Learning Reports from our first Cohort
When the Cultivating Repair Catalyst Initiative (CRCI) launched in December 2023, it carried an ambitious vision: to nurture a vibrant ecosystem of healing and repair that addresses the enduring legacies of slavery and colonialism in the United States. More than 700 organizations applied for a ten-organization cohort — a powerful reminder of just how vast, dynamic, and under-resourced this work is nationwide.
Backed by a $12 million, four-year commitment from Omidyar Network in partnership with Amalgamated Foundation, CRCI brought together two companion cohorts — ten healing and repair organizations, and five program officers from philanthropic foundations — who met across virtual sessions and in-person retreats to share strategies, build trust, and co-develop approaches to advancing a culture of repair. Learning partner Social Insights Research accompanied the journey not to evaluate, but to listen, document, and amplify the collective wisdom that emerged.
Today, we're sharing what that first cohort taught us in two companion reports:
From Practice to Power: Cultivating Care, Community, and Change
Written for practitioners and the broader ecosystem of people and organizations doing healing and repair work, this report profiles the cohort organizations, explores what healing and repair mean in practice, and gathers hard-won lessons — from intergenerational leadership and land-based practice to arts and creative expression as tools for repair — alongside the very real challenges of sustaining this work and ways of defining success beyond conventional metrics.
From Power to Practice: How Philanthropy Can Walk the Talk on Healing and Repair
Written for funders and foundations, this report shares candid reflections from both cohorts on the state of philanthropy, lifts up bright spots and promising practices, and closes with provocations and concrete recommendations — beginning with an invitation for foundations to start healing and repair at home.
We hope these reports contribute to an even more cohesive ecosystem working to create a culture of repair. Read them, sit with them, and bring them into conversation with your colleagues and communities.