Hi friend!

Happy new year! What’s your vibe for 2025?

Is it weird that I feel a little bit optimistic about the year? I’ve either hit a new level of self-possession or my denial has reached its fever pitch. We’ll see!!!

I’ve been thinking a lot about what my work in social impact might look like this year. What can I offer to the issues facing the most targeting and disinvestment? What causes are resonating with my heart? Who will my collaborators and partners be this year?

It’s giving part excited anticipation, part focused determination, and part hesitant uncertainty about the future — in other words, it’s giving new year.

I guess my overall vibe for the year is ✨ Intention. ✨ None of us can do it all. Only so many hours, so many resources, so much personal energy, and so on. I want — need — to be intentional about each move I make, not only when it comes to nurturing Issue Space and connecting with all of you, but with the social impact strategy work that’s at the core of why and how I came into this sector. I started off wanting to know that what I did in my working hours caused little harm and contributed to something good. Several years, projects, and partners later, I hope that’s true for all of us.

The Issue Space podcast has been a place to unpack some of the tricky aspects of this work — figuring out where your skill set fits in changemaking, drawing professional strength from your personal story, balancing purpose and brand priorities, surviving burnout. I’ve found the conversations so far both affirming of things I’ve seen and felt and eye-opening to experiences and perspectives I haven’t had.

I’m hoping to bring a little of that focused reflection with us into the new year.

ICYMI before the holidays, I shared that I’ll be hosting a gathering in NYC dedicated to exploring how our sector of nonprofit, philanthropic, big brand, small business, and everything-in-between changemakers can bring our best selves into another year of social change work and a new-old administration. We’re facing a lot, but we’ve also learned a lot. So let’s see if we can influence how social impact shows up in 2025.

We get together one week from today. Read more details and RSVP here, and consider bringing a friend from the space. The more perspectives, the better.

Thankful to be starting this year with all of you, and boldly, cautiously, happily, delusionally optimistic about the future,

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🤝 Wanna team up? Brands or organizations who might connect with our community can send partnership inquiries to [email protected].

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