Catalyst:Ed Announces Rebrand to Catalyst Exchange

The organization's rebrand signals its commitment to creating broader impact in the mission-driven sector.

NEW ORLEANS, Oct. 1, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Catalyst:Ed, a national nonprofit that helps mission-driven organizations and public sector agencies deepen their impact, today announced that it will rebrand to Catalyst Exchange. The new name reflects the organization's evolution from a trusted partner for education organizations to a connector and catalyst for capacity-building across the social sector more broadly.

"At a time when the social sector faces tremendous uncertainty and disruption, Catalyst Exchange is expanding our work to help leaders across the sector navigate complexity, co-create solutions and spark transformation," said Leona Christy, Founder and CEO. "For years, we've partnered with schools, institutions, nonprofit organizations, and public sector agencies to strengthen educational outcomes. Now, under the new name Catalyst Exchange, we will build on that foundation of trust and connection, leveraging our digital platform, network of providers and human-centered approach to support mission-driven organizations in education and beyond."

The rebrand comes as the organization expands its technology, services and networks to create a more robust ecosystem for capacity-building where organizations, funders and providers can access expert support, share real-time insights and co-create solutions that drive lasting impact. In 2024, with investments from Blue Meridian Partners and Ballmer Group, Catalyst Exchange began serving organizations focused on place-based partnerships, expanding its platform beyond education to support organizations focused on driving transformational change in their communities and dramatically improving outcomes for children, youth and families.

Since its founding in 2017, Catalyst Exchange has become a trusted partner for leading foundations and grantmakers, supporting more than 1,500 organizations, connecting leaders to a vetted network of 1,000+ providers and achieving a 94% project success rate. $27 million has been deployed via Catalyst Wallets to support capacity-building, enabling funders to channel resources directly to organizations while empowering leaders to decide how best to use philanthropic support to build organizational capacity. Today, Catalyst Exchange is enabling place-based partnerships (PBPs) to effectively identify, access and integrate high-quality capacity-building supports. 

Highlights include:

• Strategic Funding for Capacity Building: Over the past year, Catalyst Exchange has mobilized $4.97 million toward capacity-building projects, including $1.41 million in partnership co-investments.
• Timely Support for Emerging Challenges: With $3 million in initial commitments, Catalyst Exchange's Resilience Hub equips nonprofits with real-time, tailored support to respond quickly to urgent and complex challenges.
• Strengthening Local Networks: Place-based partnerships have engaged 43 organizations through 173 projects, achieving 100% satisfaction and 83% of projects fully meeting their goals.
• Rapid Support for School Districts During the Pandemic: Catalyst Exchange supported 178 school districts in shifting to remote and hybrid learning, with real-time data on emerging needs and solutions and 88% of projects fully meeting their goals.

With this rebrand, Catalyst Exchange will continue to pursue its mission of fueling learning, deepening collaboration and advancing impact for the organizations and communities it serves. The organization plans to launch new features on its technology platform in the coming year to help organizations strategically identify and connect with the right support, assess and strengthen organizational progress, and access insights from across Catalyst's nonprofit ecosystem to inform decisions. To learn more, visit www.catalyst-exchange.org.

About Catalyst Exchange
Catalyst Exchange  (formerly Catalyst:Ed) is a national nonprofit that helps mission-driven organizations across education, public, and social sectors build capacity and deepen their impact by connecting them to the expertise, tools, and hands-on support they need to drive transformational outcomes for the communities they serve.

Through its catalytic model, Catalyst Exchange empowers organizations to solve their challenges, build internal capacity, and lead sustainable change – while contributing to a broader ecosystem of learning, innovation, and collective progress.

SOURCE Catalyst Exchange