Just last week, City Controller Christy Brady released the “Have your say” survey report, a look at what a sample of (551) Philadelphians love, loathe and want more of in their lives as Philadelphians. The findings weren’t particularly surprising: Philadelphians gave our Fire Department their highest satisfaction rating, are still frustrated with our city’s nasty trash problem, and are concerned about public safety.

While not revelatory, it felt particularly timely to hear what our city needs and wants at a time when The Citizen is reviewing entries for the first-ever Ideas We Should Scale Showcase — a program designed to highlight changemakers who are having a meaningful impact in Philadelphia, and need resources to grow.

For years (going on eight, to be exact), The Philadelphia Citizen has been the force behind the beloved Ideas We Should Steal Festival^®  presented by Comcast NBCUniversal. This year, we decided to add a twist to the annual convening: the Ideas We Should Scale kickoff event, in partnership with VisitPhilly, ImpactED, Fitler Club, and M. Night Shyamalan Foundation.

The premise: In addition to spotlighting movements making an impact elsewhere in the country, as we do all day at the Festival, we wanted to shine a light on the impactful ideas already going on in Philadelphia — that just need more support to get to the next level.

So we put out a call for local nonprofits, B-Corps and benefit corporations, asking them to tell us what their current impact is, what their vision for scaling would be, and what kind of support they’d need to get to that next level. We thought we’d get a few submissions. Instead, we received dozens, each one more moving than the next.

In the coming days, a panel of Philly judges will be reviewing the entries to select their top three — that trio will present to an audience of potential funders (and the general public — all are welcome) on Thursday, November 13 (reserve your spot here), the night before the Festival. They’ll receive presentation coaching, a stipend courtesy of VISIT PHILADELPHIA, and the opportunity to present after hearing live from Dr. Bhavna Shyamalan, co-founder and vice president of the M. Night Shyamalan Foundation, in conversation with the Foundation’s Executive Director, Michelle Histand (with a possible appearance by director M. Night Shyamalan too).

Now, as our judges prepare to meet, we’d love to hear from you, our Citizen readers — tell us which three organizations you’d like to see scale their impact in Philadelphia. Watch the videos here, and select your top three from the list here. While the judges will have final say, we’ll make sure they know exactly where you stand.

Some things you, like our judges, might want to keep in mind:

• • What does Philly really need right now?
  • Who’s demonstrating a meaningful impact already?
  • Who would benefit most from growing an initiative further?

Thank you for sharing your feedback with us — and be sure to join us at the Ideas We Should Scale Showcase on November 13, 2025.

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