The single biggest way philanthropic organizations can reduce poverty is to fund advocacy and education work for state and local anti-poverty policy measures, which include not only higher wages, improved public education (pre-K through college) but also housing assistance and student debt relief. Additionally, they can fund research and development Read more…
Philanthropic organizations can invest in community leadership and neighborhood development to address policy and systems change. Funding services but also long term integrated voter engagement for all communities, regardless of their socioeconomic levels are engaged and have access to making local systems and policy change. Philanthropic organizations can also bring Read more…
Philanthropic organizations are uniquely positioned to connect and convene individuals, nonprofits, businesses, and other community leaders to collaboratively tackle our community’s greatest needs. For example, the Orange County Community Foundation is piloting a new initiative to address poverty by building pathways to living wage employment for unemployed and underemployed OC Read more…
Philanthropic organizations should continue the great work that they already do and partner with other nonprofits organizations, such as BizFed to multiply their voice with local, state, and federal elected officials, and connect with other philanthropic organization to increase awareness. We also hope the philanthropic community seeks out the business Read more…
Decades of public health research has shown that wealth is the strongest factor that influences health, but many Southern Californians face barriers to achieving financial security. For health funders like The California Wellness Foundation, investing our resources in efforts to reduce income inequality is one strategy to improve the health Read more…
Philanthropic organizations can provide funding to test innovative strategies to reduce barriers to employment for households in poverty. They can also provide support for advocacy to support systems change. Philanthropy should not be satisfied at only providing stabilizing supports.
Philanthropic organizations can help by sponsoring vocational and college scholarships for low-income students and supporting organizations that provide affordable child-care, mentoring, and other programs that give those living in poverty a hand up.
Philanthropy has actually been playing a positive role in this arena. For example, the Weingart Foundation commissioned an equity analysis of Los Angeles County and Orange County Grantmakers supported an equity analysis in the O.C. as well. The James Irvine Foundation has focused a large share of its recent philanthropic Read more…
Philanthropic organizations should support evidence-based, replicable program models, like employment social enterprise, that provide jobs, income, training and a path to economic mobility for individuals with extremely low incomes. Philanthropic organizations should consider using a portion of their endowments for social impact investing to provide growth capital to social entrepreneurs Read more…
The philanthropic organizations can take a more general view; they tend to be a bit more removed from the pressures of delivering on daily needs for housing, medical care, training, or food. They are positioned to study best practices from other states and countries, to survey the academic literature, and Read more…
Philanthropy can help to fill funding gaps often left between various government funding sources. Gaps exist in social services, basic needs provision, health care, and the development of affordable housing, just to name a few. By listening to and partnering with on-the-ground nonprofits, philanthropic organizations can identify these gaps and Read more…
Philanthropic organizations need to invest in civil society organizations that are helping reduce poverty and advocating for the policies that will promote prosperity for all. Philanthropic organizations can use their platform and influence to engage with local, regional and state government towards joint investment. Philanthropic organizations need to provide resources Read more…
1) Some of the answers for what nonprofits should do also apply here 2) Five to ten multi-year funding for non-profits with a proven track record of impact. 3) Fund collaborative evaluation initiatives between non-profits and academia to measure impact and reduce overlap and repetition.
Don’t give up on California. We’ve seen too many organizations raise the white flag and either support disastrous government schemes or simply declare California hopeless.
Philanthropies should do adequate due diligence on successful nonprofits providing services and trust them to effectively address the impacts of poverty. Too often philanthropies strictly design grant terms in ways that either do not address poverty or provide a “one-off” program that may provide short-term benefits to recipients but do Read more…