuckerberg-philanthropies-team-up-on-personalized-learning/2017/06.
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