The Summit for Top Philanthropic Executives, Their Strategists, and Communications Partners.
THE NEXT NATION
There's no going back but the future is still ours to build. Join the most forward-facing and fast-adapting philanthropies in the country as they share their actionable foresight, insight, and skills for winning today and tomorrow without compromising your values.
This year's theme, The Next Nation, is about moving beyond fear and stigma and orienting ourselves toward the Next opportunities emerging before us. Opportunities to double the number of people who side with you on critical issues in education, technology, health, culture, freedom and justice. Opportunities to forge far stronger multiracial alliances that win big in red, blue, and purple states. Actual blueprints that build wealth, not just manage poverty.
We cannot win the future with yesterday's strategies. The Next Nation can be defined by our shared commitment to mutual aspirations, guided by a new narrative for our sector as builders of better systems rather than fixers of broken ones.
FORESIGHT
INSIGHT
Tools & Tactics
Discover the emerging trends and shifts shaping what comes next.
Learn the frameworks and strategies that position leaders to succeed.
Build the tools and capabilities needed to act with confidence.
2026 SPEAKERS
2026 AGENDA
23RD
Wednesday
1:30 PM
Welcome Remarks
1:45 PM
Keynote | Peter Leyden
The Great Progression
3:00 PM
Plenary | Kauffman Foundation
The Power Is Already There: Communities, Coalitions, and Philanthropy Building What Comes Next
4:15 PM
Plenary | Gates Foundation
Power and Information in the Age of AI
5:30 PM
Welcome Reception
24th
Thursday
8 AM
Breakfast
9 AM
OneUnited Bank
Next Narrative in Action: Who's Your Ma Honey? Show
9:30 AM
Plenary | Trabian Shorters How to Unite People In Chaos: The Psychology of Movements
11:30 AM
Breakout 1 | Gates Foundation
Building a Narrative Goal Using AI and Foundational Beliefs
Breakout 2 | Prudential
Is Your Financial House in Order?
12:30 PM
Lunch & Plenary | Prudential
From Asset Framing to Action: Building Wealth by Seeing Communities
Differently
3 PM
Breakout 1 | Health Forward Foundation
Unshackled and Unrestricted: Liberating Philanthropic Tools for Optimal Intersectional Impact
Breakout 2 | Clean Slate Initiative
From Message to Movement: Putting Narrative Research Into Action for Clean Slate
5 PM
All Attendee Reception
25th
Friday
8 AM
Breakfast
9 AM
Plenary | 1803 Fund
Capital Should Serve The People
10:30 AM
Closing Plenary
AGs, Civil Rights Leaders, & Philanthropy United for Democracy
2026 PARTNERS
2025 HIGHLIGHTS
Framing Issues for Optimism in Philanthropy
Jen Ford Reedy
President
Bush Foundation
Trust is not the end, right? I think for philanthropy, for us to do our work and to be useful in this country the way we want to be we have to support people to believe that something better is possible. That's what I mean by optimism. Optimism doesn't mean being unrealistic, it doesn't mean being cheery, it just means that you believe something else is possible. And if people don't believe something else is possible, then it's not.
100%
Found that the plenary session gave them information or ideas that they can use to increase their impact.
Why Math? Redefining the Narrative for Young Learners
Michaela Leslie-Rule
Senior Program Officer, K-12
Gates Foundation
So when I think about answering this why math, I think about it as a narrative opportunity, but I also think of it as a narrative obligation.
If we can change how people answer that question, why math?
If we can shift their experiences learning and engaging with math, then we are shifting the stories that they tell about math, and then we're shifting the beliefs, and at scale when we shift beliefs and stories, we shift narratives.
100%
Found value in the plenary session, with 58% describing it as transformational and 92% wanting to learn more about the topic.
This Summit isn't feel-good networking; it's strategic positioning. You get access to what actually works, amplify your impact through collective action, and help shape the narrative before others write it for you. In times like these, going it alone is a luxury none of us can afford.
2025 Next Narrative Summit Attendee
The Next Narrative Network is for leaders in foundations, associations, and communications firms that want to learn and apply high impact strategies that succeed by dignifying rather than stigmatizing populations.
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