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Press Release

13 Innovative Nonprofits Selected To Join Stand Together Foundation's Growing Catalyst Program

Community-driven organizations to participate in a six-month leadership development experience, honing their management skills and empowering their mission to transform lives.

ARLINGTON, Va., January 11, 2022 – Today, Stand Together Foundation announced the selection of 13 new nonprofit partners to join its Catalyst Program. The six-month leadership development program includes individualized leadership and management coaching, access to a peer network for advice and partnerships, and a variety of legal services and software tools to increase nonprofit effectiveness and help accelerate the impact of each organization’s locally based programming, in support of community change. 

These 13 nonprofits are the 15th cohort to join the Catalyst Program, growing the community to more than 220 high-impact organizations across 50 states, as part of Stand Together Foundation’s recent $7MM commitment to expand the size of its Catalyst Program to 500 nonprofits by 2025. Organizations interested in joining the Program are encouraged to visit Stand Together Foundation’s website to learn more.  

We’re excited to welcome 13 additional nonprofit leaders into our community,” said Evan Feinberg, executive director, Stand Together Foundation. “We are partnering with some of the most transformative organizations across the country, and leaders that demonstrate a deep belief in people that truly empowers those experiencing poverty to overcome their barriers and lead fulfilling lives. These leaders represent those principles and we are excited to help them deepen their impact both in their communities and across the United States.” 

Participants in this new cohort will kick off their experience at an Opening Summit from March 22-25, and the program will run through August. 

The Catalyst Program is a highly selective experience. Applicants are selected after a rigorous vetting process that includes evaluating each organization’s leadership, culture, demonstrated outcomes, ability to scale, and potential for societal-level change. The organizations selected have a demonstrated track record of effectively helping people transform their lives through a principled approach rooted in empowerment; the idea that those closest to a problem should be empowered to use their inherent talents to solve it. 

For social entrepreneurs who share Stand Together Foundation’s commitment to bottom-up solutions and belief in people, there is no better opportunity to take their efforts to the next level. The Catalyst Program serves as an on-ramp to a long-term partnership with the broader Stand Together community, unlocking access to a community of like-minded nonprofits, influential philanthropists, and business leaders.  

The incoming cohort includes organizations tackling a wide variety of societal challenges. From increasing empathy for incarcerated individuals, to training women in the skilled trades, to helping families build financial security, these Catalysts represent the creativity and potential of community-driven solutions. The following is a full list of Stand Together Foundation’s 15th Catalyst Cohort: 

