A New Chapter for Our COMMON Foundation

August 4, 2025  |   | Public Engagements

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A New Chapter for Our COMMON Foundation_Transition_Letter_Public_08.04.25

Dear Friends, Followers, Supporters, Partners, Donors, and Colleagues,

I hope this message finds you well.

After 18 years of incubation, experimentation, and service, I will step down as CEO of Our COMMON Foundation effective December 31, 2025.

I will transition to Founder and Executive Board Member on January 1, 2026, serving on the Board of Directors to conduct oversight of key operational functions of the organization, including legal, financial, and administrative management in collaboration with Head of Finance, Cassie Pintal; Bookkeeper, Heidi Mecklenburg; and CPA, Jay Hartley.

The most incredible part of this next phase is that I now get to witness these two Executives—Dr. Aaron Rosen (Parsonage Gallery) and Jordan Campbell (Ukraine Under Fire)—lead their respective programs with vision and integrity.

I’m letting go of the reins so that these two can shine.

Over the past 18 years, my wife and I have contributed a significant sum to Our COMMON Foundation’s efforts, as well as innumerable in-kind donations. It’s been an amazing journey, but we’re excited to see what happens when I let go of the reins and allow others to lead. So, we’re passing the torch to those committed to our collective mission.

What’s Changing

Since we began our incubation program in 2013, after my life-changing encounter with cancer, Our COMMON Foundation has raised and stewarded $2.7 million in gross revenue, while catalyzing an estimated $2.5 million in additional funding for independent initiatives we incubated, advised, or helped launch. In addition to the $5.2 million secured, our core team and some of you have dedicated thousands of hours to advancing our mission.

We were never a traditional foundation. Instead, we created Our COMMON Foundation to be an experimental, adaptive foundation—not a conventional grantmaking foundation or charity. Our collective commitment to social impact and innovation has always been at the core of our mission.

Since 2013, we have combined the power of an incubator with social entrepreneurship and philanthropy to launch new nonprofit projects and programs by empowering people and ideas that lacked a home, providing space and support to learn and grow. We transitioned away from our original mission, which guided our efforts between 2007 and 2013, after conducting in-depth research and identifying what non-profit founders need to succeed.

We served as a fiscal sponsor, incubator, and platform for dozens of initiatives—experimenting with new models of social impact and collaborative philanthropy. Our model was lean, yet it had a significant and collective impact on the lives of over 50,000 people. In that time, we:

  • Raised $2.7 million and catalyzed $2.5 million more for aligned projects.
  • Helped launch 40+ initiatives impacting over 50,000 people.
  • Showed the power of incubation, piloting, and demonstrating new models for nonprofit innovation and collaborative philanthropy.

Between 2020 and 2025, Our COMMON Foundation achieved a 456% increase in annual revenue. This 55% compound annual growth rate reflected a strategic expansion of mission-aligned programs, donor engagement, and capacity building.

What sets us apart:

  • Diverse Revenue Streams: Income is drawn from individuals, program fees, grants, and administrative revenue (fiscal sponsorship fees), which constituted 7% of total revenue over that period, showing that social entrepreneurial approaches combined with traditional non-profit practices are a more resilient model.
  • High Earned Revenue Ratio: With 46% of revenue generated through program services, the foundation has operated as a philanthropic social enterprise and incubator not as a grant-giving or -dependent charity.

These results position the organization well for long-term financial sustainability, as diverse income streams are maintained rather than relying on single-granting sources or donors. We hope you’ll lend a hand and make a donation.

Going forward, Our COMMON Foundation will streamline its focus to support three programs:

  • Parsonage Gallery: A historic space for contemporary art and spiritual ecology in Maine, founded and curated by Dr. Aaron Rosen.
  • Ukraine Under Fire: A feature documentary spotlighting Ukrainian resilience, democratic values, and frontline storytelling, directed by Jordan Campbell. (A public screening is planned for late September at E-Town in Boulder.)

We are no longer accepting new projects or incubating nonprofit start-ups.

My primary focus through the end of 2025 will be to close out the foundation’s incubator while ensuring sound governance, financial stewardship, and smooth operational continuity.

A Snapshot of What We Accomplished—Together

Across more than 40 initiatives, we helped seed, incubate, and launch meaningful work where it was needed when it was needed. Looking back, I’m proud to share:

