By Shavon Prophet, Director of Education & Partnerships
I’ve been sitting with the word fellowship lately.
Not the program structure, not the curriculum, not the biweekly sessions and homework and fundraising panels — though all of that matters. I mean the word itself. What it actually means when you strip it down to the bone.
This was my first year at BII, and my first year directing the ARC (Advancing Regenerative Capital) Fellowship. I came in already inspired by the people and the mission. And then I met the Class of 2026, and something shifted in me.
Watching their work up close — the seriousness of their thinking, the depth of their commitment to the communities they’re building for — pushed me in ways I didn’t anticipate. They were generous with their feedback, patient with the growing edges, and willing to experiment and co-create with me as we shaped this first full cycle of the fellowship under its new name. That trust was not lost on me.
On the concept Kapwa from Filipino Culture
My reflection on fellowship led me back to a concept from my own Filipino culture: Kapwa. It translates roughly as a recognition of a shared self — the understanding that we are not separate from one another, but fundamentally of one another. From that recognition grows kinship, not a relationship we construct, but one we come to see was always already there. And from kinship comes solidarity, not as a strategy, but as a practice rooted in the understanding that none of us moves forward alone.
That’s the kind of fellowship I hoped we would build this year. I believe with a full heart that we are doing exactly that.
It matters that we name this, because it shapes everything about how ARC is designed and why. We’re not just training fund managers in the mechanics of integrated capital. We are building a community of practitioners who understand that the work of unlocking capital for communities historically excluded from wealth is not just financial. It is relational, political, and deeply human. We all have a role to play in one another’s success.
What We Learned This Year
The ARC Class of 2026 taught us — the program team — as much as we taught them. A few lessons that are shaping how we move forward:
Relationship is the curriculum. The sessions, tools, and frameworks are valuable. But consistently, the moments fellows named as most meaningful were the ones where they were in honest conversation with each other and with alumni who had been through it. Peer learning is not supplemental to the program. It is central to it. Next year, we’re building more structure around that.
Space and pacing matter as much as content. We came in full of things to share, and early in the year the sessions reflected that. Over time, we learned that leaving more room for discussion, for questions, for sitting with something instead of trying to digest and apply as quickly as possible, actually produces better outcomes. Fellows want to go deep, not just fast.
The fund is the vehicle. The people are the point. Every fellow who came through ARC this year is more than a fund manager in training. They are movement leaders, community builders, innovators, connectors, and educators. The most important thing we can do as a program is make sure they leave feeling that identity fully — not just technically prepared, but clear on why they belong in this work and what they’re capable of.
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hat’s Coming Next
Applications for the ARC Class of 2027 open June 1, 2026. We’re recruiting emerging fund managers across the country, with a particular focus on building cohorts that represent the geographic and strategic diversity of this field.
We’re also deepening our investment in the alumni network. The ARC community now spans 90 fund managers across 38 organizations in the U.S. and Canada. Collectively, 29 launched ARC funds have raised and deployed millions into small businesses and real estate projects in communities that traditional capital markets have long overlooked. That network is an asset — to the fellows themselves, to the field, and to the future of community-led investing. We want to steward it accordingly.
This fall, we’ll convene the full ARC community at the ARC Summit in September 2026 — a moment to reconnect, learn together, and continue building the infrastructure this movement needs.
A Note of Gratitude
I came into this year knowing the mission. I leave the year knowing the people. That is the real gift of fellowship — not what we built together on paper, but the sense of shared purpose and mutual belonging that now lives in this community.
To the ARC Class of 2026: it has been an honor to learn and build with you. I can’t wait to see what comes next.
To anyone reading this who is building a justice-aligned fund and wondering whether a program like ARC has a place for them: it does. We’d love to talk.
The ARC Fellowship is a program of Boston Impact Initiative, nonprofit impact investment fund based in Roxbury, MA. Applications for the 2026-2027 cohort open June 1, 2026. Learn more at bostonimpact.org/the-arc-fellowship.
