2026 Community retreat
February 5-6, 2026
Carmel Valley, California
On February 5-6, 2026, we gathered with givers, builders, and leaders in Carmel Valley with a shared desire: to see children & families flourish.
Over two days together at Bernardus Lodge & Spa, we reflected on a simple but powerful theme: assembly – the idea that when people bring their unique gifts, experiences, and callings together with humility and excellence, something larger begins to take shape.
One of the most meaningful moments came as Holly & Clay Trantham, Fort Worth locals and members of the Flourish Fund community, shared their family’s story.
After adopting two sisters from foster care, they found themselves asking a difficult question: How do we meaningfully engage in fixing a system we’ve lived through? It can’t just be us.
They carried a deep desire to help, but often felt the limits of trying to make change alone.
After learning about Flourish Fund, they shared that it felt like the answer they had been seeking – a community pursuing the same mission to reimagine what foster care could look like, and lifting up others across their city to pursue that work together.
Their story reminded us that generosity is rarely transactional. It grows out of lived experience, prayerful discernment, and a desire to steward what God has entrusted to us faithfully.
We heard reflections from Michael Allen, Co-Founder of Together Chicago, and Jay Hein, CEO of The Sagamore Institute, who have spent decades building collaborative ecosystems that drive lasting change.
We shared early insights from our first Flourish: Children & Families pilot in Fort Worth, launched in late 2025. Local leaders Chelsea and Mark Reidland from Hope Local offered perspective from over a decade of investing in the Fort Worth ecosystem, and Ben Sand, CEO of The Contingent, provided a special demonstration of emerging technology that will be implemented locally, and we announced the launch of The National Foster Care Innovation Challenge – supported by Google.org and in partnership with Eagle Venture Fund.
The theme of assembly came to life in a beautiful way as a string quartet serenaded us against the backdrop of the Santa Lucia mountains at sunset… a single instrument can create something beautiful, but when musicians assemble – each bringing their craft and attentiveness, without ego – harmony emerges that no single musician or instrument could produce alone.
We left Carmel Valley with the same sense of possibility: that God is assembling people, ideas, and resources around this work and this mission in ways none of us could orchestrate alone. And we are all so grateful to be doing this together.
