Leadership Now Project Launches Catalyst Fund With Investments in Nine Organizations Building Common Ground

NEW YORK, May 15, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- At the Leadership Now Project's 2026 Annual Summit, A Roadmap for America's Next Chapter, on May 11, Leadership Now launched the Catalyst Fund to mobilize new investments strengthening the political center.

The political center in the U.S. is broad, decisive—and under-organized. At a moment of accelerating polarization, the infrastructure to engage and mobilize this majority has not kept pace. The Leadership Now Catalyst Fund is designed to close that gap by directing capital toward high-impact organizing, civic education, and trusted messengers.

For this first round of funding, Leadership Now awarded $1 million in grants to nine organizations spanning diverse geographies, constituencies, and strategies. These inaugural Catalyst Fund investments were made possible by leading funders, including Pivotal, which is a group of organizations founded by Melinda French Gates. "Roughly 34% of the American electorate identifies as moderate, yet most civic and political organizing—and certainly the primary system in most places—reinforce the ideological extremes," said Daniella Ballou-Aares, CEO of Leadership Now. "For years, engaging Americans at the center has been underfunded and misunderstood. The Catalyst Fund creates a strategic way to deploy funds to innovative organizations working to revitalize the center."

The nine recipients of the first Leadership Now Catalyst Fund grants include:

• Abundance New York provides a political home for New Yorkers focused on growth and change for the city. The organization's "abundance agenda" reflects an interest from an "unseen majority" of voters without an organized infrastructure behind them. Abundance New York builds power for its 4,500-member community through leadership training, advocacy, and electoral engagement.
• The Best of Tennessee amplifies the voice of the Tennessee majority by increasing primary voter participation. By mobilizing election voters who reliably participate in November but skip primaries—a large, underutilized majority that is less ideologically extreme than most of the voters who show up for primaries—The Best of Tennessee is building a scalable playbook for reshaping a hyper-partisan primary electorate through precision turnout efforts.
• BigTentUSA brings moderate women together in online spaces to empower them to take action for democracy. Founded by women during the 2020 election, the group hosts a high-profile speaker series on a wide range of issues—fostering informed dialogue, providing clear pathways for action, and leveraging trusted messengers to expand civic participation, reduce political isolation, and build a broader coalition committed to protecting and strengthening democracy.
• BridgeUSA is a college campus-focused approach to empowering young people to engage in constructive dialogue and disagreement. As the largest and fastest growing student dialogue movement in the country, BridgeUSA is engaging more than 60,000 students on 130 college campuses to build a counterculture of dialogue and conversation in environments of extreme polarization.
• The Chamberlain Network (TCN) mobilizes and empowers veterans to protect democracy through organizing, education and community engagement. Veterans are among the most trusted voices in public life, yet their voice is typically confined to defense and veterans' issues. TCN trains veterans to serve as civic leaders in their own communities, empowering local veteran voices to break through in ways that national messengers cannot. 
• Coalition for a Healthy Democracy is mobilizing support for a November 2026 ballot measure that would introduce all party primary elections in Massachusetts, where all candidates compete on one ballot and the top two advance. Massachusetts offers fertile testing ground for primary reform with a large independent population, strong civic culture, secured ballot access, and a cross-partisan grassroots coalition building support in underrepresented communities.
• Disagree Better advances a research-backed approach to promoting constructive, healthy disagreement and dialogue. Their scalable national model, proven through public campaigns, university forums, and leadership training, demonstrates that when leaders model constructive conflict, they can reshape norms and increase openness across difference, shifting how Americans engage and disagree. More than 25 bipartisan governors have participated in Disagree Better series events to date.
• Doctors for America (DFA) mobilizes the medical community to translate clinical experience into advocacy that can shape laws, regulations, and public narratives. Doctors are among America's most trusted professionals, and DFA represents more than 42,000 physicians and medical trainees in all 50 states, including students, residents, practicing clinicians, and retired physicians. Their White Coats in Retirement initiative will leverage retired physicians' unique ability to speak freely and mentor emerging leaders in rapid-response advocacy.
• News Not Noise provides trusted, succinct, evidence-based stories and news for like-valued people across multiple online mediums. Founded by journalist Jessica Yellin, former chief White House correspondent for CNN, News Not Noise is building on a trust-to-action model that helped mobilize 30,000 non-voters and 330,000 civic actions in 2020 by bringing women together in spaces with others engaged in civic life and providing trusted information with a clear entry point for action.

Catalyst Fund partner organizations were announced at Leadership Now's 2026 Annual Summit at Hearst Tower, which included a session featuring Marianne Viray, Executive Director of Disagree Better, and Chris Purdy, CEO of the Chamberlain Network, moderated by Emily Lockwood, Director of Political Engagement at Pivotal.

"At Pivotal, we believe progress for families and communities depends on a democracy that works for everyone. We're inspired by the work of these grantees—who are bridging divides and delivering practical solutions—and we're looking forward to continuing our support of the Catalyst Fund," said Emily Lockwood, Director of Political Engagement at Pivotal.

"Since Utah Governor Spencer Cox first launched Disagree Better, our theory of change has centered on the belief that when political, cultural, and business leaders actively model a better way to disagree, they give everyday Americans the permission to do the same. This support from the Leadership Now Catalyst Fund helps Disagree Better achieve our mission by purposefully engaging business leaders—who have an unparalleled platform to champion healthy conflict and bridge divides within the workplace and their wider communities," said Marianne Viray, Executive Director of Disagree Better.

Partners will receive funding and additional capacity-building support from Leadership Now Project and its members. Partner selection was guided by the Catalyst Fund Investment Advisory Committee, composed of Leadership Now Project members.

"With over 400 members deeply engaged in mobilizing the business community to build a movement of committed centrists, Leadership Now Project is not only an investor, but a partner to some of the most promising efforts to activate new constituencies," said Jeffrey C. Walker, Leadership Now Board Member, philanthropist and former CEO and Co-Founder of CCMP Capital.

"Our membership is inspired and energized by the innovative work of these nine organizations and looks forward to sharing learnings and expertise to support efforts to expand the center," said Kathryn Burns, Leadership Now member and Managing Partner of Sea Pine Partners.

The Leadership Now Project 2026 Annual Summit: A Roadmap for America's Next Chapter also featured notable speakers including 2024 Nobel Laureate in economics Simon Johnson, former U.S. Ambassador Norm Eisen, PBS "Firing Line" host Margaret Hoover, Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, Michigan Sen. Elissa Slotkin, and Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear.

About Leadership Now Project
Leadership Now Project is a membership organization of business leaders who believe that a strong democracy is key to a thriving economy and political stability. Leadership Now Project takes action—investing in leaders, influencing policy, responding to risks, and partnering to drive solutions. Leadership Now's membership is national, with members in 30+ states and chapters in eight, drawing on extensive business and alumni networks to drive local and national impact.

SOURCE Leadership Now Project