2025 marked the start of the “Abundance Era.” A year ago, abundance was a niche concept debated on Substack. Now, it’s a full-fledged movement, with an annual conference, a growing Congressional caucus, and candidates increasingly embracing abundance ideas.
Inclusive Abundance has been at the forefront of efforts to turn the online excitement around abundance into tangible action and lasting power. Below is a brief summary of our year - and what’s to come!
We helped launch and support the bipartisan Congressional Build America Caucus and lobbied for core abundance bills
Inclusive Abundance has spent every week this year on Capitol Hill. We worked with Representative Josh Harder (D-CA) and House members to launch the abundance-oriented Build America Caucus, now one of the largest bipartisan, solutions-oriented caucuses in Congress. Our team has supported a steady cadence of congressional member and staff briefings on energy permitting reform, housing, and innovation, bringing together policymakers, think tank experts, industry executives, and our partner organizations to inform pragmatic policy solutions. We helped recruit new members to the caucus by identifying aligned Republican offices and expanded it from 31 to 40 (22-D; 18-R). That ideological balance has already helped bring both parties together to press committee and party leadership for meaningful reforms.
Beyond the Build America Caucus, we’ve advocated for a slate of pro-abundance legislation by working with House leadership and key Senate offices to advance bills through Congress, educate members, and build effective, cross-partisan advocacy coalitions. These efforts are paying off with numerous abundance bills in motion.
Derek hosted abundance conversations with key elected officials and other leaders
This year, our organization has held substantive, policy-driven conversations to encourage elected officials on both sides of the aisle to embrace the abundance approach. We hosted events with Governor Wes Moore, then-Representative (and now Governor-elect) Mikie Sherrill, Representative Brad Schneider and four members of the House New Dems, Senator Catherine Cortez Masto, House Leader Hakeem Jeffries, and Senator Todd Young. The conversation with Mikie Sherrill illustrates our value: a productive event led to us advising her team on her Save You Time and Money agenda and plan for energy affordability – and now we’ll have a great voice for abundance in New Jersey!
This fall, we also saw conversations from past years lead to real wins. In 2024, we worked with Robin Hood to convene advocates across issue areas and persuade them that abundance was core to their goals. That coalition then worked on the City of Yes zoning reforms and the pro-housing, pro-government efficacy charter revision recommendations in New York City. This year, our institutional partners Abundance NY, Open NY, and the Regional Plan Association ran the “Yes on Affordable Housing” campaign that drove the city ballot measures to victory.
We convened the abundance community and built networks across ideology
In 2024 we were the driving force behind the first Abundance Conference – and this year, the conference exploded in size. We co-hosted this year’s flagship abundance event with 14 ideologically diverse partners, with speakers including everyone from Utah Governor Spencer Cox to Ezra Klein to members of the Build America Caucus.
Beyond the conference, we’ve worked to get the larger community of policymakers, thought leaders, and donors invested in supporting the abundance ecosystem and governance approach. In the spring, we published an analysis of the organizations within the abundance landscape and an Abundance Primer. Our Abundance in Action policy library and Abundance Innovators network of experts continue to provide key details to flesh out the abundance agenda.
We presented at Stanford’s Abundance Conference, Leadership Now’s Annual Meeting, WelcomeFest, YIMBYTown, Roots of Progress, the New Liberal Action Summit, and over a dozen other panels and events. We also brought together professionals, elected officials and their staff, and thought leaders in the abundance movement at happy hours and salon dinners across the country with guests including Derek Thompson and Marc Dunkelman.
We hired a full staff and continue to punch above our weight
As abundance has grown from an Atlantic essay into a movement, we have expanded our small but mighty team to make an enormous impact. Twelve months ago, Inclusive Abundance had two full-time team members and three part-time contractors. We now have a full-time team of eight, with incredible staff members leading work in government and external affairs, communications, policy, development, and operations.
And we’re prepared to hit the ground running in 2026
If 2025 was the start of a movement, 2026 will be the year it grows significantly. With Congress continuing to debate housing and energy and the midterms coming up, we see a tremendous opportunity to make the case that more leaders need to campaign and govern on abundance ideas (they don’t need to use the word - it’s all about affordability, economic mobility, and national security). We’ve begun a strategic planning process this fall to ensure that we are ready to shape this next phase of abundance.
Thank you for supporting Inclusive Abundance over the last year. We’re looking forward to building on our momentum in 2026 and beyond!
This summary was prepared by Inclusive Abundance Action, a 501(c)(4). Inclusive Abundance Initiative is our affiliated 501(c)(3).