  • Mariposa Legal: Launched after 5 years of incubation as an independent nonprofit founded by Hannah Cartwright and Romelia Solano (Jan 2025), providing immigration legal services and advocacy on behalf of and with immigrants, providing comprehensive and holistic legal representation, community education initiatives, and proactive data-driven responses to challenge immigration enforcement efforts.
  • Power of Hope Kibera (POHK): A community-based social entrepreneurial nonprofit initiative operating in Kenya, initially founded by Chris Okere and Kelly Fenson-Hood. Working in Kibera, one of Nairobi’s largest informal settlements, POHK focuses on improving health outcomes and economic opportunities for women entrepreneurs. Its integrated model promotes better hygiene practices and sustainable livelihoods to combat high rates of preventable disease and reduce childhood mortality rates.
  • Dragons Global Education Fund: Offers scholarships for underserved communities to participate in Where There Be Dragons’ educational travel programs across Asia, Africa, and Latin America. Initially created by Chris Yaeger following the 2015 Nepal earthquake, it has since evolved under the leadership of Reed Harwood and Aaron Slosberg. More recently, Dragons Fund merged with the International Carpe Mundi Foundation.
  • National Park Experience: A Film Series – Ten short films highlighting diverse stories across America’s national parks (e.g., Love in the Tetons), created to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the U.S. National Park System. Directed by Amy Marquis and Dana Romanoff.
  • Mountain Flower Goat Dairy: An urban, nonprofit dairy farm in Boulder, Colorado, offering herd shares, education, and community engagement around sustainable agriculture. Founded by Taber Ward and Jonathan Vaught, merged with Growing Gardens.
  • Garcia-Meza Scholarship Fund – Targeted scholarships for underrepresented students: Founded by Kim and Peter Garcia-Meza.
  • Upallo Pekhu Nimabi Reconstruction Project (Nepal) – Rebuilding schools post-earthquake via Dragons Global Education Fund.
  • Women Leading Green – Event honoring female sustainability leaders at E-Town in Boulder. Recognizing: Taber Ward (Mountain Flower Goat Dairy), Micah Parker-Walkin (350.org Boulder), Tamara Roske (Earth Guardians), Amy Marquis (National Park Experience: A Film Series) Vicki Nichols Gold-Stein (Inland Ocean Coalition)
  • Other fiscally sponsored programs include but are not limited to: Fearless Revolution, 17, Boulder Mud Slingers, the Sidney and Phyllis Krystal Foundation, and Zamora Academia de Español (Guatemala), Boulder.Earth, Global Brain, Infuse2, Mountain River Institute, Wild Horse Project, among others.

Grants issued to seed or sponsor events or organizations in Boulder: Boulder Comedy Festival, Boulder Arts Outdoors, Boulder Rural Firefighters, Eon Zen Center, Paradox Sports, TEDxCU, Boulder Food Rescue, Boulder Library Foundation, Community COVID Relief, Emergency Family Assistance Association (EFAA), Humane Society of Boulder Valley, Marshall Fire Relief, Boulder Planned Parenthood, Safehouse Progressive Alliance for Nonviolence, Boulder Mudslingers – Community-based flood relief, Halloween Benefit for Flood Relief (fundraiser with Mocavo), and others.

Grants issued to seed or sponsor events or organizations in the US: SweetRoot Farm, Bastion Community, Carver Library, Denver Zoo, Friends of Sears Island, Justice for Tyron McAlpin, Lifeline Animal Rescue, National Public Radio, Penobscot Marine Museum, RAICES, Scholarship Fund University of Tulsa – Epsilon-Mu, The Poets Corner, Town of Searsport Fall Fling Festival, Tulsa Girls Art, and others.

Grants issued to seed or sponsor events or organizations internationally: Aajeevika Bureau India, International Special Olympics, Rainforest Flow – Peru, Aliados – Amazon Rainforest Conservation, Associação Pracatum Ação Social, Bolivia El Alto, Bolivia Tiquipaya & Cochabamba, Cambodia Women’s Resource, COVID relief grant for the community of Sucre, Bolivia, Nepal Himalayas relief Global Giving, Emergency COVID-19 support for Cambodian families, Himalayan Healthcare for 5000: Save Lives in Nepal, Guatemala, and others.

The Results

  • Some efforts succeeded.
  • Some transitioned to new homes.
  • Some scaled independently.
  • Some merged with others.
  • Some didn’t take off—but all yielded valuable lessons that will guide the next generation of philanthropy.

What Comes Next

As Founder and Executive Board Member, I will conduct oversight, while stepping away from direct leadership or involvement of day-to-day activities. Dr. Rosen and Mr. Campbell will lead their respective programs – in other words, they will serve as the CEOs of their initiatives, as they already do. Two is more powerful than one.

If you’re inspired by any of the current programs and want to learn more, I encourage you to reach out directly to:

This foundation has always been an experiment in adaptive philanthropy—a project to empower people and ideas, rooted in purpose rather than permanence. It was born from the belief that small, aligned actions—when supported with care—can have an outsized impact. That belief remains.

Your support and collaboration have meant the world to me.

Matthew Wilburn King

Stay tuned for my forthcoming book — One Choice. One Act. How to Become the Author of Your Own Destiny. Through reflection, storytelling, and practical exercises, One Choice. One Act. explores how a single moment of awareness—a choice, an act—can reshape how we love, work, connect, and grow. Subscribe to Elemental and stay tuned for the release date. Watch my TEDx talk here. You can keep up with my creative endeavors and writing at MatthewKingPhD.com.