5 for 5: Things to Look Forward to in 2026

This blog is estimated to take 3 minutes to read.

I hope 2026 finds you healthy, strong, and empowered. The rollercoaster of emotions that seems to have become the norm continues into this nascent year. As we bear witness to once unimaginable events and power through to do the necessary work, it remains important to recognize and celebrate moments of good in our personal lives and in our communities. As part of such reflection, I recently began journaling more formally, and every evening I write at least one thing that I’m grateful for. Today’s entry? Celebrating five years at Weitz Family Foundation! In honor of this work anniversary, I want to share five things I’m looking forward to in 2026:

1. Site visits with grantees. I often share that one of the best parts about being a Program Associate at the foundation is that I’m able to meet with extremely cool people and teams who are doing impactful, meaningful work that is positively transforming our community. What a pleasure it is to watch organizations that were once emerging expand their capacity, to learn how operations were pivoted to meet participants’ needs, to understand the impact internal professional development practices had on teams. Whether I’m meeting with a grantee for the sixth time or the first, I’m eager to touch base, catch up, and advocate for our partners.
2. Brainstorming additional or modified ways to support nonprofit partners as a foundation. One thing that we all learned from 2025 was the importance of being nimble, adaptable, and responsive to the evolving and emerging needs of the community. Our team is naturally in a reflective state given the events of last year, our Center for Effective Philanthropy perception survey results, and our recent 25th anniversary. We seek to deepen our relationships with grantees and show support in ways that we perhaps have not done previously. Our team will continue to meditate on this throughout 2026 and keep partners updated along the way, of course.
3. New technical assistance opportunities. While we will continue to share with grantees our regular offerings such as the chance to enroll in Metropolitan Community College non-degree courses, our team is pleased to provide new learning opportunities for folks to engage in. These options include a cohort-based succession planning program with Naomi Hattaway and artificial intelligence workshops led by Albert Varas. More information to come in your inboxes soon!
4. Continuing our internal equity curriculum. Since the summer of 2022, our foundation has had the delight of working with Mynesha Spencer, Founder and Chief Inclusion Strategist at All of Us Together, Co. We meet with Mynesha every two weeks as a team to contemplate current events, discuss journal questions and books rooted in antiracism, and expose opportunities to grow personally and professionally. The misguided undermining of equity work in the last year only demonstrates the importance of its continued practice by all in every industry and classroom.
5. Being responsive to unanticipated needs. I had a conversation with someone a few years ago just as we were emerging from isolation after the pandemic. We considered the common language being used to describe the era at that point and joked that we just wanted some precedented times! Well… looks like it will, unfortunately, be a while for such a future to come to fruition. Our team recognizes that there are and will continue to be unexpected challenges that arise for our grantees and the communities they serve. We encourage organizations to share updates about such needs with us, please feel free to let myself or Diana know.

I’m grateful for five years of learning from and advocating for the incredible people in our nonprofit community and the passion with which they lead from every day. Remember: the horrors persist, but so do we! Onward, 2026.