The 2026 National Gathering revved up in Motor City
Another year, another engaging, inspiring NNFS National Gathering. This year, over 400 attendees descended on Detroit, Michigan. Tuesday’s welcome happy hour at the Renaissance Center featured views of Canada across the Detroit River.
The next morning, the opening plenary kicked off with a land acknowledgment from Healing by Choice, a local circle of BIPOC women and gender non-conforming healers and healing justice practitioners. Kaela Wabanimkee-Harris made sure attendees knew something of the history of this place — both its indigenous roots and Detroit’s legacy as the largest majority Black city in the country and the last stop on the Underground Railroad.
“Land acknowledgments are a living process of growing relationships,” she said. “Take these words in, and move in a way that you are in a relationship with the land.”
Next up was Theresa Hubbard of Fractured Atlas, a member of the NNFS Steering Committee. She welcomed the group and reiterated that, “Detroit is more than just cars” — name-checking Motown and techno music, its thriving arts scene, and trove of Art Deco skyscrapers.
This conference is where “I can gather with colleagues and everyone already knows what I do,” she quipped, before shouting out yet another yearly increase in attendees.
The heart of the plenary was a panel discussion titled, “Defending the Commons: Fiscal Sponsorship in a Politicized Landscape,” featuring Sampriti Ganguli, founder of Ganguli Associates, LLC; Thaddeus Squire, lead advocate and knowledge steward at Social Impact Commons; Andrew Schulze, principal at Adler & Colvin; and Toni Moceri, executive director of Detroit’s own Allied Media Project.
Arun S. Prabhakaran, President of the Urban Affairs Coalition in Philadelphia, offered an introduction and some thoughts.
“We are the infrastructure for public good,” he said. “We must break the silence so other people don’t feel scared… As we tighten our focus, we have to remember that we have each other.”
The wide-ranging discussion touched on the politicization of fiscal sponsorship — and which debates are worth having. All the participants preached solidarity within the sector, with a special focus on collaboration and sharing resources.
“This is not a moment to apologize,” said Ganguli. “This is a moment to stand a little taller. To stand in solidarity. An attack on any one of us, is an attack on all of us.”
The rest of Wednesday was filled with breakout sessions on topics ranging from HR to insurance to generative conflict. Another happy hour closed out the agenda, giving folks plenty of time to chat, debrief and connect.
Thursday’s morning plenary featured one of the Gathering’s highlights: a performance by TeMaTe Institute for Black Dance and Culture. (You can learn more about the organization in this episode of our podcast, Network Exchange.) A drummer entered the packed room from the back, and the crowd joined in, keeping the rhythm. He was followed by dancers, barefoot and dressed in vibrant orange skirts. It was an injection of joy and energy that left the whole room smiling.
That performance was followed up by affinity group meetings, lunch and then two blocks of breakout sessions. An early evening tour of the LOVE Building (home of Allied Media Projects) capped off the day’s programming. As is tradition at the Gathering, this final night was kept open. Folks fanned out into the city to experience East African food at Baobab Cuisine, enjoy a courtyard cocktail at Little Village, or grab authentic Mediterranean food in Greektown.
Like all the other days, Friday opened with pre-breakfast yoga. After the buffet, there was a final slate of breakout sessions, followed by the closing plenary. Its centerpiece was a panel discussion titled, “A Call to Community Action: Advocacy Initiatives You Can Get Involved With.” Sampriti Ganguli was back to facilitate, joined on stage by Elaine Ng, CEO and president of TSNE; Lee Bodner, president of New Venture Fund; Vincent Jones, CEO of Beyond impact; and Thaddeus Squire.
It was a thoughtful way to close out yet another successful Gathering.
We can’t wait until 2027!
LIVE From Detroit, MI
Listen to the voices of the fiscal sponsorship community that were in attendance of the National Gathering 2026.
The National Gathering Report
From attendee numbers to where all the organizations at the Gathering were from, Check out the stats from this year’s Gathering.
The Program Book
The National Gathering program book is available for view digitally!
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