$170 Million and 4,367 Neighbors: Inside Our FY 2025/2026 Impact Report

Every year, we ask ourselves one question: what did this work actually change? This month, we are answering it in full. The Urban League of Greater Philadelphia's FY 2025/2026 Impact Report is here, and it is unlike any report we have published before.

Here is what it is not. It is not a list of programs. It is not a stack of statistics. It is the story of a single year, told the way the year actually happened: in the halls of Harrisburg, in a job fair where more than 500 people came looking for a second chance, on a West Philadelphia corner where we broke ground on our future headquarters, and in the lives of neighbors who walked through our doors ready to move forward.

Three acts, one mission

The report is built around the three commitments that guide everything we do:

• Act One: Defend Democracy. How we carried our voice into policy testimony, public statements, civic participation, and the long work of restoring opportunity after incarceration.

• Act Two: Demand Diversity. The people, partnerships, and places, including the June 2026 groundbreaking of our permanent headquarters and Center for Wellbeing in West Philadelphia, that widen who gets a seat at the table.

• Act Three: Defeat Poverty. Housing, workforce, entrepreneurship, capital, and the wraparound support that turns immediate needs into long-term mobility.

Then a fourth act, The Call, looks ahead to what comes next, including the return of The State of Black Greater Philadelphia.

A few numbers, as a preview

We will not spoil the whole thing, but the Year at a Glance alone is worth the read: more than $170 million in economic impact moved through our programs and partnerships this year, and 4,367 people, households, and firms were served across our region. Behind those totals are a returning citizen who came home in March and held his Class A commercial driver's license by June, a coalition still fighting for fair school funding, and hundreds of families who strengthened their financial footing.

Numbers tell you what happened. The stories tell you why it matters. The report has both.

Read it, then share it

As Dr. Darrin W. Anderson Sr., our President and CEO, writes in his opening letter, this report is meant to be read "as both evidence and invitation." See what the year achieved. Recognize the participants, staff, volunteers, and partners behind it. Then consider where you fit in the solutions that keep this mission moving forward.

Momentum Newsletter: September 2026 | Issue 9 | Impact