Note: The due date to submit a New Profit Discovery Form to be considered for this year’s multi-year Build grantmaking cycles in the areas of Democracy and Economic Mobility has passed. New Profit will also continue to accept Discovery Form submissions on a rolling basis throughout the year for Build grantmaking cycles taking place in 2025 and beyond.

This year New Profit, through its Build portfolio, aims to provide $1.5M of unrestricted funding and strategic advisory support over four years to up to five innovative nonprofit organizations in Democracy and Economic Mobility focused on building an America where everyone can thrive. New Profit invites interested organizations to complete its Discovery Form, which asks for basic organizational information and a handful of long-form questions about the organization’s core constituents, program model, and impact. The due date to submit a New Profit Discovery Form to be considered for this year’s multi-year Build grantmaking cycles in the areas of Democracy and Economic Mobility is Monday, April 1, 2024 at 11:59 pm ET / 8:59 pm PT. Invitations to complete a full application to this year’s cycles will be sent in May to organizations considered a strong fit based on alignment to New Profit’s investment strategies and priorities – see below for more information. 

New Profit will also continue to accept Discovery Form submissions on a rolling basis throughout the year for Build grantmaking cycles taking place in 2025 and beyond. 

Submitting a New Profit Discovery Form 

Submitting a Discovery Form communicates you are interested in a potential partnership with New Profit and gives us baseline information to help assess strategic alignment to a given grantmaking cycle before inviting organizations to invest the time in applying. Submitting a Discovery Form does not mean you are submitting an application. 

If you are interested in being considered for the upcoming Build grantmaking cycles in Democracy or Economic Mobility, select “Cycle-specific submission” in the “Submission Type” section of the Discovery Form. Otherwise, select “General Submission.”

If you have submitted a Discovery Form within the last 12 months, please reach out to selection@newprofit.org and we will send you a unique link to review and edit your prior submission. Otherwise, please fill out a new form for us to review.

If you’d like, download an editable version of the Discovery Form to draft your responses. Discovery Forms must be submitted via this link by the due date for consideration.

Build Portfolio Eligibility Criteria

Organizations interested in a potential partnership with New Profit through joining its Build portfolio must meet the following eligibility criteria:

1. Focus on the United States: Organization operates in and primarily serves communities in the United States and its territories.
2. 501(c)(3) status: Organization is an independent 501(c)(3). 
3. Expense budget: Organization’s annual expense budget for its most recently closed fiscal year is at least $2 million. 
4. Led by a full-time Social Entrepreneur(s): Organization must be led by at least one Social Entrepreneur on a full-time basis (~40 hours/week). We define a Social Entrepreneur (often the Chief Executive Officer, Executive Director, or equivalent title) as both the leader and final decision-maker of an organization’s internal/external strategy, daily operations, and financial decisions. Organizations with co-leadership models will be considered.
5. New Profit Build support model: If selected, organization is willing and able to engage with New Profit in the following ways:

• New Profit Partner engages with the Social Entrepreneur as a strategic advisor (e.g. through regular coaching and strategic advising calls)
• New Profit Partner serves as a member on the organization’s Board of Directors
• Social Entrepreneur participates in the New Profit community by occasionally attending convenings, including at least 1 event per year

New Profit’s portfolio investing strategies and priorities

The purpose of New Profit’s portfolio investing is to advance access and opportunity in communities that have been consistently and systematically under-resourced. Therefore, New Profit invests in organizations with a range of impact models that seek to transform the systems in which they operate. Recognizing that people who are close to a system or issue have expertise that can enable impact and sustainability, New Profit also invests in organizations whose leaders engage in proximity as a continuous practice. These leaders have lived experience with, and demonstrated regard for, the communities they support. Lastly, New Profit invests in leaders and organizations that believe in the possibility of multiracial, intergenerational, and cross-sector coalitions ( the M.I.C.™) to solve problems and build stronger systems.  

Democracy:

This year, the United States is one of approximately 65 countries around the globe where citizens will go to the polls. No matter the outcomes of this unprecedented election year, 2024 will surface important questions about how we as a nation enable access and opportunity for all to thrive. 

To align to New Profit’s investment strategy in Democracy, an organization must center transformation of our democracy and the ways it operates as a primary focus in its mission and core outcomes it is working toward. Additionally, the organization’s core approach must focus on at least one of the following priority areas:

• Painting the Possible: Building a powerful picture of what is possible if and when we build a thriving multicultural, multiracial, intergenerational democracy because we will only be inspired to participate in and change our democracy if we have a deep belief in what it could be. Examples could include narrative building work, repair work, and bridge building.
• Strengthening Civic Capabilities: Supporting individuals and communities to cultivate deeper civic capabilities and build daily practices of democracy because building a thriving democracy takes the participation and engagement of all of us, beyond the ballot box. Examples could include building the capacity of public servants, national service, youth engagement, and participatory budgeting.

Economic Mobility:

We have multicultural, multiracial, and intergenerational workforces – that means we need to work together to drive opportunity and advancement for all. While the myriad problems associated with economic disparities are well-documented,  many social entrepreneurs have proven track records of unlocking economic opportunity in communities most affected by them. 

To align to New Profit’s investment strategy in Economic Mobility, an organization must center economic opportunity as a primary focus in its mission and core outcomes it is working toward. Additionally, the organization’s core approach must focus on at least one of the following priority areas:

• Pathways to Income Generation: Creating opportunities that lead to gainful employment because good jobs lead to economic stability and the opportunity to accumulate wealth for future generations. Examples could include innovations to increase equity in the labor market, such as developing solutions that promote skills-based hiring, living wage jobs, and worker power.
• Social Drivers of Economic Opportunity: Enabling conditions that play an  essential role in labor market participation and economic advancement because addressing these conditions is not only good for people, it’s good for business and the broader economy. Examples could include increasing access to high-quality, affordable childcare, transportation, and housing.
• Financial Health & Wealth Creation: Advancing strategies to build long-term wealth because wealth enables people to weather financial shocks and affords people the agency to invest in the future of their families and communities. Examples could include driving reparations and guaranteed income solutions, increasing access to capital for entrepreneurship, and exploring ideas of community ownership.

For any questions, please contact selection@newprofit.org with “2024 Build Discovery” in the subject line.

About New Profit

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