  • CarePortal (Kansas City, MO)CarePortal connects churches, caseworkers, and community institutions to provide real-time support to families in need. CarePortal’s innovative software empowers case workers to submit requests on behalf of their clients and activate local volunteers to support and build relationships with the families. CarePortal leverages this community involvement as a preventative solution for the nearly 270,000 children in the U.S. entering the foster care system. CarePortal offers a holistic, community-driven approach to provide direct support to vulnerable children and families.    
  • The Colossian Forum (Grand Rapids, MI)The Colossian Forum addresses toxic forms of polarization in American churches by transforming conflicts into growth opportunities. Many faith-based institutions lack experience navigating polarizing topics, leaving them unable to bridge divides, let alone foster reconciliation in their communities. The Colossian Forum provides leadership training and small-group curricula on a variety of cultural topics based upon a framework of worship that helps Christians transform conflicts into discipleship, not division. 
  • Essential Partners (Cambridge, MA)Essential Partners demonstrates that our communities are stronger when we can talk about our differences with honesty, complexity, and dignity. Working against divisiveness and polarization, Essential Partners trains individuals to facilitate healthier discussions on contentious topics. By cultivating curiosity and openness, Essential Partners is investing in our society’s ability to exchange ideas, create genuinely inclusive communities, and contribute to human progress. 
  • Found Village (Cincinnati, OH)Found Village leverages a community of adult volunteers and mentors to help youth in foster care regain the ability to trust others. While traditional mentorship models emphasize one-on-one relationships that can end prematurely and undermine the youth’s ability to trust, Found Village begins with a single mentoring relationship and then extends that trust to a wider network, providing family-like support that acts like a “village” around each youth. Found Village engagement extends into early adulthood, ensuring all youth are connected to a community and have been mobilized out of poverty.   
  • Frederick Douglass Project for Justice (Washington, D.C.)The Frederick Douglass Project for Justice runs a multistate prison visitation program that provides opportunities for members of the public to meet and speak to those directly impacted by the criminal legal system in the U.S. The program’s conversations are structured to build empathy and grow understanding for all involved in order to drive meaningful personal and systemic changes. 
  • Hope Renovations (Carrboro, NC)At a moment when the skilled trades are facing a major labor shortage in the U.S., Hope Renovations is helping fill that gap by training under- or unemployed women to provide home repairs and renovations for homeowners who wish to age in place. Hope Renovations’ approach includes coaching, counseling, and support to help every student in its apprenticeship program build their own unique career path. 
  • Inside Circle (Sacramento, CA)Inside Circle creates opportunities for incarcerated and formerly incarcerated individuals to reduce recidivism and violence in their communities. The criminal justice system suffers from a lack of effective in-custody rehabilitation programs. Inside Circle organizes weekly healing circles to address trauma, foster personal accountability, and empower inmates to gain self-agency around prosocial lifestyle choices. 
  • Prison Yoga Project (Bolinas, CA)Prison Yoga Project brings trauma-informed yoga practices to thousands of incarcerated people around the country, promoting stress and anger management and mindfulness to reduce the likelihood of reincarceration. Prison Yoga Project’s unique offering addresses unresolved traumas that can contribute to criminal behavior and emphasizes improved mental health and personal rehabilitation for every participant. 
  • SailFuture (St. Petersburg, FL)Recognizing that the challenges facing foster youth and families are complex and interconnected, SailFuture provides comprehensive services and strategies to help youth overcome as many of their barriers as possible. From monthslong sailing expeditions to a private high school, SailFuture is reimagining what it means to meet the needs of youth and families through innovative sailing-based programs. 
  • SaverLife (San Francisco, CA) – SaverLife helps people build financial security by providing cash prizes and other incentives for good saving habits. SaverLife supports the approximately 40 percent of Americans who don’t have at least $400 in savings, many of whom face systemic barriers to economic mobility. By removing these obstacles and developing good financial habits, SaverLife is unlocking new possibilities for people and families living with low incomes. 
  • Shepherd’s House (Lexington, KY)Shepherd’s House helps men and women find freedom from substance use disorder. It offers a variety of programming opportunities from intensive outpatient programs to 12-18-month transitional living experiences that include post-program support, career counseling, health care, and support groups. The Shepherd’s House programs are designed to promote independence from substances, and the development of life-changing tools and skills to help individuals develop and maintain a foundation for long-term recovery. 
  • Think Tank, Inc. (Springfield, OH)Challenging top-down approaches to poverty, Think Tank, Inc. works to amplify human stories and empower local change agents. Through poverty simulations and content guided by leaders with lived experience, Think Tank equips groups to rethink poverty and partner with those most affected to create lasting change. 
  • Unshattered (Hopewell Junction, NY) – Unshattered provides training, employment, and a compassionate community for women who are winning their battle against addiction. To help pave the road between sobriety and long-term success after completing a residential recovery program, Unshattered provides employment where women design, create, and sell unique handbags made from premium upcycled materials. Their employment model focuses on personal and professional development so that women can thrive in recovery. 

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About Stand Together Foundation 

Stand Together Foundation is committed to breaking the cycle of poverty in America by driving change from within communities. We are building a community of social entrepreneurs who believe in people, work from the bottom up, and unite with anyone to do right. Since 2016, we have committed $100 million and counting to fuel the innovation of nonprofits throughout the country to build stronger, safer communities where all people can learn, contribute, and realize their full potential. Our goal is to help nonprofit leaders maximize their impact to transform more lives out of poverty. Learn more at www.StandTogetherFoundation.org. 

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