Impact Stories

Shape of the Region

February 6, 2026
banner edited


2026 Shape of the Region Conference Promotional Partner Toolkit 

Thank you for joining as a partnering organization for the 2026 Shape of the Region Conference to be held on Tuesday, March 24, 2026.  Below is a toolkit to support your promotion of the event to your broad networks through your website, social media channels, and e-mail platforms.

Please contact Tara Nadel, Chief Marketing Officer at the Community Foundation for Northern Virginia, with any questions: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. | 703-879-7637.


Tips for using this toolkit: 

  • Website and Newsletter posts
    • When you copy and paste the content, make sure the formatting is correct in your email platform. 
  • Email
    • When you copy and paste the content, make sure the formatting is correct in your email platform. 
  • Social Media 
    • Please tag the Community Foundation for Northern Virginia in your posts. Our handles are: @CommunityFoundationforNOVA on Facebook, @communityfoundationfornova on Instagram, and @Community Foundation for Northern Virginia on LinkedIn
    • The Community Foundation for Northern Virginia does not use X, but we welcome organizations to share posts there if they see fit. 
    • Copy and paste the text to use on your organization’s social platforms.
    • You can create a custom branded promotional partner social media graphic using this Canva template
    • Replace the text in the [brackets] to tag the Community Foundation. 
    • Feel free to post on the platform of your choice. 
    • You can also help share our posts on LinkedIn, Facebook or Instagram! 
  • Images and PDFs 
    • Right click the image and choose "Save image as" to download the images.
    • Choose the image that works best for how you're using it.
    • Download the flyer for digital or in-house print distribution. 

For Website and Newsletters: 

Registration link: www.cfnova.org/shape-region
Event Details: 

2026 Shape of the Region Conference: Innovation and Leadership for Northern Virginia

KEYNOTE: Paul Misener, Founder and Principal at Misener Innovation, Native Northern Virginian and former 23-year Amazon Global Vice President

HOST & MODERATOR: Drew Wilder, NBC4 Northern Virginia Reporter

Tuesday, March 24, 2026
7:30 am: Breakfast & Registration
8:30 am – 11:30 am: Conference program
Valo Park – 7950 Jones Branch Drive, McLean, VA 22102

$99 Registration Fee (Breakfast Provided)

DESCRIPTION

What does a thriving Northern Virginia look like—and how do we get there?

Join us for the 2026 Shape of the Region Conference, where business leaders, innovators, and changemakers come together to explore bold ideas and practical solutions that will define our region’s future.

This year’s conference centers on the interconnected systems that define community well-being—from health, housing, and transportation to education, arts, and economic opportunity—and how collaboration across sectors can strengthen resilience and drive shared progress.

Participants will hear from thought leaders who are reimagining ways to adapt, innovate, and grow in times of change, and how collective action can help Northern Virginia thrive.

LIGHTNING TALKS: Cross-sector perspectives on the systems and forces shaping Northern Virginia’s Future

  • TRANSPORTATION: Elizabeth Kersey, Vice President of Government and Corporate Affairs, Transurban
  • HEALTHCARE: Dr. Garima Sharma, Director of Preventive Cardiology and Women’s Cardiovascular Health, INOVA
  • HOUSING: Dr. Lisa Sturtevant, Chief Economist, Bright MLS
  • EDUCATION: Andrew Hanson, Senior Director, Employer Alignment, Strada Education Foundation
  • ARTS: Ethan Heard, Associate Artistic Director, Signature Theatre 

Sample Email: 

SUBJECT: Join Us at the 2026 Shape of the Region Conference – March 24

Dear XXX,

We’re proud to support and attend the Community Foundation for Northern Virginia’s2026 Shape of the Region Conference, a signature regional gathering focused on innovation, leadership, and the systems that shape our community’s future.

Tuesday, March 24, 2026
📍 Valo Park, McLean, VA
⏰ 8:30–11:30 am (Breakfast & registration begin at 7:30 am)

This year’s conference brings together leaders from business, nonprofit, arts, education, healthcare, housing, and transportation to explore how cross‑sector collaboration can strengthen Northern Virginia’s resilience and long‑term vitality.

