Solution Smithing: How to Raise and Give a Million Dollars, with The Haven Fund

​Join Anew and “pop-up foundation” The Haven Fund on October 20th for a brainstorming discussion on an urgent need: how to deploy resources efficiently and quickly towards the most pressing issues of our time.

​The Haven Fund, part of Anew’s Fall 2025 cohort of Entrepreneurs in Residence, was born out of a desire to tackle an urgent problem – the immigration crackdown in NYC – by directing capital quickly to those organizations on the ground with the deepest knowledge of the issue. Since Lisa Cowan started this endeavor at the beginning of this year, it has distributed almost $1 million in funds to organizations throughout New York City, no strings attached. In an era of rolling, overlapping crises, we want to ask the audience and panelists, is this model replicable? If so, what would it take to create a template that anyone can use to tackle issues in their community and in different places?

​Join us as we together explore why this model was a success and how might The Haven Fund scale this model to address additional urgent issues.

​Panelists include: Iara Peng, Founder and CEO, JustFund, Emily Shechtman, Founder and Director, South Brooklyn Sanctuary, and Jennifer Ching, Executive Director, North Star Fund

​Anew is a gathering space and discovery center for social transformation located in NYC. We host interactive events and workshops, an accelerator program for nonprofits, and a retail lab featuring ethically-sourced coffee and gifts.

​The Haven Fund is a pop-up foundation that is raising $1 million in 1 year to support neighborhood-level immigration organizations in New York City.

​Lisa Cowan is the founder and Director of the Haven Fund. Formerly the Vice President of the Robert Sterling Clark Foundation, she is an organizer, weaver, writer and New Yorker.