After nearly three decades working in traditional philanthropy, Susan Crown was ready to take lessons learned and try something new.

She wanted to bring focus to a handful of programs and issue areas, to take calculated risks on innovation, and to upend the power dynamics that often constrain the efforts of grantees and grantmakers alike. In 2009, she founded the Susan Crown Exchange. The trustees of the foundation spent considerable time discussing approach and mission, and decided to focus on a single issue: preparing youth to thrive in a rapidly changing world.

Since then, the Susan Crown Exchange has worked with dozens of inspiring nonprofits through programs in social and emotional learning, tech and society, and youth sports, as well as by making a series of Catalyst Grants. Most importantly, we have continued to live by our core values: daring, curiosity, transparency, respect, and gratitude.

We can’t predict what the world will look like ten, twenty, or fifty years from now. What we hope to do is ask relevant questions, locate promising solutions, and support capable organizations who work tirelessly to achieve them.