The program features a keynote by Paul Misener, Founder of Misener Innovation and former Amazon Global Vice President, moderated and facilitated by Drew Wilder, NBC4 Northern Virgnia Reporter, along with rapid‑fire lightning talks from trusted regional experts.

🎟 Tickets are $99 and available now. Breakfast included.
👉 Learn more and register here

We hope you’ll join us for this important Community Foundation conversation shaping Northern Virginia’s future.

Warm regards,

[Insert your name here]

Sample Social Posts:

Facebook:

What does a thriving Northern Virginia look like—and how do we get there?
Join us and the [@CommunityFoundationforNOVA] Community Foundation for Northern Virginia for the 2026 Shape of the Region Conference, a regional gathering of leaders exploring innovation, collaboration, and community well‑being.

📅 March 24, 2026
📍 McLean, VA
🎟 $99 tickets | Breakfast included

Featuring a keynote by Paul Misener, Founder of Misener Innovation and former Amazon Global Vice President.

👉 Learn more and register: http://www.cfnova.org/shape-region

#ShapeTheRegion #CFNOVA #NorthernVirginia #RegionalLeadership #CommunityImpact

LinkedIn:

We’re proud to support and attend the @Community Foundation for Northern Virginia’s 2026 Shape of the Region Conference, a signature event bringing cross‑sector leaders together to shape the future of Northern Virginia.

📅 March 24, 2026 | 📍 McLean, VA

The program features a keynote by Paul Misener, Founder of Misener Innovation and former Amazon Global Vice President, moderated and facilitated by Drew Wilder, NBC4 Northern Virginia Reporter.

🎟 Tickets are $99 and available now.
👉 Learn more and register: http://www.cfnova.org/shape-region

#ShapeOfTheRegion #CFNOVA #RegionalLeadership #NoVABusiness #CrossSector

Instagram:

Shaping the future of Northern Virginia—together.

Join us and the [@communityfoundationfornova] Community Foundation for Northern Virginia for the 2026 Shape of the Region Conference, a morning of insight, leadership, and cross‑sector collaboration.

📅 March 24, 2026
📍 McLean, VA
🎟 $99 tickets | Breakfast included
🎤 Keynote: Paul Misener, Founder of Misener Innovation and former Amazon Global VP
🔗 Link in bio to learn more & register

#ShapeTheRegion #CFNOVA #NorthernVirginia #NoVA #CommunityLeadership #RegionalImpact #Innovation

Twitter/X:

Join us at the Community Foundation for Northern Virginia’s 2026 Shape of the Region Conference on March 24 in McLean.
🎤 Paul Misener | 🎟 $99 tickets
👉 Register: http://www.cfnova.org/shape-region

#ShapeTheRegion #NorthernVirginia #CFNOVA #Leadership

Image Library:

Banner
SOTR 2026 BANNER

Social Media Images: 

SOT 2026 Promotional Partner Posts      SOT 2026 Promotional Partner Posts 1


SOT 2026 Promotional Partner Posts 2
     Custom Partner Graphic - Template 




















PDFs: 

 2026 Shape of the Region Conference Flyer



Questions?

Read More

September 24, 2025

Northern Virginia’s Nonprofit Sector: Essential, Evolving, and Under Pressure

Northern Virginia’s nonprofit sector is more than a network of service providers—it is a cornerstone of the region’s economic and social infrastructure. These organizations create jobs, drive innovation, and deliver critical services that support upward mobility, community well-being, and regional resilience. In fact, the sector generates more than $1.6 billion in annual economic activity, underscoring its vital role in the region’s economy.

Read More

March 26, 2025

Fairfax, VA (March 26, 2025) – The Community Foundation for Northern Virginia (CFNOVA) convened hundreds of leaders, community members, and changemakers for its annual Shape of the Region conference, an essential gathering focused on the pressing challenges and opportunities shaping the region’s future. This year’s event focused on youth well-being, addressing issues like bullying, school safety, substance abuse, and mental health access.

