In 2020, the intertwining and inequitable systems, from health and education to legal and democracy and beyond, in this country were laid bare by the COVID-19 pandemic and the renewed and growing call for Black liberation and justice. As part of this year’s Annual Report, we asked nine leaders from the New Profit community what 2020 and these national reckonings looked like for them, their organizations, and the social sector writ large.

Continue reading to hear from Dwight Poler, a lead investor in New Profit’s Inclusive Impact strategy and Proximate Capital Fund. From 1994 to 2017, he was part of the leadership of Bain Capital, where he founded and managed the European Private Equity Business from 2000-2017 and remains a senior advisor. Dwight now manages AccelR8, a fund investing in climate change mitigation. Dwight is a member of the Boston Foundation Board of Directors and chairs its Finance Committee, as well as an Amherst College Trustee.

What is the biggest challenge that philanthropy/the social impact sector is/has faced as a result of the events of 2020? 

The confluence of many critical and long-smoldering systemic issues – racial injustice, economic inequality, political polarization – coming to the surface at the same time and being amplified dramatically by the COVID-19 pandemic. The gaps are only getting wider, and those who are blessed with resources need to engage differently and focus on empowering those most proximate to these inequities to define and deliver change.

What innovations/solutions did you create in response to the events of this year?

I have become much more of a “systems thinker” and I’m spending more time looking at the broader context of our challenges. More often now, I’m trying to see them through the lenses of all relevant stakeholders and the complexities and dynamics of their relationship with each other and the systems we are trying to make more equitable.

Read the full article about innovative philanthropy by Dwight Poler at New Profit.