Approaching the end of another consequential year, we want to pull back the curtain and share some of what’s been happening inside Philadelphia Foundation – the organizational developments that don’t always make headlines but are essential to our ability to serve the region. While these aren’t the only accomplishments that defined 2025 for us, they represent important investments in our team, our capacity, and the relationships that enable us to serve as a civic catalyst, trusted partner, and strategic problem-solver.

Capacity Building

One of the year’s most significant developments was the appointment of Phil Fitzgerald as our first-ever Chief Impact Officer. This newly created role reflects our evolution as an organization and the decision to grow the share of our work that is proactive and focused on a specific impact agenda. It follows from our Board-adopted 10-year commitment to economic mobility whereby we will work to measurably increase financial and social capital for the most vulnerable in our region. Phil brings the kind of strategic thinking, wide-ranging philanthropic expertise, and deep community connection that this work demands. We’re thrilled to have welcomed him back to Philadelphia Foundation!

Our team continued to grow over the course of the year – adding key capacity in areas essential to pursuing our mission. Jason Hachadorian came on board as Initiative Manager for our Economic Mobility Program and Community Impact work, bringing energy and expertise to this critical new long-term commitment.

This year also saw our new combined finance and administrative organization enhance the capabilities of Philadelphia Foundation to serve our community of stakeholders under the leadership of Chief Financial and Administrative Officer Christine Conti and Controller Lauren McCusker. New talent in the finance and administrative office includes Annalise Stonecipher and Jade Wells-Bradley as Senior Accountant and Junior Accountant, respectively. In addition, we welcomed Kimberly Quintero as a Program Officer where she will design and manage grant programs and partner with community-based organizations to navigate funding cycles and connect to resources that strengthen impact.

Conversations in Civic Leadership

Some of our favorite memories from 2025 are from our Conversations in Civic Leadership series, which took off this year following a soft launch in fall 2024. The Conversations are up-close and personal dialogues between our donor community and the civic leaders who are shaping Philadelphia’s future, held in our offices on Market Street. There is something powerful about creating space for this kind of exchange, where supporters of our work can hear directly from change-makers and ask the questions that matter most to them.

We were fortunate to host remarkable leaders this year. Bernie Prazenica, President and General Manager of WPVI-TV/6abc, shared insights on the role of media and media leaders in civic life and how news connects communities. Higher education and civic leader, Wendell E. Pritchett, a Philadelphia Foundation board member, reflected on his career leading institutions through crisis, emphasizing how strategic clarity, coalition-building, and cross-sector collaboration are essential to advancing economic mobility and driving meaningful civic change. And Adam Geer, Philadelphia’s inaugural Chief Public Safety Director, gave us an inside look at his approach to creating safer neighborhoods and his partnership with the Civic Coalition to Save Lives, which Philadelphia Foundation co-founded.

In the Conversations series, we aim to explore what civic leadership is, how to practice it, and why it’s essential to a thriving region. Many thanks to the leaders we spoke with and learned from in 2025, each of whom helped us realize that goal.

Recognition of Regional Leadership

The year also brought external recognition that we want to acknowledge, not because lists and awards drive our work, but because they reflect the collective efforts and impact of our entire team, our board, our donors, and the nonprofit partners whose work we support every day.

Philadelphia Foundation’s work was highlighted in several publications acknowledging leadership, including Philadelphia Magazine’s Most Influential Philadelphians list, Philadelphia Business Journal’s Most Admired CEO list and Power 100, and City & State PA’s Impact List. These acknowledgments belong to everyone who makes Philadelphia Foundation what it is – a place-based institution with the relationships, resources, and resolve to tackle our region’s biggest challenges over the long haul.

Looking Ahead 

The investments we made in 2025 – in our people, in our capacity to convene and connect, in the infrastructure that supports sustained leadership – position us to do even more in the years ahead. As we move deeper into our decade-long commitment to economic mobility, continue supporting the Civic Coalition to Save Lives, and respond to both longstanding challenges and emerging needs, we’re building on a foundation of organizational strength and civic partnership that makes meaningful progress possible.

This is the work that happens behind the doors – the strategic decisions, relationship-building, and team development that enables everything else we do. While it may not always be visible, it’s essential to our ability to serve Greater Philadelphia as a civic catalyst, trusted partner, and strategic problem-solver for the long term.