Read More

March 25, 2025
Fifteen years ago, the Community Foundation for Northern Virginia released its first-ever data-driven reporton the region’s youth, offering a snapshot of the challenges and opportunities shaping their lives. Today, those children are young adults navigating a vastly different landscape—one marked by evolving economic pressures, shifting workforce demands, and new concerns around health and safety. With this 2025 report, we revisit the data to understand how Northern Virginia’s youth have grown and what their experiences reveal about the future of our region.

Read More

August 27, 2024
In alignment with our strategic priority to improve social and economic mobility in Northern Virginia, the Community Foundation for Northern Virginia (Community Foundation) has embraced the growing momentum towards trust-based philanthropy in our grantmaking. Developing trust with community takes time and resources that are not typically prioritized in program-specific grants. Our trust-based approach to grantmaking has allowed nonprofits to support programs or initiatives that foster deeper community engagement. Over a three-year period, the Community Foundation’s Lamond Fund to Benefit Children and Youth invested $200,000 in United Community through unrestricted, multi-year grants. With these unrestricted funds from the Community Foundation, United Community pursued an innovative, theory-based Lived Experience Consultants (LEC) initiative to understand the community along the Route 1 corridor in Alexandria and Fairfax County, helping build trust and provide deeper access to community supports. The LEC initiative demonstrated impact on LEC participants, the community, and United Community, itself.

Read More

February 12, 2024
On Friday, February 9 2024, the Community Foundation for Northern Virginia hosted its 2024 Shape of the Region Conference in collaboration with 19 regional partners, which highlighted a key problem facing our region, and the whole country today: Americans’ belief that most people can be trusted declined 47 percent from 1984 through 2022, according to the General Social Survey. Only a quarter of Americans say that most people can be trusted as of 2022.

As keynote speaker David Brooks says, “America is fractured and living a quiet crisis of disconnection. We have lost our trust in each other and our institutions. Divided, we face uncertainty, social turmoil, and political gridlock. Yet, within every community lies an answer.” In Northern Virginia, our Insight Region® Senior Director Denise Bellows discussed the trends in national and local data, showing that all indicators of the Virginia Trust Index are down over the past several years. Only around a third of Northern Virginians consider their neighbors “trustworthy.” You can read the presentation here.

Read More

February 12, 2024
Trust is critical for social cohesion and economic growth, yet only a quarter of Americans say that most people can be trusted. Americans’ belief that others can be trusted has reached a historic low, declining 47 percent from 1984 through 2022. Northern Virginia is not immune to these national trends. Our Insight Region® Report revealed that social trust in Northern Virginia reached a 5-year low in 2022. Only 33% of Northern Virginian’s believed that most people could be trusted. In the past 3 years, Northern Virginian’s belief that others will be helpful declined 18 percent.

Read More

March 24, 2023

Aging in Northern Virginia


On March 23, 2023, Elizabeth Hughes, Senior Director of Insight Region®, the Community Foundation for Northern Virginia's Center of Community Research, presented the findings from the report Growing Old Together in Northern Virginia at the annual Shape of the Region Conference. The report and the conference highlighted the complex challenges older Northern Virginians face, focusing on three questions that leaders across government, business, and non-profit can ask themselves in addressing these needs:
    1. How do we make it easier to be a caregiver?
    2. How do we increase the supply and affordability of senior housing?
    3. How do we help individuals afford to age in place?

Over 350 people attended the conference online and in person, from a near complete cross section of civil society, including government officials, non-profit and foundation staff, social changemakers, business leaders, and representatives at the local, state, and federal level. The conference featured multiple panels of national and local experts for candid discussions of the challenges older Northern Virginians face, and what innovative ideas and opportunities may exist in addressing this critical issue that impacts everyone.

