Meeting this Moment: Institutional Durability, Capital, Community Power 2026

There are times when the future feels abstract—something to debate, plan for, or hedge against.

This is not one of those times.

The conditions around us have changed—economically, civically, and socially—and they are asking more of all of us. Polarization is everywhere. Systems are brittle. Capital has grown cautious to the point of paralysis. Communities are carrying risks they didn’t create and waiting on solutions that arrive too slowly—or not at all.

Local artists mural honoring John Lewis' phrase on the community college campus

Meanwhile, the gap between what could work and what is actually being built continues to widen.

I took a short pause over the holidays to lift my head above the day-to-day and take stock of the work. Like many others, I was exhausted. I had spent the past year trying to understand what was happening—and what responsibility it placed on me in response.

I expected 2026 to bring more of the same. Instead, the underlying conditions have hardened.

Inequities are widening. Capital is frozen by excessive caution. Communities are done waiting for permission—just as local, state, and national resources retreat.

That combination might suggest a choice: wait for conditions to improve or respond to the moment as it actually is.

Waiting is not a choice.

Waiting is not a choice. So we must meet the moment.

What this moment requires

This moment doesn’t need more commentary. It needs builders, translators, and stewards—people willing to move capital, share power, and stay put when the work gets heavy.

Meeting the moment in 2026 means doing the work differently. For me, that shows up in three ways in my work:

1. Urgency, without apology

I’ve always acted with urgency, but I’ve also shown patience for process, when funders or institutions needed time to align around change.

That patience has limits.

This moment requires faster decisions, shorter cycles, and less perfectionism. It requires building instead of endlessly planning, and moving capital even when the stack isn’t pristine.

Inaction now carries real costs. Delay has become its own decision.

2. Building institutions beyond political cycles that respond to the moment  

The work has shifted. It’s no longer about floating or proving concepts.

• It’s about acquiring and deploying real assets.

• Addressing risk where it can be seen and governed

• Building structures that last beyond any one administration, funder, or leader and staying engaged long after the excitement fades.

  
  

The goal is institutions with enough weight and independence to function regardless of who is in office—work built for continuity, not permission.

This is the unglamorous middle of transformation, where responsibility replaces novelty. Meeting the moment means leaning in here, not backing away.

3. Aligning people power and capital—on purpose

One lesson is now undeniable:

Capital without community fails.

Community without capital stalls.

For too long, these forces have been treated as sequential—first organize, then fund; first invest, then engage. That sequencing no longer works at the scale or speed this moment demands.

Meeting the moment means intentional alignment: deal structures that reflect shared ownership, governance models that withstand pressure, and decisions that hold up when tradeoffs are unavoidable.

This is not theoretical work. It’s operational.

Speaking up

Meeting this moment also means being more visible and more direct. Follow-through still matters more than rhetoric—but silence is no longer neutral. Nationally and locally, it’s necessary to say when things are wrong and to argue clearly for the institutions and values worth preserving.

An invitation

That’s what meeting the moment means to me as I head into 2026. It's about Institutional Durability, Capital and Community Power.

But it won’t look the same for everyone.

For some, it may mean stepping forward.For others, stepping back—or tending something already in their care. It may mean building something new, or strengthening what already exists.

What matters is not the form the response takes, but the intention behind it: responding honestly, deliberately, and with responsibility.

The moment doesn’t need more commentary. It needs action.

However you define it for yourself, I hope 2026 is the year you meet it. Please share your story in our comments.