New Profit

New Profit
Name	New Profit
Type	Nonprofit philanthropic organization
Founded	1998
Founders	Vivek Ranadivé, G. Christopher Larsen
Headquarters	Boston, Massachusetts
Area served	United States
Focus	Social innovation, scaling social impact, philanthropy

New Profit is an American philanthropic organization and social innovation intermediary that supports scaling of social enterprises, nonprofit organizations, and mission-driven leaders. Founded in the late 20th century and based in Boston, Massachusetts, it has engaged in strategy, capital, and capacity-building for ventures addressing social challenges across the United States. New Profit operates at the intersection of philanthropic capital, impact investing, and nonprofit capacity-building, working with leaders from sectors including education, workforce development, health, and civic engagement.

History

New Profit was established during a period of expansion in strategic philanthropy alongside institutions such as Rockefeller Foundation, Ford Foundation, and Carnegie Corporation of New York. Early activity paralleled movements represented by Social Venture Partners and the Skoll Foundation that emphasized scaling effective interventions. Over time the organization developed tools and partnerships with national intermediaries like Nonprofit Finance Fund, Tides Center, and Boston College. Its timeline includes collaboration with municipal and state actors such as City of Boston and Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education as it supported grantees operating in contexts shaped by federal policies like the No Child Left Behind Act and initiatives tied to the Every Student Succeeds Act.

New Profit’s evolution reflected trends in impact measurement popularized by groups including GiveWell, The Bridgespan Group, and B Lab, and engaged with philanthropic networks such as Council on Foundations and Independent Sector. The organization adapted to crises and shifts exemplified by responses to the Great Recession and the COVID-19 pandemic, coordinating relief efforts with actors like United Way Worldwide and municipal philanthropic coalitions.

Mission and Programs

New Profit’s mission centers on identifying, investing in, and scaling social innovations through strategic capital, coaching, and systems-level advocacy. Programmatic offerings typically include multi-year growth capital, leadership development, and performance management, implemented in partnership with capacity-builders such as McKinsey & Company, Deloitte, and Harvard Kennedy School executive-education programs. Curricula and support models draw on frameworks advanced by scholars and practitioners from Harvard University, Stanford University, and MIT and align with evaluation approaches used by The Annie E. Casey Foundation and The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation.

Core program areas often cover KIPP-style charter networks in education, workforce pipelines connected to employers such as JP Morgan Chase, and health access initiatives that intersect with systems like Medicaid. New Profit has launched sector-focused funds and cohorts, collaborating with regional entities like New England Foundation for the Arts and national initiatives such as AmericaSaves or workforce partnerships with corporations including Google and Amazon for skills training projects.

Leadership and Governance

Governance structures include a board of directors composed of leaders from philanthropy, finance, and nonprofit sectors, mirroring governance practices seen at institutions like The Rockefeller Foundation and Omidyar Network. Executive teams have included former social entrepreneurs, impact investors, and policy experts trained at institutions such as Harvard Business School, Columbia University, and Stanford Graduate School of Business. Advisory councils and fellows programs bring in practitioners affiliated with organizations like Teach For America, City Year, and Ashoka.

New Profit has worked with outside counsel and auditors from firms like KPMG and PwC to maintain compliance and reporting, and has historically involved donor-advised participants from family foundations such as Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation and corporate philanthropy arms including Microsoft Philanthropies.

Funding and Financials

Funding sources combine philanthropic grants, program-related investments, and gifts from high-net-worth donors and foundations. New Profit’s financial model resembles blended capital intermediaries such as Acumen Fund and RSF Social Finance, mixing concessionary capital with grantmaking to support scaling organizations. Major philanthropy collaborators have included Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, The Rockefeller Foundation, and regional funders like Barr Foundation.

Financial reporting and impact budgeting follow practices used by Charity Navigator and GuideStar-rated nonprofits, and New Profit has pursued outcomes tied to metrics advocated by Social Impact Bonds pilots and the Pay for Success movement. Capital deployment strategies have included convertible grants and repayable grants similar to instruments used by Village Capital and Root Capital.

Impact and Evaluation

Evaluation practices emphasize rigorous metrics, case studies, and longitudinal tracking, drawing on methodologies from RAND Corporation, Urban Institute, and Mathematica Policy Research. New Profit-supported organizations have reported outcomes in areas such as student achievement, employment placement, and health access, echoing results frameworks used by The Annie E. Casey Foundation and Carnegie Corporation. Independent evaluations and collaborations with university research centers at Harvard Graduate School of Education and University of Chicago have informed continuous improvement.

Impact claims are typically contextualized against benchmarks established by federal datasets from National Center for Education Statistics and labor-market statistics from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Where applicable, New Profit has participated in randomized controlled trials and quasi-experimental evaluations similar to those overseen by Institute of Education Sciences and has shared learnings through convenings with networks such as Grantmakers for Effective Organizations.

Partnerships and Collaborations

Partnerships span philanthropy, academia, business, and government. New Profit has collaborated with national nonprofits like United Way, Goodwill Industries International, and Boys & Girls Clubs of America, as well as corporate partners including Goldman Sachs, Facebook (Meta), and Salesforce on workforce and technology initiatives. Academic partnerships have included research and executive training relationships with Harvard University, MIT, and Columbia University.

Public-sector collaborations have engaged state agencies and municipal governments such as City of New York and State of California education and workforce offices, and New Profit has joined multi-stakeholder efforts alongside intermediary organizations like The Bridgespan Group and National Council of Nonprofits. The organization has also been active in philanthropic networks such as Philanthropy Roundtable and collaborative funding vehicles modeled on initiatives by Atlantic Philanthropies.

Category:Philanthropic organizations based in the United States