Read More

March 16, 2022
On March 15, 2022, The Community Foundation for Northern Virginia held its annual Shape of the Region Conference. This convening highlighted the complex barriers to basic mental health service, such as therapy, helpful medications, and others. Over 300 persons attended, about half in person, and half online, from a cross-section of civil society including but not limited to government workers, nonprofit and foundation employees, social changemakers, private sector businesses, and representatives from state, local, and national government offices. The conference also discussed what innovative ideas and opportunities may exist to address this critical issue that impacts us all.
READ THE FULL PRESS RELEASE

Read More

March 15, 2022
Yesterday, Elizabeth Hughes, Senior Director of Insight Region®, the Community Foundation for Northern Virginia’s Center of Community Research, presented the findings in the report Finding our Way Back to Mental Health at the annual Shape of the Region Conference. This conference highlighted the complex barriers to basic mental health service - therapy, helpful medications, early interventions, as well as others. Over 300 persons attended, about half in person, and half online, from a near complete cross section of civil society - government workers, nonprofit and foundation employees, social changemakers, private sector businesses, and representatives from state, local, and national government offices.  The conference featured multiple panels of national and local experts for candid discussions of the challenges of accessing
basic mental health services in Northern Virginia, and what innovative ideas and opportunities may exist to address this
critical issue that impacts us all.


The discussion of the unique challenges for access to mental health presents a massive opportunity, and
a stark warning: whilst 750,000 adults in Northern Virginia have mental health needs, 370,000 who
want therapy or counselling are unable to get it.

Read More

March 14, 2022
The 2022 Shape of the Region Conference, and the incredible, impactful conversations we shared, simply would not have happened without the continued support of our partners and sponsors. Together, we’ve laid a foundation that will continue to serve as an enduring platform to ensure that everyone in our region has access to decent and quality mental health care. Please be sure to check out their websites, as well as these resources they shared during the conference.

To set the stage, here is a video recommended by NAMI Northern Virginia.

What is the best way to ease someone's pain and suffering? In this beautifully animated RSA Short, Dr Brené Brown reminds us that we can only create a genuine empathic connection if we are brave enough to really get in touch with our own fragilities.

Read More

March 12, 2021

On Thursday, March 11, 2021, we presented the 2021 Shape of the Region Conference in partnership with 12 regional organizations to inspire our community about ways our region is coming together to institute real change. More than 300 people registered to attend the virtual event.



This year’s conference, Co-Creating a New Northern Virginia: An Emerging Vision of a More Inclusive, Sustainable, and Equitable Region examined strategies for advancing a more inclusive economy in our region while facing some of the biggest challenges of our day – entrenched poverty, structural racism, and environmental sustainability.

Read More

March 12, 2020

Online Conference shared One Region Report and ideas to promote a more welcoming community in Northern Virginia

The Community Foundation's 2020 Shape of the region conference was held as an online conference on Thursday, March 12, 2020. Nearly 300 guests attended virtually to kick-start a big conversation around the large and growing impact of recent immigrants in Northern Virginia.

Read More

March 15, 2019
Oakton, VA - For all its growth and wealth Northern Virginia is home to many people who find it nearly impossible to climb the economic ladder from poverty or near-poverty to improve their individual or family’s socioeconomic status.

Read More

February 21, 2018

Opportunity Index Unveiled as Panelists Evaluate Workforce Development Challenges and Opportunities, and Region’s Income Inequality

The Community Foundation for Northern Virginia and the Northern Virginia Chamber of Commerce co-hosted the Shape of the Region conference on February 15, 2018 at Valo Park in Tysons Corner, Virginia. Nearly 300 registered guests attended the event. Keynote speakers included Michael Cassidy, President & CEO, Commonwealth Institute, and Richard Reeves, Senior Fellow of Economic Studies and Co-Director of the Center on Children and Families at the Brookings Institution.

Read More

February 21, 2018

Opportunity Index Unveiled as Panelists Evaluate Workforce Development Challenges and Opportunities, and Region’s Income Inequality

The Community Foundation for Northern Virginia and the Northern Virginia Chamber of Commerce co-hosted the Shape of the Region conference on February 15, 2018 at Valo Park in Tysons Corner, Virginia. Nearly 300 registered guests attended the event. Keynote speakers included Michael Cassidy, President & CEO, Commonwealth Institute, and Richard Reeves, Senior Fellow of Economic Studies and Co-Director of the Center on Children and Families at the Brookings Institution.

Read More