By Justin Kiczek 

President 

Good stewards protect what is important. Donning kid gloves, they handle with care what has been passed to them, with the knowledge that someone else will, in turn, guard it further into the future. Stewards recognize their temporary responsibility within a larger chain of caretaking and concern. 

Entrepreneurs, in the parlance of Silicon Valley, are known to “move fast and break things.” As catalyzers and first movers, entrepreneurs spot overlooked opportunities and neglected gaps. In creating something new, entrepreneurs, in their own way, disrupt what was old. 

These two values appear, at first, to be diametrically opposed. Stewards treat something with care, minimizing risk; entrepreneurs embrace risk and disruption. Stewards preserve and conserve; entrepreneurs create and invent. Stewards see themselves in a chain; entrepreneurs see a blank slate. 

While these approaches might appear contradictory in nature, the F. M. Kirby Foundation has, in fact, long embraced these polarities as the “twin engines” of our work. While these two forces may seem to move in opposition to one another, seen from another way, both values are future-oriented. In other words, both the steward and the entrepreneur cast a vision into the horizon, taking present action to ensure future relevance and staying power. 

A family foundation has a particular imperative for stewardship. As a private institution with a public purpose, the foundation, through careful management, can be a stalwart supporter of communities across time. And yet, foundations themselves cannot be trapped in amber. Without market pressures of competition, philanthropy needs to be intentional about adaptation and change, recognizing that the care of the steward might require the innovation of the entrepreneur. 

Of course, foundations are not alone in needing to navigate the polarity between stewardship and entrepreneurship. In a 2021 article entitled “Twin Engines for Propelling Social Impact,” Ann Mei Chang and Laura Lanzerotti articulated a similar vision, using different language, for this organizational paradox of maintenance and invention. Borrowing a concept from Bain & Company, the authors argued that successful social impact organizations need to steadily maintain — or steward — their “Engine 1,” the core operational work that they do exceedingly well. Yet, the responsibility to the mission and the opportunity to deepen impact also require such organizations to build “Engine 2s,” instruments and initiatives that allow them to meet newly emerging needs. The trick, Chang and Lanzerotti argued, is fueling both of these enterprises. 

Borrowing from the “twin engines” concept, we sought to put this theory into practice by creating the grant opportunity that would both power the awardees’ “Engine 1” maintenance through ongoing general operating support while also providing the fuel for an “Engine 2” or “Innovation Engine” — a program or project that would either meet the needs of new constituents or address unmet needs of existing constituents. We started by introducing the concept to the public at large via an “Innovating to Scale” webinar series, developed by our partners at the Center for the Advancement of Social Entrepreneurship at Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business. Having established that educational framework, we developed – as part of our own “Engine 2” – a new grant process and application. While we knew we would not have the resources to propel to every worthy “Engine 2” idea forward, we hoped that our process and application would spark new thinking and spur our partners to stretch their entrepreneurial muscles, while we continued to support their “Engine 1” through general operating support. 

It was with great pleasure, then, that we announced in December 2025 the three winners of our first “Innovation Engine” grants: 

• • • • Adirondack Community Foundation will use its grant to implement its current project, Strengthening the Adirondack Region Safety Net, an initiative that addresses fragmented social services across New York’s vast North Country. By fostering cross-sector collaboration and developing innovative delivery models, the program aims to create a more accessible and resilient system of care for vulnerable residents in one of the state’s most geographically challenging regions. 

• • • • Braver Angels, known for its work bridging political divides, will launch the Citizens Commission on Immigration, applying its proven depolarization methods to immigration policy. The ambitious project brings together grassroots participants, policy experts, and members of Congress to build consensus on immigration reform, with plans to deliver a unified Report to the Nation in 2027. 

• • • • Prevention is Key will establish the Morris County Respite Center, expanding beyond traditional prevention and recovery services to offer comprehensive support that upholds dignity and promotes holistic wellness for vulnerable individuals. The center represents a significant evolution in the organization’s approach to community care, addressing gaps in existing services while building on proven prevention and harm reduction strategies. 

Each of these winners made a compelling case for how this project would not displace the existing, ongoing work of the Engine 1, but complement it. In other words, we were able to see how the winning organizations were acting as stewards to their mission and their purpose by innovating new concepts and approaches, launching a new “engine” to their work that might soon become folded into their core operations. 

Each organization will receive $300,000 in aggregate, over three years, and will be free to apply for ongoing general operating support as well. In addition, we committed to supporting these organizations on their innovation journeys through a facilitated cohort, in which project directors can learn from one another, problem-solve, and receive ongoing feedback. While we certainly hope to see these organizations reach new heights of impact, we recognize that innovation can take time and change directions, and we are happy to be there with them on the journey. 

While this is our newest expression of this duality, this toggle between stewardship and entrepreneurship has been with the Kirby Foundation since our founding. As an entrepreneur himself, Fred Morgan Kirby was certainly willing to take risks and disrupt accepted norms in retail. And yet, he also very clearly understood the importance of stewardship, ensuring the good work the foundation supported would be cared for in the years and decades to come. As a result, these values have defined our grantmaking for generations. You see this legacy today with our support of land stewardship through organizations like the Triangle Land Conservancy while also supporting entrepreneurship through organizations like Network for Teaching Entrepreneurship.

As we enter the new year, the Kirby Foundation finds ourselves again energized by these traditions of both stewardship and entrepreneurship, hoping that 2026 — especially considering the America250 moment — will be a year to both pass down what is cherished and reinvent what is possible.