There’s a special kind of magic that happens when 600+ purpose-driven leaders gather under the California sun—not just to talk about doing good, but to explore how to do it better, together.

At this year’s Engage for Good Conference, that magic was palpable. The crowd? A dynamic mix of corporate changemakers, nonprofit trailblazers, and philanthropic powerhouses. The conversations? Electric—with themes spanning AI ethics, racial equity, disaster resilience, and how to lead with values in a world that’s constantly shifting.

As we listened, learned, and leaned into what it means to create impact that lasts, a few key themes emerged—each offering fresh inspiration and real-world ideas for mission-aligned organizations ready to rise to the moment.

Impact is daily work, not annual reporting

The most successful organizations treat social and environmental impact as a consistent, authentic, and fully integrated part of their operations. As Engage for Good CEO Muneer Panjwani put it, “Impact isn’t something we report on once a year — it is something we work on every day.”

Nature’s Bakery CEO Steve Gardiner echoed this in a powerful way: “Performance without purpose is meaningless. Purpose without performance isn’t possible.”

Importantly, size didn’t determine sophistication. I met small teams doing highly strategic work—proof that a mature impact strategy isn’t reserved for the biggest players.

The power of a clear vision

Clarity of purpose has magnetic power. Share Our Strength’s ambitious goal to end summer hunger for 30 million kids who rely on school meals served as a rallying cry for outcome-oriented impact, and to showcase accomplishments and learnings rather than intentions and dollars alone.

That same theme emerged in conversations around AI: the most effective applications were those rooted in solving a specific, clearly defined problem. The consensus? Without clarity, even the most advanced tech will underdeliver.

A clear vision can also catalyze place-based strategies. I spoke with nonprofits placing marginalized young people in internships and jobs with regional employers—creating talent pipelines that are both inclusive and high-impact.

Be ready before the crisis hits

Readiness was a major theme given the heavy toll of natural disasters over the past several months. Team Rubicon CEO Art delaCruz, whose organization is a humanitarian disaster response organization that utilizes the skills of military veterans to rapidly deploy emergency response teams and earned the Nonprofit of the Year Halo Award, reminded us that crisis response depends on the groundwork laid long before a crisis hits.

“Dig your well before you’re thirsty” was a phrase echoed throughout sessions—whether referring to pre-positioned disaster relief funding, supply chain data, or deep-rooted community engagement. The underlying truth: when emergencies strike, you can only move at the speed of trust and preparation.

The backlash is not the end of the story…

Reflecting with other attendees on the current cycle of backlash and uncertainty across the United States, attendees found inspiration in the impactful work peers are leading. We reminded ourselves that this moment is hard but not unprecedented. Indeed, history is filled with examples of progress amid setbacks.

Participants also called on each other to lean into reflection, learning, and bridging differences during this moment. From LGBTQ+ protections to mental health supports, there are many issue areas in need of support from companies, nonprofits, and funders. And there was agreement that protecting the work means protecting the people doing the work.

Deutsche Bank, for example, has funded LGBTQ+ inclusion work through business budgets—not HR—because employees made a compelling business case that inclusion drives client outcomes in a relationship-driven industry like finance.

…but racial equity was the elephant in the room.

There was significant attention on LGBTQ+ equity, trans rights, youth mental health, men’s mental health, and disaster response—explicit conversations about racial equity were noticeably limited. One standout exception was a Halo Award-winning campaign called "INVISIBLE GAME", a collaboration between The Jed Foundation (JED) and UNINTERRUPTED, aimed at normalizing mental health conversations among young Black men through intergenerational dialogue.

Moments of backlash require different kinds of organizations to demonstrate different kinds of courage, from loud statements to quiet operating support. At the same time, I would have loved to see more attention given to the intersectionality of many issue areas such as racial equity and disaster recovery, with the recovery from the wildfires in Pacific Palisades and Altadena being a prime real-time example.

Leveraging Systems Thinking for Scaled Impact

To scale what works, we need to think systemically—digging into root causes and asking what’s holding the problem in place. That includes engaging government leaders as essential partners alongside nonprofits and corporations.

Jennifer Juster and Lakshmi Iyer of FSG highlighted collective impact as a proven approach, emphasizing the need for shared goals, aligned data, and strong “backbone” infrastructure. “It’s not the star of the show,” they noted, “but without it, the show won’t go on.”

PetSmart Charities shared how they’ve gone beyond disaster relief grants by partnering with the Red Cross to ensure pets are recognized as essential family members in crisis response efforts.

We also heard powerful examples from Feeding America and Share Our Strength—two organizations tackling hunger through different roles in the ecosystem: one as a direct service provider, the other as a policy advocate and campaigner for kids.

Conclusion

This conference reaffirmed what we already believe at UpMetrics: data and relationships are two of the most powerful tools we have to drive more capital into community. Let’s keep building—with purpose, with clarity, and with each other.